Evaluation

On the whole, the use of a blog was an effective tool in documenting my research findings. In many ways the blog enabled me to edit and submit my research easily in the form of posts, where I could type my research findings and could modify the posts at any time. As well as this, the blog was a visual tool where I could voice my opinions on the films and the issues within British comedy films.

Generally, I found the blog was an easier alternative for the project, as I had experience setting up and using blogs in my A level Media Studies course and could be set up fairly easily, with the use of an email address and personal information needed to set up a blog.

In contrast to writing an essay, the blog was an effective way of posting research, as well as images and videos, which could be analysed and be more interactive. Most importantly, the use of the side bar showed the posts which I created throughout the project and also showed the journey of the project from beginning to end .The use of features such as the spell checker, tools for image and video posting, as well as the preview link were useful, as I could look at the research post before I could publish the post and edit the text or images in the post. The use of comments enabled anybody to comment on my post, which was useful for feedback.

The ability to edit posts enabled me to change information and learn about public opinion in the form of articles from online newspaper sites such as The Guardian, The Daily Mail, as well as reviews from newspaper sites and specialist review websites. By accessing this information, I could comment on public opinion and how the public receive British comedy films. In the earlier posts, I included historical research on comedy and the various types of comedy such as screwball, slapstick and other types. As a result, I learnt about how forms of comedy developed over the years, from silent comedy to comedy film which included sound and comical sight gags.

Though, the blog did have some problems, in that posts that were deleted seemed to disrupt the flow of the blog. In some cases, the embed codes for the Youtube video url links did not work when the posts were published. At times, the blog seemed to be more time consuming due to the constant updating and additions of information in various posts. In terms of the research, some of the texts were not accessible, which made it difficult for me to analyse them and link my research such as facts with the scenes from films such as East is East.

Generally, the blog was a more effective and interactive way of conveying my research to a wider audience. The blog also developed my skills, as I was able to condense and edit information fairly easily, through the use of the preview link. In addition, my organisation skills were developed through the use of the blog, as I could edit and post information in order, from when I started the project to the concluding stages. Unlike any essay, the blog was a more personal format, as I could customise the blog with additional features such as quotes, dates, games and other features which made it informative and entertaining. The fact that the blog was public enabled my supervisor to check the blog at any time, which was convenient.

From the beginning of the project, I focused on the types of comedy and issues within a specific decade. Alongside this topic, I researched from books and websites, particularly looking at the history of comedy films. As the project progressed, I decided to narrow my research down to focus on issues in British comedy film between 1985-1995, which was beneficial for me, as I was able to look in depth at specific films which included issues that reflected public opinion. In many ways, my research skills developed, as I had to explore the historical issues in that decade and had to find revelant texts which included the issues which I would focus on.

However, I found that the research into a specific decade was too limited in terms of research and was insufficient, in that I could not find enough texts which explored issues such as technology and crime. Therefore, I decided instead to concentrate my research on specific issues in British comedy film, which proved to be successful. As a result of my decision, I research closely to texts and issues, such as The incompetence of the police, Religion and Immigration and found facts and statistics to back up my points. From researching, I learnt that comedy films are intended to reflect the public's hidden fears and use humour to dumb down serious issues such as terrorism.

On the whole, the project was successful , as I was able to show my passion for comedy films and was able to analyse specific films such as Four Lions. The fact that British comedy films use humour to mock specific issues in society, made me reluctant to explore this in a project, as these issues such as immigration have affected me, as my family have migrated to Britain and have experienced Britain in the decade of mass immigration . If I was to do the project again, I would improve on research, as I could have researched into British comedy film institutions and how they advocate the messages and issues in the films.

As well as research into institutions, I could have conducted an interview on the public, which would gather an opinion of what people think of issues in British comedy film. By being organised, I could have dedicated time to specific issues such as immigration and could have researched in depth on the issue and incorporate research from articles and questionnaires on issues in comedy film. Consequently, there would have been a strong link throughout the project if I organised the project carefully.

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Review of Lock Stock and Smoking Barrels

In this review, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels' director, Guy Ritchie is seemingly mimicking Quentin Tarantino's work, yet the film refers to films such as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Whats' more, the article states how British films being shown across the Atlantic have mixed reviews. Though this article states how the film 'relies heavily on ironic plot twists', making it more suspenseful and engaging for an American audience.

In response to comedy, the film is more is more comical and gives constructed representations of British people, as the way in which the story unfolds is both expected and unanticipated, which enhances the comic flavor. What's more, the article advocates the film's plot twists, as 'the movie manages to be unpredictable, and it never loses its sense of humor'. In this way, British comedy films are successful and reflect public opinion of crime with the accurate representations of British gangsters and the British criminal underworld. Many caper comedies have a tendency to run out of steam before the final act; that isn't the case here, and the coup de grace is impeccable.

The sheer comic essence of the film is cited through the use of dialogue, as signified in the film, as '...one character remarks that he expected an easy job not "a bad day in Bosnia." In addition, '...another individual, quoting a line attributed to Winston Churchill, comments that "golf is the perfect way to spoil a good walk.") Therefore, the use of British humour appeals to more than just a British audience, as the American audience identify with the characters and the fact that most of the characters get gratifications out of violence and use witty criticsms to mock their situation.

As well as this, the film's cast manage to successful represent the typical British gangsters to a finer degree, as echoed in the review, '...everyone does a solid job essaying one of the various inept thugs or criminals'.

http://www.reelviews.net/movies/l/lock.html

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Scene Analysis

This particular scene from Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is most comical in the way that the crime is carried out by a supposed ' small time gang'.

The scene opens with the contrapuntal sound of a guitar playing alongside the deigetic sound of the telephone. The use of the cut progresses the scene into a low angle shot of the gang walking into a warehouse. By using this shot, the audience are seemingly subservient to the dominant gangsters. The cut signifies a group of men inside a three wheeled van, which is iconic of British gangsters and also reflects the stereotype of working class British people. Whats more, the dialogue and cockney dialect of the characters is from North London, which is stereotypical of British gangsters.

The binary opposition of the British men in the van in contrast to the black gangsters connotes how the two groups are different in terms of their ways of crime, as the gang is instructed in a close medium shot, by their leader to do a 'clean job'. Also, the facial expressions of the British men in the van are more relaxed in contrast to the black gangsters, as they are more serious and sinister as signified in a close up shot of the gang leader. The use of low key lighting in the van connotes sincerity , as the black gangsters are ready to kill. The most funniest line in the scene is when the leader, Rory Breaker (Vas Blackwood) says " "they've got a bit of an arsenal and they don't mind using it." The sense of irony is used by Breaker as he knows he and his gang are in for a long night, as he knows they are bound to get injured.

Interestingly, the parallel sound of the guitar beat gradually increases, which connotes how the action is about to begin and climatic events are about to unfold. The music seemingly stops as the black gang enter the house. The close up shots of the gang members faces connote vigilance as they are looking threateningly around the room. Though they are seemingly surprised as the gun shots go off unexpectedly and comically, as signified in a low angle shot of the man underneath the furniture.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) revolves around a deceptive poker player Tom (Jason Flemyng), who ends up losing £500,000 to a powerful crime lord in a rigged game of three card brag. In order to pay off his debts, he and his friends decide to rob a small-time gang who happen to be operating out of the flat next door.

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels managed to gross $3,753,929 in the US, making it more successful to a global audience.

One of Guy Ritchie's first major successful films, Lock Stock... introduced actors such as Vinnie Jones to the world stage. Since the success of Lock Stock... Vinnie Jones has starred in many successful British films such as Snatch (2000), Mean Machine (2001), as well as American films such as Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), Swordfish (2001), X Men: The Last Stand (2006) and many more.

Overview of crime in society in 2000s

http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?id=442

This post features my research into crime and the fact that the level of men commiting crime was much higher than women. In many ways, men are responsible for sexual offences and are more likely to be found guilty of burglarly, robbery. As well as this, men are considered to be heavily involved in theft and robbery and have been guilty of theft, as the graph shows.

Though, women are seemingly less involved or found guilty of any crime. Though, the website cites that women are more 'worried about being mugged or physically attacked' and are five times more likely than men to be very worried about being raped.

Analysis of Snatch (2000)

Snatch (2000) is a hybrid comedy crime film which was directed by Guy Ritchie. Upon its release, the film grossed $30,328,156 in the US and £12,137,698 in the UK . Though many critics responded negatively to the film, as it had similarities in plot, setting and characters with Ritchie's previous film Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

The film itself focuses on two intertwined plots, concerning the protagonist Turkish (Jason Statham ) where he has to recruit fighters such as the Pikey (Brad Pitt)as part of his deal to boost a fellow gangster Brick Top 's (Alan Ford) business . The other plot concerns the hunt for a diamond and the ways in which the gangsters fight to claim a stolen diamond.

In this scene, Bullet Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) confronts 3 gangsters in a pub, which is a iconic setting in crime films. These 3 gangsters seemingly threaten Tony , as signifieid in a two shot, where Tony is on the phone. The use of the over the shoulder shot signifies how the gangsters are more dominant, whereas Tony is seemingly vulnerable. In this way, the audience can identify with Tony, as he is intimidated by 3 armed men who could kill him.

However, the comical aspect of the scene is the fact that Tony doesn't fear the men, as signified in the scene, where he moves his head in a sort of bewildered way, as if to show his fearlessness and bravery, as the stereotypical British assassin. Funnily enough, the fact that Sol (Lennie James) has to take orders from Vincent (Robbie Gee) connotes how he is apprehensive and anxious, as signified with the medium shot of his hand trembling. As a result, his irrational feelings are signified, as he tries to shoot Tony but is stopped. The binary opposition of the criminals and the assassin is signified, as the 3 criminals tremble at seeing Tony react in a bold way.

The humour inflicted upon the criminals by Tony connotes his enjoyment at them being irrational and disorganised, as Vincent is represented as being the big d**** who is the leader of the gang with his accomplices being his two balls, which connotes how they are followers who are instructed to carry out actions by their supposed 'master'. What's more, Vincent's facial expressions and gestures connote uneasiness and anxiety, as he awkwardly holds the gun. The fact that Tony senses fear, makes the gang members have second thoughts, as they do not know what Tony will say or do next.

Funnily enough, Tony notices 'Replica' etched across the sides of thier guns in a medium shot , this therefore connotes how the gang are incompetent and amateur gangsters who are outfoxed by a professional criminal. Tony's instinct comes into play as he is able to spot the finer details. The tracking shot of the guns supports Tony's instinct, as the non deigetic sound of mechanical sound connotes how they are truly stupid. However, the use of a zoom on Tony's gun shows the contrast in intelligence and authenticity of weapons, as Tony is a clear expereinces criminal who is better than the amateurs. The use of the non deigetic sound of the subtle guitar fade connotes the shock of the criminals, as they have been made to look like idiots by the victim. In this way, he asserts his dominant status as he instills a sense of fear into the gang.

As a result the long shot of the gang walking away signifies thier defeat and connotes how they are not really brave and hardline criminals.

Rise in organised and drug related crime

Within British comedy, the issue of crime has been explored to some degree. Though, much of these films focus on crime in the rough areas in London, often depicting East End British gangsters in the criminal underworld.

In many ways, British comedy mocks crime and the fact that criminals may seem more foolish and irrational in serious situations, as seen in Snatch (2000), Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) and Parole Officer (2001). However the use if drug references and drug culture has been explored in comedy, in order to reflect the fact that smuggling drugs was a serious issue in the late 1990s. These films focus on the comical underworld, where gangsters are pitted against each one another in order to pursue something, as evident in Snatch where the ccriminals are fighting for a diamond and resort to comical means to go about getting the jewel.

Religion in the media- articles on Islam

In this post, I have referred to two articles which signify the public's fear over Islam and the fact that in modern society, British Muslims are mocked and commonly associated with terrorism. Though the British public seemingly attacks Islam for being more radical, as Muslims are seemingly brainwashed into referring to other people of other faiths as Infidels and on believers who want to undermine Islam. The other article urges non muslims and muslims to eradicate Islamphobia, as muslims have been part of the multicultural Britain and have been successful, with business and education, the result of the terrorist attacks resulted in the British public pointing the finger at British muslims and Islam as a whole, as muslims would be negatively represented as being violent and oppressive. Though the article states how Islam is equal to other religions, as it is peaceful and poses no threat to other religions

In the grip of panic

Global conflict has inflamed the problems of British Muslims

Jonathan Freedland

The Guardian

Saturday 22 January 2005 00.15 GMT

These questions have long smouldered - but now they're on fire. For several years a bunch of knotty problems have confronted British Muslims; they were debated on these pages yesterday and at a Guardian conference earlier in the week. But what's given them a new, radioactive charge are events thousands of miles away from Oldham, Bradford and Burnley, events over which British policymakers are almost powerless. The debate about British Islam is not confined to these islands and will not be settled here alone. It is suddenly part of a much larger, international story.

Take the word "Asian". One fascinating phenomenon laid bare in this week's conversations was the decline of that term. Those who used to wear the Asian label are now ditching it, one participant reported. He cited the young woman who told him that, these days, she preferred to announce herself as a Hindu. Why? Because if she was just an "Asian" she might be confused for a Muslim - and therefore regarded as a terrorist.

