Film Poster Analysis: Bend it like Beckham

There are many aspects of this poster which appeal to me:

Colour symbolism is apparent in that the use of green, orange and black used in the text relate back to the Indian flag, which represents the main culture in the film.

A quote from a critic is used in prime position at the top of the poster with the largest font size being used to emphasize the word “hilariously” and draw the audiences attention to the comedy element of the film.

Reference is also made to other well known British films ie Bridget Jones to provide a mass audience with a benchmark in terms of the quality of the production and particular the humour embedded within it.

The images on the poster are cleverly positioned.  In the foreground we have the image of 2 girls from different cultural backgrounds obviously enjoying each others company.  Whilst in the background we have a group of Asian women in colourful traditional dress (which contrasts with and is emphasized through the use of a white background) looking as though they are asking Jazminder to come back to them.  The composition has the connotation that the characters are from different cultural worlds.  Themes of gender and ethnicity are evident in the posters composition.

The emphasis in terms of the size of the font used in the title is on BEND IT rather than like Beckham.  Whilst the words bend it literally refer to process of curling the ball into the net it may also have other connotations related to the fact that both characters have to “bend” deeply entrenched views held by their family members about women’s roles in order to achieve their sporting dreams.

Interestingly, apart from the use of the name of the soccer star Beckham, there is no imagery or reference in the poster to football. The white background does not reveal the setting and the costumes worn by the girls is non descript sports wear rather than football kit.   This could be a devise designed to create intrigue amongst the audience and to avoid too much association with football which may alienate the female target market. Although in America women's soccer is the most popular female sport so it would be interesting to see whether the same approach to marketing was applied in that country.   The emphasis of the poster is the relationships between the two girls and the conflict with their families.  The poster doesn’t give away too much of the narrative but creates enough intrigue to interest a prospective audience.

Conventional features such as the credit block, production company details / logos  and release date are evident on the poster.