Can I please get feedback on my film study essay?

Describe an important idea in the text.

Explain whether or not you think this idea is relevant to teenagers today.

In the film Bend it like Beckham by Gurinder Chadha , one of the main ideas is culture. Jess wanted to become a professional football player because she had a passion for it but her dreams were restricted due to her cultural traditions. Jess had faced many obstacles throughout the film because of her culture such as stereotyping, racism and reaching for the high standards her parents had for her.

In the starting of the film, a close-up of Jess in a football match with David Beckham is shown which indicates that David Beckham is her idol and her passion is football. The beginning also shows the anger in the mother in another close-up where she said, “I don’t want her running around with men, showing her bare legs to twenty thousand people.” Jess knows what her mother and her family thinks about her playing football which is that they don’t approve of it and they would rather her stay in the house and be more ‘lady like.’ Jess’s parents intended her to focus on school to get good grades and learning how to be a typical Indian woman. “What family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking football all day but can’t make round chapattis?” This shows that her mother wanted Jess to get ready for marriage which she clearly wasn’t ready for. The Asian culture believes that teenagers have to get arranged marriage and in this is relevant today. Teenagers want free will in whoever they want to marry, which is why they have to have ‘secret’ relationships so that they don’t get caught, unlike the white majority who have free will. The director uses props such as costumes and high angle shots to depict the clash of cultures in the scene where Joe visits Jess’ house. The high angle shots of Joe and the formality of his clothes make him appear far less important to the viewer, creating the impression that no matter how hard Joe tries, Jess’ family will still look down on him. Asians are strict on who their daughters should marry and they think Indian men are the most suitable choice. Indian families are also prejudiced because it is unthinkable for the girls to marry a ‘gorah’ or muslim.

Jess had a strong passion to play football, but her parents disapprove of her doing so because it goes against their traditional beliefs. Furthermore, the film clearly depicts racist attitudes that are present in many ethnic communities. Jess’s father had said that he was not allowed to play cricket on any England teams because he was not white and he was a Sikh. This was one reason why Jess’s father didn’t want her to play football professionally, because she would be discriminated and hurt by the comments people would pass around about her culture. In one of Jess’s football matches, shown by a close up of the opponent shoving Jess and the tracking of their feet following the ball. “That’s not all. She called me a Paki. But I guess that’s something you wouldn’t understand.” Although Jess had done nothing to receive a red card, she was benched because of her ethnicity. Racism is relevant to teenagers in this modern world more than it has ever been. People have this need to discriminate anyone they see without any care. Racism has been normalised towards Indians just because they look and act different.

Mr. and Mrs. Bhamra are Asian American parents who place a high importance on education since they feel academic excellence is a key to future career success. Due to their high expectations and support, Asian parents put a lot of pressure on their children to succeed academically, such as doing well in school or getting into Ivy League colleges. As a result, most Asian students work hard and have higher academic success than other racial minorities. Most Asian parents have already decided their children’s futures: whether they will be doctors or engineers, if they will attend Harvard or MIT, and these pre-planned decisions have an impact on their children. Today’s teenagers believe they have no choice in terms of their career paths. Asian parents, like the facts depicted in the film, always decide what is best for their children rather than actually understanding what their children truly desire to be. Jess’s parents make crucial decisions for their children based on Indian values and culture in the film. Jess’s mother has complete control over her future, forcing her to become a typical Indian woman. Jess had no ambition to be the typical Indian woman that her parents desired. She was having identity issues and felt compelled to give up something she was passionate about.

Morena
A great film!
You set up culture as your theme in the introduction. One word doesn’t describe a theme well. Extend it a little more. Is it the restriction imposed by a patricular culture? Is it the conflict between different cultures? Is it the way traditional cultural beliefs confine people? You need to make this a little clearer at the start. It is also a good idea to bring in the words from the question as much as you can, so perhaps you could introduce the notion of relevance to teenagers in the intro as well. Generally a lot will have to deal with one culture and its practices at home and another at school, for example. What difficulties does this cause and how do individuals tread a line betwen the expectations of both?
You bring in the techniques in the second paragraph and support them, maybe you could try and explain a little more in some. Why dos a high angle shot make Joe seem less important?
You work through issues well in subsequent paragraphs.
Maybe you could add a conclusion that brings it all together under large statements, such as the ones you have established with the suggested unpicking of the theme at the start.
You clearly know the film well and there is a real sense of insight starting to come through.
A good effort. :+1: