Gender - Bend It Like Beckham

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"Times have changed; gender roles are no longer clearly defined." Times have changed, that is indeed true. Throughout history gender roles were strictly defined. Men have been tasked with providing for the family and women cared for the family. In our earliest days as a species, that meant the men went hunting and brought home meat, while in recent times it's meant earning a paycheck. Women, on the other hand, took care of children and housekeeping. While men worked outside the home, women were expected to stay within the home. However, thanks to cultural movements, it's now considered more acceptable for women to have a career and men have admitted that they don't want a career and would rather stay home with their children. An example of the change in the gender roles is in the film "Bend It like Beckham". The main character is an Indian girl, Jess whose dream is to play professional football. However, Jess’s parents and her culture do not accept Indian girls playing football. Her parents expect and want her to get a good education then settle down with an Indian boy and have a family. They remind her that her responsibilities are in the kitchen, not out in the soccer field with her friends. Jess, however, "bend" these traditional rules. This is shown in several scenes. The first scene is the CGI sequence of Jess fantasizing about playing soccer for Manchester United. In this scene, Jess makes an important goal making her team win and she is the big star. However, during the interview her mother appears and is scolding her for “showing her bare legs” and says that she should be at home learning how to cook, not around a bunch of boys playing soccer. It then cuts back into reality and her mother scolds her for watching the “skin-headed boy” instead of helping with her sister’s wedding. This shows that Jess's hobby is not the usual hobby, the usual hobby being,

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