This essay will present a series of sociological themes identified in the film A Girl Like Beckham (released in 2002). Bend It Like Beckham is a film about an 18 year old woman who is Indian and dreams of becoming a professional footballer, however her family disagrees with her decisions because she is an Indian woman and Indian women are traditionally known as wives , mother, student and will sacrifice their time for their family. The film highlights that the teenager tries to live in two different cultures so that he can achieve his dreams. The themes that will be identified in this film will be acceptance, religion/culture and gender stereotypes. The issues identified continue to have a huge impact on sport today and can prevent many people from wanting to participate in sport. This film is a great example to show people what obstacles there can be in sports and how people can overcome them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay An important scene in the film that identifies gender stereotypes, "their gender identity, sexual orientation, values ​​and social roles are often questioned", is the part where Jess is out in the park playing football with his male Indian friends and shows them his talent when he beats them and doesn't care about their insults when he plays against them. When Jess gets home, she goes to her room and talks to a poster on Beckham's wall about the differences in freedom that Indian boys and girls enjoy and begins to explain that it is "unfair that she has a curfew because she is a girl and They don't have any friends and can do whatever they want because they are male." Also during this scene Jess is shown at the park the next day playing football with her male friends, showing that she has no interest in them and her sister and her friends are on the park bench judging her for being a woman who plays football football and shows no interest in the traditional feminine side of Indian culture. Playing soccer with male friends allowed Jess to gain self-confidence. Theberge “found that women are often discriminated against and suffer from various inequalities, such as their participation in sports, as well as the opportunities they are given to train, receive funding and often scholarships for particular sports.” Another theme identified within this scene is religion, “a unified system of beliefs and practices relating to sacred things… coming together into a single moral community.” This theme is shown in the scene where Jess comes downstairs from her room, talking to Beckham, to attend her sister's engagement party where she has to serve everyone and doesn't show too much interest in the whole party and is not a traditional Indian woman . During the engagement party Jess serves all the food to the elders and takes part in Indian traditions such as bangles and money rituals, where the marrying couple receives money from family and friends. In the film Jess follows the Sikh religion, “Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions or genders are all equal in the eyes of God. It teaches full equality between men and women”. However, the film only shows males and Indian females are equal. One scene that proves this is when Jess has returned from training for the women's soccer team and is playing in the park with her male friends in shorts showing her scar on her leg, which shows that she is gone against "traditional femininity". The males she is playing with then start insulting her and making comments about her scar, but she doesn't care and challenges them:“I bet I can still skill you with my eyes closed.” This scene highlights the themes of culture and gender stereotypes, when Jess is in the park after training one of her male friends pick her up and her mother sees them and is disgraced because she is against her playing football and going to I hang out with the men. When Jess and her mother return home, Jess is sitting on the coach and both her parents talk to her, as her mother is a traditional Indian woman she states "I was married at your age", this shows that her mother stereotypes Jess by suggesting that she get him married at his age. Furthermore, during this scene Jess' mother expresses concern about the only future she can imagine for her daughter and states “what family wants a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking a ball all day but can't make chapatti? " . This also shows that her mother stereotypes Jess and suggests that she should be able to cook basic Indian food. As part of the Sikh religion, Jess is supposed to follow the morals of the religion and should be able to cook and get married at her age, however she plays with boys by showing them her body, which goes against the morals of the Sikh religion. After a failed appeal to her father, Jess' mother declares "no more football" and her father says "start acting like a proper woman" (Bend it Like Beckham). This part of the scene shows that her parents are trying to convince Jess to follow traditional cultures and not embarrass the family. The final scene which identifies important themes in the film is the wedding scene which identifies acceptance, culture, “a way of life created by humans” and gender. In this scene we see Jess at her sister's wedding and how part of her culture Jess had to accept traditions and dress like a traditional woman. Even though Jess stays at her sister's wedding, she doesn't show that she wants to be there because she would rather play her last game in the cup Tony (Jess's best friend ) notices that Jess is sad and quiet during the day and asks her if she wants him to accompany her to the game so that he can do the second half. The next part of the scene shows her father's acceptance, “the act of say yes or to agree.” Tony and Jess manage to convince her father to let her go to the second half of the game by saying “if this is the only way to see you smile on your sister's wedding day, then go now While Jess she gets to leave the wedding to play her final game, she will have a chance to be seen as an American college scout and as she leaves her father says "play well and make us proud". This shows her father's acceptance as he approves of her going to the soccer game and wants her to do well so she can show her family that she is good at what she wants to do. The next part of the scene shows gender stereotypes, when Jess arrives at the match her team draws against their opponents and Jess is put in the game and given a penalty kick as she is about to take the penalty she visualizes her mother, sister and others Indian women disapprove of the wall and shake their heads, this suggests that Jess should not be at the football match and should be at his sister's wedding in preparation for his own. After the football final and the wedding Jess and her family returned home with other relatives and Jess tells her family that she has been offered a full scholarship to America to play professional football and states: "I didn't ask to be good at football the Guru must have blessed me…I will never be happy no matter what I am”. This shows that Jess's desire is to play professional football and she wants her parents' approval before taking the:, 60(2), 341-353.