Film Review: Bend it like

Beckham
by Sabine Steiner & Karoline Schlzke
SUMMARY
Bend it like Beckham is a comedy focusing on sports as well as on the
British and Indian culture and way of life. urinder !hadha is a female
Indian director and author of the film. "he title Bend it like Beckham
refers to #a$id Beckham% the famous British football player% and his
ability to bend the ball. &owe$er% this can also be seen as a metaphor%
since the two protagonists need to bend the rules to find a balance
between football and their parents.
"he story is set in the 'ondon suburban area% where one day (uliet% called
(ules% sees (asminder )short (ess* playing football in the park with some
of her Indian male friends. (ules immediately in$ites (ess to +oin the
football practice of the local girl,-.s team. (ess feels honoured and is
eager to practice with the team. &er religious )/uslim* parents% on the
other hand% oppose the idea of their daughter playing football% and
especially that she is showing her bare legs in public. &owe$er% this
doesn,-.t keep (ess from missing practice and so she secretly continues
playing football. "he situation escalates when (ess has to decide between
her passion and her family% because her sister,-.s wedding day is at the
same time as the most important game of the summer where e$en a scout
is going to watch them play.
But (ess is not the only girl on the team facing problems with her parents.
(ules,-. mother wants her daughter to be and look more female and is
concerned about her daughter,-.s interests. She e$en fears that (ules is
attracted to girls since she spends her entire free time with (ess and the
girls on the team.
ANALYSIS
Bend it like Beckham gi$es a small inside $iew into the Indian and British
cultures represented by the two main characters (ess and (ules% who are
both 01 years old.
(ess is a second generation Indian who was born and raised in 2ngland
and who is integrated into the western culture3community. She has her
own dreams and her greatest passion is football which she will not gi$e up
for any reason. &er parents% on the other hand% came to 2ngland many
years ago and ne$er fully integrated. "hey stick to their religion and
traditions and conse4uently also want their children to preser$e their
culture. (ess,-. sister 5inky% for e6ample% has to ha$e a proper
traditional Indian wedding% with an Indian husband% of course. appreciate
(ules is the only daughter of her parents who do% of course% lo$e her% but
in their culture people do not think highly of girls who play football.
7ccording to her /um% football is seen as a male sport and this should not
change. 8e$ertheless% her father supports her.
In both families it is the mothers who want their daughters to stick to the
traditions9 (ules should dress up% put make:up on% stop playing football
and should% in general% beha$e like a girl and (ess should be a typical
Indian girl who knows how to cook a typical Indian dish and find a
suitable husband.
"here are some weak points in the film that do not seem $ery con$incing
to the $iewing audience. ;irstly% (ess was immediately asked to +oin a
professional football team% but has apparently ne$er really played before
besides occasionally in the park. It is not $ery likely that a newcomer
becomes such an important part of a team so fast. Secondly% in real life
there are no 7merican scouts coming to 2ngland +ust to watch some semi:
professional girls playing football and offer them scholarships for
7merican <ni$ersities. "hirdly% it is a clich=3 o$ergeneralization that
girls ha$e a crush on their coach% the only male character in the mo$ie and
that they e$en ha$e a big fight because of him.
&owe$er% the strengths of the mo$ie outweigh the weaknesses by far.
Indian culture and $alues are displayed $ery con$incingly throughout the
whole mo$ie. "he audience learns how important family is to Indian
people and that e$erything is second to it. 7dditionally% there are e$en
some scenes where British and Indian $alues collide and so a lot of
misunderstandings% which are $ery close to real:life% emerge. But the
mo$ie does not only display cultural aspects. It also deals with generation
conflicts within one culture. (ules belongs to a generation that wants
e$erybody to be indi$idualistic and not to pretend to be someone else
than themsel$es. &er mother,-.s generation% on the contrary% is one
where it is $ery important what other people think of you. 7nd lastly% the
director manages to point out a $ery common problem that female
professional athletes ha$e% namely the stereotype of being lesbian.
Evaluation
urinder !hadha says in the ,->making of,-? of the film that the
message of the mo$ie is to li$e your life and do whate$er you feel
passionate about% because life is too short. Before we saw the film% we did
not think that this mo$ie had a message at all% but we where surprised
that this is a ,-@teenager ,-A lo$e story ,-A sports film,-. with so much
to discuss and talk about. "herefore% we agreed that this mo$ie would be
$ery useful in an intercultural communication course. 7s we ha$e already
mentioned $iewers learn about Indian and British cultures and how they
coe6ist. "o use the mo$ie in such a course% we would prepare different
tasks. Be would di$ide the students into groups and each group would get
one task to work on while watching the mo$ie and would ha$e to present
their findings afterwards. 26amples for such tasks are9
Cbser$e (ess. In what ways does she change throughout the mo$ieD
Cbser$e (ess,-. father. #o you think that he represents a typical
/uslim family fatherD
Cbser$e (ules,-. mother. Bhat makes her think her daughter is a
lesbianD
Bend it like BeckhamCultural Aspects and
Major Themes in the Film
Ashley Schultz, Yahoo Contributor Network
May 9, 2007
MORE:
Jess
Ben it like Beckha!