This is the rocket fuel that has been tipped over the already tinder-dry terrain of Islam's place in Britain. There was discrimination, tension, poverty and segregation before. But what's shifted this cluster of problems from the realm it used to inhabit - the concern of social workers and urban policy types - into one of the most vexed questions confronting contemporary British life is the perception of Islam as a global phenomenon. And not just a phenomenon: a threat.

Put simply: young Pakistani lads may have been hassled on the streets before. But now they are seen as "Muslims", agents of a terrifying global menace. Now it's not just about white resentment of Bangladeshis' housing allocation from the local council - it's about white fears of worldwide, Islamist terrorism. Before 9/11, the familiar racist charge was that outsiders threatened to change the traditional "British" way of life. Now that fear has been joined by a new suspicion - that these outsiders might want to kill anyone they can.

And the fear extends far beyond sink estates and blighted towns. It courses through society from the bottom to the top. Flick through the comment pages of the right-leaning newspapers and it won't be long before you find an essay written not by an unemployed white lad in Leeds but by a learned, well-paid commentator in the south-east, outlining the danger the fundamentally alien culture of Islam poses to the "rest of us".

Several of those present at this week's dialogue argued that the state subtly reinforces that message. For all Tony Blair's praise of the Qur'an and of Islam as a religion of peace, these speakers said the practical effect of Belmarsh and Guantánamo Bay, even citizenship tests and ID cards, was to cast one group of Britons as the enemy within - on the wrong side of the war against terror.

An article by Kenan Malik in the latest edition of Prospect magazine challenges all that head on, insisting that Islamophobia is a "myth" and that the number of recorded attacks against British Muslims is in fact far lower than popularly imagined. Malik dismisses the widespread assumption that Muslims make up the majority of those stopped and searched under anti-terror laws: he says Asians make up 14% of those arrested - still disproportionately large, but not the 90-plus percentages some Muslim leaders have claimed.

Even if he is right at street level, he surely cannot deny the change in the climate of opinion. The rightwing press is in the grip of a moral panic, constantly serving up new theories to shore up the now familiar thesis that the west and Islam are locked in a clash of civilisations. Admittedly events in the world don't help. Palestinian suicide bombing, the school siege at Beslan and beheadings in Iraq all fuel the image of an Islamism that shows no mercy.

British Muslims have got caught up in this and it is affecting their lives, here in this country. For they stand accused - explicitly by the British National party, tacitly by more respectable others - of being a fifth column, a homegrown wing of a global movement bent on terrorising the west.

What this amounts to is an external pressure, a big finger pointing at British citizens and calling them "Muslim". But there is also an internal pull, drawing men and women to embrace a label they might once have eschewed.

Testimony from this week's conference spoke of young people from Pakistani and Bangladeshi families who feel no connection with an "old country" they may never have seen, and who therefore reject the label associated with it: they are not from Pakistan, so why should they be called Pakistanis? But nor can they easily swap "Pakistani" for "British" when so many of them feel rejected, or at least suspected, by Britain. "Muslim" has stepped into the gap.

This has not happened in splendid British isolation. Across the Middle East, those who might once have referred to themselves as Arabs increasingly identify themselves as Muslims. The causes are well-documented, starting with the failure of alternative movements in those countries, chiefly secular Arab nationalism. The rise of Islamism has also been in step with a surge in fundamentalist movements across the world's major religions. As for its anti-western hue, that is surely, in part, a reaction against decades of outside meddling, particularly in the Middle East. (It's no coincidence that radical Islamism first burst upon the world in Iran, where the west had never stopped trying to run things.) Taken together, it has become an assertive political identity, one that was bound to reverberate throughout the Muslim world, reaching even our own shores.

So this is the wider picture into which the British debate fits. There is a global Islamist movement; some British Muslims choose to identify with it; still more are identified with it by others, whether they like it or not. The result is a degree of suspicion which has thrown petrol on the old "race relations" tensions, which were pretty flammable to start with.

Luckily, this situation is not entirely new for Britain. At the turn of the 20th century, Jews were not only disliked for all the wearily familiar reasons - resentment of the immigrant newcomer and the like - they were also suspected as a disloyal fifth column that was determined to change Britain completely, resorting to violence if necessary. Anarchism and Bolshevism were the feared ideologies of the day, and Jews were said to be bent on bringing them here. Three hundred years earlier, there was similar angst about British Catholics, with their foreign loyalties to Rome and their plans for European domination. Read today's papers warning of the plot to turn Europe into an Islamic caliphate, and you soon hear the echoes of Britain's past.

How can it be solved? For Catholics, it took the decline of the great Catholic nations of Europe for British Protestantism finally to feel safe, in the 19th century, in granting basic liberties to those who followed Rome. In the Jewish case, it may be that only the near-destruction of European Jewry by the Nazis beat back British anti-semitism.

But for both Jews and Catholics, it also took time and a defusing of the larger cause with which they were identified by their enemies, or at least some disavowal of the use of force to pursue that cause. Is that what British Muslims need to do now, to allay the fears of their neighbours and distance themselves as clearly as they can from violent Islamism? This is tricky territory: merely to demand such a move puts a pressure on British Muslims that is applied to no other group of citizens. In truth, no one can demand it of that community. If it comes at all, it will have to come from within.

Islam allows us to integrate into Britain's shared national culture

Muslims and non-Muslims alike must play a role is dismantling Islamophobia, writes Tariq Ramadan

Tariq Ramadan

The Guardian, Friday 21 January 2005 00.06 GMT

A feeling of confusion has emerged among "ordinary people", who doubt their ability to preserve their culture and fear being invaded by the customs and values of the other: the British citizens with a Muslim background. Doubt and fear commonly provoke reactions of shutting out or of rejection.

British Muslims need to pay more attention to the doubts and fears that their fellow citizens have. They have a duty to establish intellectual, social, cultural and political spaces for the development of trust and appeasement. This has to begin with an engagement in a clear discussion about Islam, about the practices and the values that Muslims promote. Islam is not a culture but a body of principles and universal values. One should not mix up these universal principles with a Pakistani, Turkish or Arabic way of living them.

Islam allows Muslims to adopt aspects of the culture they find themselves in, as long as it does not oppose any clear prohibition specified by their religion. While practicing their religion they can preserve certain features of their own culture of origin - in the form of richness, not dogmas - while integrating into British culture, which in turn becomes a new dimension of their own identity. No one asks that they remain Pakistani or Arabic Muslims, but simply Muslims; with time, they become Muslims of British culture. This is a process that is not only normal but desirable.

British legislation recognises and protects the fundamental rights of all citizens and residents. This common legal framework allows equality within diversity. The presence of Muslims has forced British culture to experience an even greater diversity of cultures. A British identity has evolved that is open, plural and constantly in motion, thanks to the cross-fertilization between reclaimed cultures of origin and the British culture that now includes its new citizens.

