Josh Bovington, Lecture 4 Review: Bend It Like Beckham

On the 9th October, the group discussed the 2002 film Bend it Like Beckham. Richard talked of the importance of the film, and how it brought up various issues in a very accessible way. Issues of identity, gender, race, branding, consumerism and globalisation were all mentioned for their importance in the film. An example used by Richard to show the use of branding was the dream sequence that opened the film. The scene shows Bend It like Beckham’s main character Jess dreaming of being a football player and scoring the winning goal. The scene is filled with images and merchandise of the Manchester United club, which Beckham played for at the time. This can be seen as an example of branding, which relates back to the previous lecture which discussed theming and the Suez crisis. Richard also discussed hybridity and post colonialism, and the idea of a pluralised identity. Bend It Like Beckham shows the idea of a hybrid identity in the characters of Jess and her sister, who are both British and Asian, making a mixed identity. The hybridity idea is also supported by Homi K. Bhabha’s theory of the ‘Third Space.’ Gender was also discussed as an important part of the film, as football is predominantly played by men. This view is challenged in Bend it Like Beckham, as Jess aspires to be a famous footballer, in spite of her parents, who object due to religious beliefs.