After a period of depression and war, society was bound to change in Britain. As the older generation produced a new crop of young and innovative Brits, their traditional values and ideas were challenged by liberal ideas. Independence, self-fulfillment, and acceptance were the key ideas that the children of the conflict-filled mid-twentieth century emphasized and longed for. While many stark changes did take place in this era and historiographers still debate their validity and influence on Britain, it is clear that the progressive beliefs did make some marks on British society. Changes in ideas of culture, gender roles, and race have been the subject of this alteration in post-imperial Britain.
Through the analysis of three movies representing …show more content…
Jacqueline Scott of the University of Cambridge explored how the transformation of women's roles in Britain are related to the inter-generational differences in values. She explored people's opinions on gender roles in 1988, 1994, and 2002 and predicts that the rejection of traditional gender roles will continue in the coming years. This rejection of traditional gender roles is a major theme in Bend It like Beckham. The film presents two seemingly very different mothers who both attempt to pressure their daughters into upholding their respective traditional gender roles. The movie shows Teets’ parents stating that “children are a map of their parents,” meaning that the pressure for children to represent the family coincides with the pressure of parents and mothers to raise proper, traditional children. However, this expectation is somewhat lifted in the film. Jess’ Sikh mother urged her daughter to be a woman who cooks, marries an Indian, and becomes a solicitor. Jess’ mother showed a disdain towards women wearing shorts and being sporty, proclaiming that she had never seen an Indian woman play soccer. Jess’ mother was stuck in this traditional frame of mind for most of the movie, urging her daughter to become more like her and give up her dreams of playing soccer. Jess’ friend Jules also defied traditional gender roles presented by her mother. Jules’ mother wanted her daughter to be the “typical” girl that …show more content…
In both Wondrous Oblivion and Bend It like Beckham, different racial groups come together through common interests- cricket and soccer. Wondrous Oblivion’s David played cricket with their new Jamaican neighbors despite the protests of his parents and neighbors. This led to David’s family becoming more accepting of the Samuels’ different culture, seen when David and his family went to their church, events, and picnic. Although a racist neighbor burned down the Samuels’ backyard and house, Mrs. Wiseman encouraged the neighborhood to come together and build a new cricket field. This symbolizes the acceptance of the British to immigrants and multiculturalism. Ethnicities and cultures also converge in Bend It like Beckham. The Punjabi-Sikh Jess is embraced and accepted on the soccer team despite her religion and appearance. She taught her teammates about her culture as she learns to assimilate into theirs. Jess acted as a vital bridge between cultures that results in assimilation and progress towards an accepting culture in the families, country, and sports of cricket and soccer. These two movies highlight the older and younger generations as they come together to achieve peace and prosperity between natives and immigrants of different races, language, religion, and
Through the analysis of three movies representing …show more content…
Jacqueline Scott of the University of Cambridge explored how the transformation of women's roles in Britain are related to the inter-generational differences in values. She explored people's opinions on gender roles in 1988, 1994, and 2002 and predicts that the rejection of traditional gender roles will continue in the coming years. This rejection of traditional gender roles is a major theme in Bend It like Beckham. The film presents two seemingly very different mothers who both attempt to pressure their daughters into upholding their respective traditional gender roles. The movie shows Teets’ parents stating that “children are a map of their parents,” meaning that the pressure for children to represent the family coincides with the pressure of parents and mothers to raise proper, traditional children. However, this expectation is somewhat lifted in the film. Jess’ Sikh mother urged her daughter to be a woman who cooks, marries an Indian, and becomes a solicitor. Jess’ mother showed a disdain towards women wearing shorts and being sporty, proclaiming that she had never seen an Indian woman play soccer. Jess’ mother was stuck in this traditional frame of mind for most of the movie, urging her daughter to become more like her and give up her dreams of playing soccer. Jess’ friend Jules also defied traditional gender roles presented by her mother. Jules’ mother wanted her daughter to be the “typical” girl that …show more content…
In both Wondrous Oblivion and Bend It like Beckham, different racial groups come together through common interests- cricket and soccer. Wondrous Oblivion’s David played cricket with their new Jamaican neighbors despite the protests of his parents and neighbors. This led to David’s family becoming more accepting of the Samuels’ different culture, seen when David and his family went to their church, events, and picnic. Although a racist neighbor burned down the Samuels’ backyard and house, Mrs. Wiseman encouraged the neighborhood to come together and build a new cricket field. This symbolizes the acceptance of the British to immigrants and multiculturalism. Ethnicities and cultures also converge in Bend It like Beckham. The Punjabi-Sikh Jess is embraced and accepted on the soccer team despite her religion and appearance. She taught her teammates about her culture as she learns to assimilate into theirs. Jess acted as a vital bridge between cultures that results in assimilation and progress towards an accepting culture in the families, country, and sports of cricket and soccer. These two movies highlight the older and younger generations as they come together to achieve peace and prosperity between natives and immigrants of different races, language, religion, and