Seen from this perspective, the new British Muslim citizenship is enriching for the whole society. Muslims should live it and introduce it in this manner to their fellow citizens. Of course, this compels them to come out from the intellectual and social ghettos within which they have lodged themselves. Living together and building a truly multicultural society does not mean merely being satisfied with the existence of communities of faith or juxtaposed cultures, whose members ignore each other, never meet and remain enclosed within their own universe of symbolic reference points. Nothing should be stranger in our way of living and allowing for a mutual exchange of ideas between our communities, than a model of parallel lives, shielded beneath an illusion, which in reality is of mutual ignorance.

Our responsibilities are shared. Members of the so-called traditional British society can, at times, doubt their own identity and are frightened. When this happens they have to refuse any imprisoning reaction by attempting, for example, to draw the boundaries of what they may consider to be an authentic British identity which is "pure". In any period of crisis, the temptation to fall back upon phantoms of national identity is stronger than ever as people are carried away by fear, spilling over into the same camp as populists of the extreme right, a phenomenon which we are unfortunately witnessing all over Europe.

We need to begin by working upon memories. From the Middle Ages, Islam has participated in the building of a European, as well as a British, consciousness in the same way that Judaism or Christianity has. From Shakespeare to Hume, the influences of Islamic civilisation on the literary and philosophical traditions of the time are innumerable. Horizons need to be broadened through the study of these sources, which should be included in the teaching curricula at both secondary and university levels. This wider, deeper and more subtle understanding of what has moulded British identity throughout history would naturally help all people in this society to open up towards each other, including towards Muslims, and to understand that they are not so very different or strange when judged by their values and hopes. A truly multicultural society cannot exist without an education in the complexity of what shapes us and in the common dimensions that we share with others, regardless of our differences.

The extension of this education consists of developing partnerships willing to engage together in social and political issues that affect us all, including discrimination (against women, minorities etc), racism, unemployment, and other social and urban political issues. British society must reach this new perception of itself collectively: with its people, all equal before the law, developing multidimensional identities which are always in motion and flexible enough to defend their shared values.

It remains imperative to distinguish between the social problems and the religious challenges. Muslim and non-Muslim citizens alike need to de-islamise social fractures - unemployment, violence and marginalisation have nothing to do with Islam or Islamic belonging.

The role of religion in British comedy film

Most recently, British comedy film has managed to explore religion in comedy film. Notably, British comedy film seems to focus more on the Islamic faith, with film such as 'The Infidel' (2010) and East is East (1999) focusing on the role of Islam and how modern British muslims are represented in film. In many ways, Islam is conveyed in British comedy film, as a reaction to how muslims are represented in society. By referencing to other religions such as Judaism, the film signifies how these faiths have been oppresses and been criticised in society over decades. Though, the relation of these two faiths is hostile, as both faiths despise each other.

Though, 'The Infidel' (2010) is more controversial, as it revolves around a British Muslim, Mahmud Nasir (Omid Djallili) , a successful business owner, who finds out that he is Jewish and was initially adopted by muslims, after his Jewish parents rejected him.

Scene from The Infidel (2010)



In this scene from The Infidel (2010), the humour derives from the fact that Jews are stereotyped in society as being rich and proud. The fact that Lenny Goldberg (Richard Schiff) does anybody to go with to a bar mitzvah gives Mahmud (Omid Djalilli) the chance to embrace his Jewish side. The use of the two shot connotes the relationship between the two faiths, as Lenny is apprehensive and critical of Mahmud, who is likely to stick out at the bar mitzvah, due to his stereotypical muslim appearance, as he is wearing a prayer cap and traditional muslim clothing.

What's funny in this scene is the fact that Mahmud tries to be a stereotypical Jew, as signified with the shrug, which connotes innocence and pride. The audience could have oppositional readings to the film, as Jews are stereotyped as being greedy, selfish and detached. As Lenny criticised muslims, the binary oppositions of Jews and Muslims is constructed, as Mahmud would not fit into Jewish culture due to his Islamic heritage and appearance.In accordance to this, the use of the contrapuntal sound of the violin represents Jewish culture, as the music would be associated at Jewish functions, as they are more jolly and seemingly happy at functions, as signified with the melodious tune of the violin.

Funnily enough, the way Mahmud is dancing, in a long shot, signifies his willingness to become immersed in Jewish culture, as he wants to embrace his Jewish side, though comically his dancing is quite ridiculous and over the top. Though, the binary opposition is signified through the long shot, as Mahmud enters the mosque which signifies the strict Muslim lifestyle, with the more liberal Jewish lifestyle. However, Mahmud despises the Jewish dumplings which are offered to him by Lenny, which shows his unwillingness to become fully Jewish. Lenny seemingly injects beliefs into Mahmud on Judaism and what it is to be Jewish, though Mahmud's facial expressions connote disgust and uneasiness at being forced to be Jewish.

To some extent, the use of continual cuts signify Mahmud's continuous attempts at acting like a Jew, as the way he shrugs and gestures 'Oy' connotes laziness and lack of initiative. The final cut signifies the end of Mamud's training, as the tired and beleaguered facial expression of Lenny connotes a lack of enthusiasm, as he is quite dejected, as Mahmud can't express himself as a Jew. As Lenny tries to place the skull cap over Mahmud's head, he is unwilling to be seen as a Jew, as signified by the way he ducks, in an over the shoulder shot. As the scene progresses, the deigetic sound of the soft, calm opera music connotes Lenny's laid back approach to teaching. On the contrary, the television conveys a two shot of an Imam with a young muslim, the subtitles signify how muslims should be disassociated with non believers, this connotes how Mahmud is breaking religious morals and is guilty at being associated with a Jew.

Moreover, the medium shot of Rashid with Mahmud signifies how Mahmud is pretending to be immersed in religion, however Mahmud subverts from watching the radical programmes on Islam, as he despises what the Imams say. The cut allows the audience to identify with Mahmud, as he desires to be more liberal and expressive, as signified in a long shot, where he is dancing comically, which shows his more feminine and liberal personality. The humour is generated out of Mahmud's attempt at being Jewish, as he does an elaborate dance which shows his over enthusiasm. Though, he still refuses to wear the skullcap, over fears of being branded a Jew, which shows his denial. As the scene ends, Mahmud finally acts Jewish and celebrates in a pompous fashion in a medium shot, his masculinity is shown as he pumps his fists to show his jubilation.

