The cinema often portrays society in terms of issues of class and gender. In two films, Gosford Park and Bend It Like Beckham, we see the representation and negotiation of problems of class and gender respectively. In Robert AltmanÆs Gosford Park, we are treated to a murder mystery within an estate that is populated by upper-class partygoers upstairs and downstairs servants. In Gurinder ChadhaÆs Bend It Like Beckham, we see the problems of an Indian girl who goes against gender norms and roles in order to follow her dream of playing soccer. In both films, we see that issues of class and gender are often socially constructed and place limitations on both those who define such notions and those oppressed by them.
Gosford Park is a murder mystery set in an aristocratic country house that shows the exploitation of class. Upstairs are the aristocrats and downstairs are the servants, two classes of people who have rigidly defined roles that are never breeched. However, as Roger Ebert maintains, once a murder occurs these two classes become intertwined in unexpected ways, ôThe classic country house murder story begins with perfect order, in which everyone up and down the class ladder fits securely into his or her place--until murder disrupts that order, and discloses unexpected connections between the classesö (p. 2).
The behaviors and roles of aristocrats and servants are rigidly and narrowly defined. Good servants are seen and seldom heard. Good servants are fulfilled and content to sacrifice their own lives to fulfill the needs of their masters. However, when the murder occurs, we see that these roles are often artificial and crumble when faced with outside pressure. Despite the gap between the aristocrats and the servants, some of the aristocrats must sing for their supper while some of the servants, like the head butler Jennings, are thrilled to head the staff of a great household. When a new servant
...