Bend It Like Bickham

Many films revolve around a challenge for the main character. The challenge Gurinder Chadha’s character, Jess Bhamra faces in ‘bend it like Beckham’ is to choose between her family and her love of football. This challenge is presented through the techniques of props, dialogue, and costumes.
The director used props effectively to portray the challenge Jess is to face between the clash of football and Jess’s Indian heritage. This is shown effectively when Jess is practicing her football skills using a cabbage, while her mother is trying to teach her full Indian dinner she gets irritated at her for not being able to cook a full traditional Indian dinner. Instead of paying any attention to how to cook a traditional meal, she uses the cabbage as a soccer ball. This shows us how Jess is struggling to balance her family’s Indian culture and the world of English Soccer.
The challenge that Jess faces in relation to playing football as an Indian girl is developed throughout the film through the technique of dialogue. It is made clear that Jess’s culture does not approve of women playing foot ball Jess is tells Jules, “Indian girls aren’t supposed to play football”. It is also made
The collision between the two cultures Jess must deal with is clear. This is shown in the scene where her foot ball team mates quickly redress her into her traditional Indian clothing in the changing rooms before she rushes back to her sister’s wedding. The use of costume in this scene highlights the challenge she is facing between the two cultures. Jess is dressed in a traditional Indian dress, while her team mates are wearing the soccer uniform which is modern looking. Seeing Jess rushing around and having to change between the two very different types of clothing makes it evident how Jess is encountering problems in trying to balance the two most important things in her life, her family and