Critical Reception of The Infidel (2010) in the media

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian though The Infidel was "a broad comedy that gleefully and repeatedly stamped on the tender toes of liberal correctness" and also referred to comedy in a positive light and how this film takes a lighthearted view on religion, "Comedy can sometimes tackle themes that more serious films would shy away from. This is one. This shows how the film was more permissive in its references to religion, as it was mocked and challenged social expectations

Tom Huddleston from Time Out London refers to stereotypes and shows the films suberversion of the stereotypes and how they are satirised. ‘The Infidel’ starts wonderfully, introducing us to a cast of carefully constructed stereotypes and then just as carefully it undermines them." The film undermines the radical muslim stereotype, as conveyed with the radical cleric, Arshad el Masri, who is criticised for being too dominant and oppressive.


Ron Wilkinson from Monsters and Critics talks about Mahmud's desensitisation at being a modern British muslim, and the fact that he is unable to question his religious superiors. "The quarreling sets up the disjunctures and surprises that are the stuff of humor. If Nasir was a true Islamic radical he would just shoot drunken taxi driver Lenny Goldberg and be done with it."

Contextual information on immigration- articles

In this post, I have chosen to support my research on immigration in British comedy film, by referring to different articles that discuss immigration and the rise of immigrants arriving in UK. Since the 1950s immigration, Britain has allowed migrants from different countries to come into the country. Many of these immigrants come to the UK in search of work, as well as politcal asylum from countries such as Somalia which are ravaged with interal conflict.

Immigration: Fact or hype?

The white cliffs of Dover: Destination UK

By Dominic Casciani
BBC News Online community affairs reporter

What are the facts about immigration? BBC News Online looks at the current debate.
Figures from Migration Watch UK, a new group led by a former diplomat and an Oxford University demographer, predict more than two million people will arrive in the UK every 10 years for the foreseeable future.

Not surprisingly, the figures have dominated headlines amid the continuing debate over asylum, immigration and race relations in the UK.

According to the government's own figures, the UK has the "third largest foreign population and labour force in the European Union", around 2.2m people.

No one disputes that immigration to the UK has been increasing since the late 1990s. The problem is it's almost impossible to agree by how much. So how does Migration Watch UK reach its conclusions?
"We start from the belief that the scale of net inward migration is now so great as to be contrary to the interests of all sections of our community"
Migration Watch UK

The most up-to-date official statistics reveal that 125,000 people settled in the UK in 2000.

Groups such as the Immigration Advisory Service say that sounds a lot, but it represents less than a third of one percent of the UK's population.

Migration Watch UK then adds a further 60,000 to this figure to account for asylum seekers who enter the UK but "disappear".

The group then makes a number of further assumptions. Firstly, it estimates that there could be some 35,000 more people from outside the European Union who come on a visitor's visa and then never leave.

It then calculates that there are at least another 25,000 who arrive at these shores "clandestinely", for instance by hiding in a lorry crossing the English Channel.

Whether this is a double-counting of asylum seekers is not clear.

Official predictions

The government's own figures are completely different to those of Migration Watch UK.

It says that there are no figures for undetected migration so predictions and calculations are impossible to make.

Its prediction for net migration to the UK from 2003 onwards is 135,000 a year. It does indeed agree that there will be an extra two million arrivals - but only by 2021.

The Home Office says that Migration Watch UK's figures should be treated with "considerable caution".

For its part, the Immigration Advisory Service, the main expert body dealing with the issue on a day-to-day basis, says today's predictions are little more than "idle speculation".

Economic arguments

So this then brings us to the question of absorption. Migration Watch UK says that there is "no economic case for large scale inward migration".

This is something that numerous academics and the government reject.

The UK's population is getting older, meaning that more working age people are needed to prop up the world's fourth largest industrial economy.

Secondly, there is a current shortage of highly-skilled people in key sectors such as the NHS, public services and the IT industry.

Thirdly, if the UK's population becomes more highly skilled and educated, there will be more and more jobs that people do not want to do. All of these factors have come together to create immigration demands.

One study by the University of Swansea predicts that we need to increase immigration by a fifth to protect prevent a population decline and subsequent economic crisis.

Some of this thinking is already filtering down to government which is changing the entry rules to meet the needs of the job market.

Which brings us to the final question about Migration Research UK's predictions: Irrespective of the exact figures, how will it go down with the British public?

In May BBC News Online published a major survey of public attitudes on race and immigration issues in the UK.

Asked whether they believed that immigrants found it easy or difficult to integrate in the UK, some 61% of all respondents said difficult. The figure remained largely consistent across all ethnic groups.

But on the question of whether or not immigration was a good thing, the numbers differed quite dramatically.

Some 47% of white respondents said that immigration had damaged Britain with a quarter saying they did not know.

Approximately a third of black respondents and Asian respondents also said they did not know - indicating the uncertain nature of the current debate on immigration to the UK.

This article looks at the effect of having less migrant workers in the industry, as the menial jobs are not filled. Many of the migrants choose to move to different countries rather than the UK,with the implentation of an immigration cap raised an uproar by opponents.

Article from The Guardian on Immigration

Immigration cap will lead to skills shortages, say employers

Fewer foreigners are actually coming to the UK to work, say opponents of an immigration cap

Alan Travis, home affairs editor guardian.co.uk, Thursday 26 August 2010 20.00 BST Article history


Immigration minister Damian Green: he says he will rexamine the points-based system that controls foreigners seeking work in Britain. Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters

The abrupt introduction of a "radical cap" on immigration from next year will lead to major UK skills problems, employers warned today.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development issued the warning after new figures showed an unexpected 20% rise in net migration to Britain: 196,000 people arrived in 2009, up from 163,000 the year before.

The jump was fuelled mostly by 60% fewer Britons leaving the country to live abroad – down from 90,000 to 36,000 – and by a 35% rise in overseas students coming to Britain.

At the same time, the actual number of people coming to work in Britain has continued to decline: there was a fall of 14% recorded in the 12 months to June 2010, which included a 30% fall in new national insurance registrations by Poles and other eastern Europeans.

Britain has become much less attractive to migrants as a result of the recession and the weakened pound, the Institute of Public Policy Research said.

"The increase in net immigration shown in today's statistics is bad news for the government, given its aim of reducing net immigration to 'tens of thousands' rather than hundreds of thousands," said a briefing from the institute yesterday. "With net immigration now rising again, after a period of substantial decline, this objective looks like it is becoming harder to reach."

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said the sharp fall in the number of work-related visas – down by 14% to 161,050 in the year to June 2010 – showed the points-based system was robust and working.

"The reality for employers is that training workers to plug the UK skills gap is a lengthy task," said the institute's Gerwyn Davies. "The abrupt introduction of a radical cap would therefore leave many employers with a bigger skills problem and tempt employers with global operations to offshore jobs, where they can find the skills."

