The Differences between Films Bend it Like Beckham and East is East - Movie Review Example

The differences between films Bend it Like Beckham and East is East Introduction In the recent years, over the past decade or so, one has witnessed a barrage of movies all about the trials and tribulations that have characterized the identity crisis of Asians living the western countries like the UK and US. Much of the drama in these lives revolve around the need of the elders in the family to keep their offspring in touch with the cultures of the home country and the need for the offspring to find their own path, often strewn with western ideas. The conflict between the environment at home, and the need for a second generation immigrant to find his own identity, often has formed the fulcrum of some of the more interesting pieces of cinema in the recent past. The following paper will make an attempt to look at two such movies, both landmark efforts in their own space – Bend it Like Beckham and East is East. While the first takes on the need for a young girl to establish her identity against the roles ascribed by gender and race, along with themes of reverse racism, the second is about the need of a Pakistani immigrant to keep his family rooted in customs that define old Islam. Bend it Like Beckham At first glance, Bend it Like Beckham seems the conventional sporting tale of an underdog made good. That this underdog is a young British Asian woman rather than a freckled faced white boy from Millwall seems only to add spice to the story. But it is the bedrock-the underlying tragedy of racism, despair and prejudice-that transforms this feel good flick into significant cinema. The story encircles Jess, a young woman who wishes to play football. She faces challenges from her family her friends and her community. The very idea of a woman playing football instead of being at home, preparing her face at attempts at looking beautiful, or cooking in kitchen getting trained to be good wife is an idea which is significantly unpalatable to the Indian community that encircles Jess’ world. It does not appear to matter that she indeed can bend the ball like Beckham. Jess is not interested in makeup, or in looking her best, a direct abuse of the standard established and accepted notions of femininity. She goes against the grain of the nice Indian girl (Else, . The finest touch to this polished film was the ending-the real ending not the waving goodbye at the airport cliché. Jess’ coach and soon to be love is an Irishman, a piquant touch (Brabazon, 2006). The notion of these two great global diasporas-Irish and Indian-unifying in critiquing English prejudice is imaginative, and creatively political. The final scene features both the men in Jess’ life, the Irish boyfriend and the Indian father (Veseth, 2009). The film itself does no freeze histories of the present. It is the repository of popular memroy. It does not shadow narratives of the political economy but captures the spark of subjectivity and how individual experiences are collectivized. The movie, directed by Gurindher Chadda, tends build for the audience in one film, the three great pariahs of American cinema-sport soccer and racism (Brabazon, 2006). British Asian film makers confront many problems. perhaps the most significant one is that filmic critics and academics wish to isolate them in boxes and categories, they represent black cinema, social realism or multiculturalism (Brabazon, 2006). While all three boxes can be ticked for Bend it like Beckham, this film is more than a liberal rendering permits (Veseth, 2009). Most importantly, the film confronts viewers with the complex and frequently conflictual realities in Britain. When cultural narratives mix, new approaches to identity, subjectivity and body image politics merge into a positive and proactive idea (Brabazon, 2006). This film is about woman in sport and creates productive and dissociative representations (Veseth, 2009). The greatest problem confronting women who play football cricket rugby is that there are so few images of competency, success an triumph (Veseth, 2009). The film is impressive because it constructs women footballers as strong, skilled and passionate about the game. Through the expert filming of on field play, a very difficult task-sporting woman is naturalized rather than rendered freakish, butch or a joke (Brabazon, 2006). The question the film asks is whether or not, Jess can, indeed Bend it Like Beckham, but rather whether she and her teammates, coach and family can become globalised-this is, whether they can transcend or overcome, the obstacles that prevent them from becoming equal competitors. It is tempting to say that the question is whether they can be assimilated and Americanised (Veseth, 2009). East is East Although his family lives in suburban London, proud papa George Khan, has tried to raise his seven children according to traditional Pakistani customs (CMJ New Music Monthly, 2000). However, George meets tough competition for his ancient traditions I the uninhibited hippie-dom engulfing England’s youth in the early 1970s. This clash of lifestyles propels East is East, a rewarding, bittersweet comedy. For most of George’s impressionable teenage kids, life is about delighting in western pleasures-discos, soccer, sausages-when their father isn’t looking of course (CMJ New Music Monthly, 2000). He cannot handle ideas and styles so foreign to his own pious value system. Convincingly, played by Indian actor Om Puri, George has a temperament that swings from affable to brutish all the while proving, that, a father, does not necessarily know best (CMJ New Music Monthly, 2000). The film’s style of narration itself is that of a dark comedy about Khan and his English wife Ella, and their seven children struggling to get along in Manchester in the early 1970s. Khan’s portrayal is that of a bigot, he is someone who is characterised by disdain for his wife who is white despite the fact that he is openly ready to exploit the advantages that come with her Englishness. Interestingly, even as the movie is East Is East intent on critique societal norms, the characters themselves are stereotypical. One of the more stereotypical Ella-she is out of place, except her dark hair. Her character is exceptionally British, with an ever-present cigarette, pink lipstick, and dyed, done red hair. On occasions when the family is resplendently dressed in traditional Pakistani attire she stands out in a dress, hat, and bag. East Is East is a push at racism that cuts both ways. The stereotyping, prejudices are apparent in the shouting hate that defines the jingoism of the Brits along with the fact that Pakistanis are depicted as bigots, who live in a community of Brits in their country and yet scorn their culture and their very existence. It is also sad that a film that seeks to expose the worst moments in prejudice is happy in employing a batch of old jokes at the expense of fat and unattractive women. The image of the dalmation clutching the shrieking white girl is deemed so hilarious it's being used on posters to promote East Is East. The other important aspect of prejudice that the movie holds on to, is the one related to gender. This given the fact that the Englishwoman married to an abusive Pakistani has been depicted as weak and as someone who despite having reached her limit, stands by her man and in doing so is doing the right thing. The movie tends to portray the fact that while racial prejudice mars and divides us, even within our own families, it pales in the shadow of the order that unites all men, regardless of nation, colour, or creed — the pecking order that is patriarchy. Comparison The comparison between the two movies is easy to draw. Both movies tend to try and deal with the prejudices of gender and race, and in doing so both employ the tools of comedy and comic situations to get the point across. While the first movie, however, tends to stay away from characters that are fixed in their prejudice or a set of families stuck in a time wrap, east is East tends to employ a lot more stereotyping by way of tools. Also important is the fact that the end of Bend it Like Beckham is progressive and stays away from being rigid, East is East is a lot more unfair toward women. Bend it like Beckham is characterised by the absence of caricatures, East is East tends to make use of stereotypes that are caricatures. Conclusion In conclusion, therefore one could reiterate the fact that both movies, pioneers of their own times are among the first to depict the struggles of a generation removed from their homeland and yet straddled with parents that are adamant in keeping the nuances of the culture alive. The problems and the growth of this generation has since then inspired many movies all with a theme of trying to make sense of the cultural dichotomy and identity crisis that characterises this generation. References: Veseth, M., (2009). Globaloney 2.0: the crash of 2008 and the future of globalization. Rowman & Littlefield Publishing. p99 Brabazon, T., (2006). Playing on the periphery: sport, identity and memory. Taylor & Francis Publishing. pp154-157 CMJ New Music Monthly, (2000). CMJ New Music Monthly. Published by CMJ Network, Inc. p99 When Worlds Collide-Damien O'Donnell's East Is East. Retrieved October 24, 2011. < http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/30/eastiseast.php> Read More