Damian Green, the immigration minister, said the unexpected rise in net migration – the numbers coming to live in the UK minus those leaving – meant the government would now need to re-examine routes outside the points-based system.

"What these figures tell me is that we also need to look at the other routes by which people come into this country, maybe for education, for family reunion reasons and also, in particular, routes that lead to permanent settlement," said Green. "Because hidden in these figures are two very big increases: one, of the number of students coming in, and the other, of the numbers of people settling here and gaining citizenship here."

The coalition has already imposed a temporary cap on the number of skilled workers coming to Britain from outside the EU and is now debating the introduction of a permanent limit from January. The government has pledged to bring net migration down below 100,000 before the next general election.

Although a net migration figure of 196,000 for 2009 is higher than the previous year, it is still well below the peaks of about 220,000 seen in 2005 and 2007 when the flow of migrants from the new EU states – Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltics – was at its highest.

The official immigration statistics also show a continuing decline in the number of asylum seekers coming to Britain. Only 4,365 arrived between April and June this year – a 29% fall compared with the same period in 2009. The Home Office said two-thirds of the decline was because of a drop in applications from Zimbabwe.

Both the Refugee Council and Refugee Action highlighted figures showing that almost a third of asylum appeals were being allowed and argued this demonstrated that a significant number of asylum claims were being wrongly refused. The welfare groups said that the figure rose to 50% in cases involving people from Somalia, which showed the danger of the government cutting legal aid for asylum appeals.

Immigration in society

Following the rise in immigration due to the 1948 Commonwealth Nationality Act, many White Britons seemed to react angrily at how many immigrants were arriving and were taking over most jobs and housing in areas such as Notting Hill. The film East is East shows immigration and the inital reaction to immigrants. Though previous events such as the Notting Hill race riots seem to show the negative reaction of immigrants.

The result of immigration had an impending affect on white Britons. The first influx of immigrants arrived from the Caribbean in 1955 and 1964. The prospect of housing and employment tempted many immigrants to arrive in Britain. Though, not all immigrants were welcomed, as the Notting Hill race riots in 1958, was an attack on black families in the area, by a group of white working class 'Teddy Boys'. The riots were spurred by groups such as Sir Oswald Mosley's Union Movement and other fascist groups, who advocated racism and sympathised with disaffected white residents to "Keep Britain White".

As well as this, there was an increase in violent attacks on black people through the summer. An example of this attach took place on 24 August 1958, where a group of ten white youths committed a series of serious assaults on six West Indian men in four separate incidents.

The riot is thought to have started on Saturday 30 August when a gang of white youths attacked a Swedish woman, Majbritt Morrison, as she had been seen arguing with her Jamaican husband Raymond at Latimer Road tube station. At first,they had shouted racial insults at him and were incensed when she turned on them. Seeing her the next night, the same youths pelted her with bottles, stones and wood and struck her in the back with an iron bar, until the police intervened and she was escorted home.

Later that night a mob of 300 to 400 white people, many of them "Teddy Boys", were seen on Bramley Road attacking the houses of West Indian residents

However, these attacks are not the only ones directed at ethnic minorites. The Southall Riots (1979) was initially an anti racist campaign against the National Front which became violent, as over 40 people, including 21 police, were injured and 300 were arrested . The leader of the campaign , Blair Peach, a local school teacher and anti racism campaigner who campaigned against neo Nazi movements and stood up for ethnic minorites was knocked unconscious and later died.

As well as this, the Toxtett Riots in 1981 was in part due to the long-standing tensions between the local police and the black community, as black people were not treated equally and were subjected to hatred by the police.

Though the riot could be related to the implementation of the sus laws, which allowed the police to search any person who looked dodgy or was doing any wrong doing.

In conjunction to this, the Brixtion Riots in 1981 there were a futher attack on immigrants, as the body of a black youth, who had been stabbed in an attack, was seemingly being helped by police. A crowd gathered and, as the police did not appear to be providing /obtaining the medical help the victim needed fast enough, the crowd tried to intervene. The police then tried to take the wounded youth to a waiting car , however the crowd then struggled with the police, which resulted in more police being called in to the area. Rumours spread that the youth had been left to die by the police, or that the police looked on as the stabbed youth was lying on the street. Over 200 youths, black and white, reportedly turned on the police, which resulted in an angry conflict between the police and black people, due to negligence and supposed hatred.

Following the Brixton riots, similar attacks on the police followed, with the Chapeltown riots and Moss Side riots aimed at police , due to economic problems, as well as the treatment of ethnic minorities such as blacks. Though attacks between ethnic groups have been common, with the Handsworth riots between Asians and Blacks down to the fact that Asians were prosepring in the area, much to the jealousy of the black community in the area, though the riots may have been down to poor social conditions, racial discrimination, poverty, unemployment and dilapidated housing.

Analysis of Immigration in British Comedy film

Between 1950 and 2000, there was a remarkablly repaid growth of the ethnic minority population in Britain. The British Nationality Act of 1948 granted citizens of the Commonwealth countries the right to enter, settle and work in Britian, as well as the right to bring thier families. However, between 1951 and 2000, the number of ethnic minorities resident in Britain rose from under 100,000 to 4,039,000.

Within British comedy film, the issue of immigration has been explored with films such as East is East (1999) focusing on a Muslim family living in Bradford in the 70s. Interestingly, immigration from India and Pakistan reached its peak between 1965 and 1974. Therefore, East is East gives an insight to how ethnic minority families lived in urban areas, where there was a higher number of white Britons lived.

Analysis of East is East trailer (1999)



East is East focuses (1999) focuses on an unconventional family living in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1971. The family is comprised of mixed-ethnicity, where the father is Pakistani and the mother is English. The father, George Khan ( Om Puri) is stereotyped as the strict Asian father who expects his family to follow the traditional Pakistani ways. Howeve his children who were born and grew up in Britain, tend to adopt the British lifestyle and culture,which results in them rejecting their father's traditonal rules on dress, food, religion, and lifestyle.

In this trailer, the rejection of Pakistani values is signified, as one of the protagonists, Tariq (Jimi Mistry) is absorbed in the British culture of drinking and dressing in western clothes. In contrast to Tariq, Muneer (Emil Marwa) is indoctrinated into Islam and seems to follow his father's rules. In society, about 25 per cent of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis aged between fourteen and twenty five were attending Muslim religious services by 1993. Evidently, the film supports the facts, as the family are forced to attend Koran classes by their father and are indoctrinated about the Muslim faith.

Within the trailer, the rejection of traditional values is signified, as Tariq is signified in a long shot smoking, which goes against the Muslim values and is deemed sinful. As well as this, Tariq has a whit girlfriend which signifies how he is more liberal and westernised, as he chooses to walk out on his family rather than marry a 'Paki'. Like most Asian families, George Khan stereotypical chooses to have arranged marriages for his sons, this is signified in the trailer, as Mr Khan is happy at the prospect of seeing his sons married. As he meets another Pakistani family, he is introduced to two daughters of a wealthy man, Mr Shah (Madhav Sharma) . However, his joyful facial expression changes, as seen in a close up shot. He reacts strongly at the sight of the two women who are ugly, though he reconsiders and puts on a brave face.

In contrast to this, Abdul (Raji James) is signified in a medium shot drinking a pint of beer, which connotes how younger muslims were more westernised, due to their environment and seemed to adopt British culture. Unlike proper muslims , the Khan family eat sausages and are cared by an English mother which connotes how they are more British than Pakistani. The British reaction to arrange marriage is comical, as Tariq and Abdul are marrying two 'ugly' women, which is ironic, as they want to marry other women who are not Pakistani.

In this film, the immigrants seemed to be accepted by younger white Britons. Though older Britons such as Mr Moorhouse, are more racist and exenophobiic towrd immigrants in the country and is an avid Enoch Powell supporter. In many ways, the film reflects typical opinion of members of the public in the 1970s, as White Britons were more racist, with groups such as the National Front opposing immigration.

Southall Riots (1979)

This attached article is one of the famous attacks on the ethnic minority in the 1970s. The Southall riots in 1979 showed public contempt and hatred of ethnic minorities. In this article from the BBC, the Southall riots have been disputed as a major event which resulted in the death of school teacher Blair Peach who defended ethnic minorities living in Southall.

1979: Teacher dies in Southall race riots

A 33-year-old man has died from head injuries after a bloody battle broke out between police and demonstrators in Southall.

The fighting began when thousands of protesters gathered to demonstrate against a National Front campaign meeting.The extreme right-wing organisation had chosen Southall Town Hall to hold its St George's Day election meeting. The area has one of the country's biggest Asian communities.

"It was a case of the boot going in - there was no attempt to arrest anybody"

Martin Gerrald, Anti-Nazi League protestor

Police had sealed off the area, and anti-racism demonstrators trying to make their way to the town hall were blocked.

In the confrontation that followed, more than 40 people, including 21 police, were injured, and 300 were arrested. Bricks and bottles were hurled at police, who described the rioting as the most violent they have handled in London.

Among the demonstrators was Blair Peach, a New Zealand-born member of the Anti-Nazi League. A teacher for special needs children in east London, he was a committed anti-racism activist.

During an incident in a side street 100 yards from the town hall, he was seriously injured and collapsed, blood running down his face from serious head injuries. He died later in hospital.

Witnesses said his injuries were caused by police baton blows. Martin Gerrald, one of the protestors, was nearby Mr Peach at the time.

"Mr Peach was hit twice in the head with police truncheons and left unconscious," he said. "The police were wielding truncheons and riot shields. It was a case of the boot just going in - there was no attempt to arrest anybody."

'Excessively violent' charge

Another witness, 24-year-old Parminder Atwal, took the injured teacher into his house and called an ambulance.

He said, "I saw a policeman hit a man on the head as he sat on the pavement. The man tried to get up, fell back and then reeled across the road to my house."

The Anti-Nazi League claim Mr Peach bore the brunt of a "brutal" and "excessively violent" police baton charge.

A spokesman for Scotland Yard said it was impossible to comment on the death until a full-scale inquiry had been completed.

Information regarding Bend it like Beckham and family values

In conjunction to Bend it like Beckham, the family life and values seems to be explored. Though, these films seeimgly explore the change in family roles, with the daughter choosing to pursue her dreams, regardless of her traditional parent's wishes for her to get married and settled. As well as this, the film reinforces the idea of pursuing your dream and tackles serious topics such as racism.

This article explores the film and is reception in society. Though it also explores the themes which are explored in the film and the exploration of traditional values. As well as this, the positive values of multiculturalism and family values are discussed.

Review: Bend it like Beckham is like curry

NEW DELHI: Bend it like Beckham is, in many ways, like Indian curry with extra masala topping.

Its rich, steamy flavour of tummy jiggling humour in a London corner, where Whites and Asians share fences, faux pas and fancies, is perhaps why Gurinder Chadha's film topped the British charts for weeks, grossing more than 11 million pounds.Coexistence is the core ingredient, like spices in curry, of the two-hour film that is releasing here on July 12.

Like in the teeth-clenching irritations of the protagonist, Jaswinder (Jess) as she copes with the neo-orthodoxies of her Sikh family trying to keep alive its traditions, and her own obsession with football, and its chic poster-boy David Beckham.

"Everybody likes Beckham. No one can bend the ball like him," Jess says in the film.
Co-existence, for instance, in the friendship between Jess and the English Juliette, who bond like blood sisters, while kicking balls and otherwise.

And co-existence also in both their mothers who agonise on their marital prospects, lament their small breasts and fear that they are lesbians.All of which, like the apprehensions of mothers usually are, turn out to be completely unfounded.

This is not, contrary to promos, an Asian angst film. Despite the liberal garnishing of stereotypes of religion, modesty and "good behaviour" there's no escaping that this is, basically, a British film. Made by a Briton, for Britons. "No one assumed that because the film featured Asian characters that it would only appeal to Asian audiences," wrote Chadha in "Connecting", a British Council magazine in India.

She also wrote: "I was tired of 'issue films' about British Asians that only saw race and culture as a problem, "I wanted to make a feel good comedy that authentically showed how people in a corner of West London live and truly captured the way both children and parents have to bend the rules to achieve their dreams." "Bend It. . ." therefore is really about the bending of rules, social paradigms and lives -- all to finally curl that ball, bending it like Beckham, through the goalpost of ambition.

It about Jess' dad, subtly and beautifully played by Anupam Kher, once banned from playing cricket because of his turban. And whose prejudices surge strong even today as he tells Jess' Irish coach: "There are no Indian players in the men's side, do you think they'll let our women play?"

"But Nasir Hussain is our cricket captain. He is Indian!" retorts his indignant daughter."He is from a Muslim family, they are different," snaps her mother.
There it is -- the divide. Subtle, understated, but so very much there. Whether with Punjabis complaining that their neighbours were always "upset" about their (noisy) celebrations, or Jess' football coach saying he understood what it felt like to be called a "Paki" because he was Irish.

The creeping divide shows that Britain is changing, but hasn't quite changed yet.
The stiff upper lip has travelled miles from the time Chadha's father was denied a pint at some pubs at Southall, but like dollops of coagulated spice in badly stirred curry, discrimination crops up to spoil the taste, every now and then, in multi-racial Britain.
Chadha though is right in saying that her film is not only about "issues". It is about laughter, great mixing of Punjabi and Western music that includes everybody from Victoria Beckham, Bally Sagoo, Mel C, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Bina Mistry.

It's about living and loving together. And you know that Britain has really bent towards the East, when Juliette's mother tells Jess to "teach her some of our culture, especially respecting your elders."And, of course, the Hindi tattoo on Beckham's arm that spells "Victoria".

Exploration of Family Life in British comedy film

On the whole, British comedy films tend to focus much on the family, with films like On the Buses, Bend It Like Beckham, East is East and Three and Out focusing on family values, gender roles and the change in the role of the family through different decades. In many ways, British comedy film has managed to be more controversial , in terms of breaking taboos of interracial marriage , as well as sex, domestic violence and other issues in society.

Throughout the years, British comedy film has shown family life in different ways. With the rise of 'new wave films' in the 1960s and 1970s including ethnic minorities in film, as well as controversial issues . Effectively, films such as On the Buses (1969 -73) focused on a working class British family, with the mother being the matriarch and her son (Stan) being the breadwinner. By focusing on these families, the audience were able to identify with many of the characters, such as (Arthur) who has trouble finding a job.

As well as this, British comedy film has managed to convey the lives of Asian families and ethnic minorities, with East is East (1999) being a prime example. Films like East is East promote and raise awareness of a multicultural society, where people can understand about different cultures and values.

Following the controversial yet successful film , East is East, British directors such as Gurinder Chadha have also been successful in making comedy films, such as Bend it Like Beckham (2002) which revolve around ethnic minorities; with topics such as marriage, murder and careers being raised in films.

Analysis of Bend it Like Beckham (2002)



Bend It like Beckham (2002) revolves around a young Sikh girl Jess Bhamra (Parminder Nagra) who is fanatical about football, and particularly idolises David Beckham due to his football skills. She manages to have a kick about with her male friends in the park and is spotted by Juliette Paxton (Jules) played by (Kiera Knightly) who plays for a local women's team (Hounslow Harriers). Initially , Jess is not permitted to playing sports, as her traditional Punjabi parents want her to go to law school and to learn how to cook Punjabi food so that she can attract a nice Punjabi husband. The film cites around cultural clashes and personal aspirations and shows how the role of women is changing, as Jess aspires to be a footballer, which gives an alternative representation of women as succeeders.

In this trailer, the audience get a chance to learn about different cultures, notably the Indian culture, as the opening of the trailer signifies a blushing Indian bride in a medium shot. This therefore shows how women in the Indian culture are meant to get married, which is often arranged. Though, the comical aspect of the scene, is when the camera man asks the bride to look down and look more sad, which connotes how she is meant to represented as being innocent and shy, while also looking as if she misses her family.

However, the binary opposition of Jess as the tom boyish, carefree women is represented, as she violently punches one of her male friends in the lower region, thus connoting how she wishes to be equal and is given a more subordinated role amongst the male friends, which is quite humorous and identifiable for aspiring female footballers.

In the trailer, the family's naivety and traditional values are signified, as Mrs Bhamra lectures Jess about her sister's marriage, and the fact that football seems to get in the way. In many ways, the parents are stereotyped as being quite strict and ignorant, as they don't want Jess to be a footballer, but an accountant or lawyer, which all Indian parents tend to demand. What's more, the humorous aspects are shown, as Jess does kick abouts with vegetables, which connotes her lack of enthusiasm at cooking and being domesticated.

Though, the film actually challenges the representation of family members, as Jess dreams of being a footballer, whereas her parents want her to be married and have a reputable profession. As wells as this, the mother is represented as being the dominant member in the household, who seemingly controls the family and is constructed as being quite strict and overwhelming, which Indian parents can identify with.

Evidently, the use of the non deigitic opera sound, in conjunction with the medium close up shot of Jess taking a free kick signifies the binary opposition of family values and aspiration, as the surprised facial expression of Jess, connotes how she is torn between being more traditional or being more westernised and more liberal. In conjunction to this, the use of the voiceover ' Bending the rules' connotes rebellion and liberty, as Jess aspires to be a professional footballer, however she has to stand up to her parents. The use of Jess' voice over signifies how she wants to take her chances, rather than doing something that she can do in her everyday life, ' Anyone can cook aloo gobhi, but who can bend a ball like Beckham'. This particular voice over gives a more angry reaction to traditional gender roles, as she, like normal teenage girls would aspire to be different.

As well as Bend it Like Beckham (2002), other more contemporary films have managed to focus on issues such as family life and marriage. Most recently, It's A Wonderful After Life (2010) revolves around arranged marriage and the troubles which face mothers to get thier sons or daughters married

Scene from Its A Wonderful Afterlife (2010)



Analysis from beginning to 2:00

It's A Wondeful Afterlife (2010) is produced by Gurinder Chadha and focuses on ethnic minorities and the concept of marriage. The film itself focuses around a single mother, who has to has to get her daughter married, but is pressurised into finding a sutiable match, as the previous suitors decline her offers. Therefore, she resort to murder in order to find the perfect match for her daughter.

Evidently, the theme of marriage is signified in this scene, as the mother tries to make an alliance for her daughter. The use of the Sikh temple setting connotes how Sikh marriage is significant and is carried out in front of the Guru Granth Sahib (Holy scriptures). The long shot of the protagonist is immediately followed by a cut which signifies two older women who are criticising and expressing thier concerns at the possible match for thier sons. The gestures made by the women are more comical, as they joke about her weight and the fact that she eats too much.

Though, the use of the close up shot of the man's facial expression connotes disgust and annoyance, as the female protagonist shrugs which connotes how she seems to be unable to respond to her mother forcing her to meet potential suitors. In most ways, Roopi is rejected due to her weight, as the over the shoulder shot signifies how the two women are unsatisfied with her and make excuses of her being unsuitable for her son. Though, this scene responds to the fact that Asian mothers seem to forcibly make thier children eat in excess, therefore they are unfit. The sense of futility is signified, as the man seems to be stereotyped as quite laid back and Westernised, as the long shot of him in his modified car shows how he is careless and not entirely perfect.

What's more, the long shot of Roopi and her mother connotes how they are disappointed at being rejected again, as signified through the subtle paralell sound of the guitar . Strangely, the mother at the temple is murdered, as the close up shot of her face with a kebab sheekh lodged in her neck signfies how the murder could have been part of a hate crime. In effect the surprised facial expression of the woman is quite funny, as her murder is unconventional to say the least.

Though, this scene progresses in order to signify the ghosts of previous alliances, as the ghosts appear through the long shot. Funnily enough, the ghosts are signified in a medium shot, as they have been killed in food related incidents. Therefore, the film satirises the fact that Indian cooking, at times is lethal, as the ghosts have been killed in strange yet comical ways.