"nian Culture
Sikh
Cultural "entity
#la$ %ost a co!!ent
Bend it like Beckham is a film that was written% directed% and produced by urinder
!hadha% a British film maker who was grew up in India. "he film focuses on the
main characterEs desire to play football and the conflict she faces due to her
obligations to her traditional Sikh family. "he character% (ess Bhamra% must make
the decision to pursue football or follow her parentEs wishes and complete school
and marry and Indian man. 7s (ess struggles to find her own identity without
losing her family% she befriends a British footballer (ules. (ulesE parents offer an
interesting parallel to (essE family% showing that although cultures may be $ery
different in some ways% they are actually $ery similar in others. #irector !hadha
e6plains that (essEs coming:of:age story represents Fthe nuts and bolts of
integrationF and the e6perience of being part of a Fdiasporic culture.F)/c!lain%
GHHI*. In addition to cultural issues% racial% gender and se6ual discrimination are
also dealt with by characters in the mo$ie.
"he film presents se$eral aspects of India culture such asJ religious beliefs%
traditional roles of Sikh woman and the importance of Indian rituals and cuisine.
(ess often lacks enthusiasm for her culture% much to her parentsE dismay.
"hroughout the mo$ie% (essE family and especially her mother% often pray to a
picture of an old man with a long white beard that hangs abo$e the fireplace
mantel. "he man is uru 8anak% the founder of Sikhism )Sighn% 0KK1*. Bhen (essE
mother is praying to uru for F7:le$el resultsF on (essE e6ams% (ess tells her mother
to hurry up. Bhile (essE mother takes her religion and tradition $ery seriously% (ess
is disinterested. Leligion is a $ery important aspect of Sikh culture% as they include
prayers and rituals into their daily li$es )old% 0KKM*.
(essE reluctance to submit to the traditional role as a Sikh woman is a ma+or conflict
between her and her parents. (ess is e6periencing integration with British culture.
7lthough (ess does not want to submit completely to Indian culture she does not
want to completely abandon her cultural identity either. &er parents ha$e a hard
time understanding (essE interpersonal conflict with them because they ha$e
chosen to remain separated from the British community% rather than integrate.
(essE parents are afraid the li$ing in Britain will influence the li$es and beha$iors of
their daughters. Cften times during the mo$ie the parents show signs of
ethnocentrism. "hey belie$e that their culture is the correct one and make
comments about how one of their daughters marrying a white man or a /uslim
would be shameful. 7n important moment in the film is a con$ersation that (ess
has with her football teammates. "hey are talking about marriage and the
teammate says to (ess that she must ha$e to marry and Indian and (ess agrees. &er
teammate 4uestions how she can FstandF ha$ing to marry who other people want
her to. (ess replies% FItEs +ust cultureF. (ess understands that certain traditions are a
part of her life because of her culture. She may not always agree with the way things
are done but she accepts the reasons why her family pushes her towards traditional
roles.
!ultural similarities are shared ideas% beliefs or e6periences that two different
cultures may ha$e in common. In Bend it like Beckham% (essE traditional Sikh
family and (ulesE modern parents share similar ideas about their daughters playing
football. "he mothers both belie$e that their daughters playing football does not fit
into a FwomanlyF role. "hey are concerned that their daughters will not get married
because football interferes with finding a husband. 7t one point during the mo$ie%
(essE mother says to her% FBhat sort of family would want a daughter who could
play football but not cookD Start beha$ing like a proper womanNF )!hadha% GHHO*.
(ulesE mother says to her% F8o boyEs gonna go out with a girl whoEs got bigger
muscles than himNF "he mothers share the belief that women should concentrate on
attracting a husband% rather than spend time playing sports.
"he topic of homose6uality is also included in the film. "he reactions of the
characters show how British culture and Indian !ulture $iew homose6uality in a
similar way. (ulesE mother misunderstands an embrace between (ulesE and (ess%
and assumes that the two are lesbians. (ulesE mother is clearly upset by the idea of
her daughter dating another woman. 8ear the end of the mo$ie% when (ulesE finds
out that her mother thinks she is dating (ess% she e6claims% F/other% +ust because I
wear trackies and play sport does not make me a lesbianNF "he mothers
misperception also shows that female athletes can be stereotyped as homose6ual. In
Indian culture% the /anu Smriti% the oldest code of conduct in India% states the
homose6uality is punishable )Cli$elle% GHHP*. "his e6plains why (essE friend "ony
does not want to come out to his family. (ess actually says% Fbut youEre IndianNF
when "ony re$eals to her that he is gay. 7lthough homose6uality does e6ist in the
Indian culture% it is not accepted or spoken about. Bhen (ulesE mom calls (ess a
lesbian in front of her family% the older women ha$e no idea what she is talking
about. Bhile British culture may be more familiar with homose6uality than Indian
culture% both do not accept it within their own families.
Stereotypes are ideas that are held about persons belonging to a certain group.
!hadha uses (ulesE mother to show how many people $iew the Indian culture.
Bhen (ulesE mother first meets (ess she says to her% FI e6pect your parents are
fi6ing you up with a handsome young doctor soon.F "his scene in the mo$ie con$eys
the stereotype that all Indian marriages are arranged marriages and that Indian
parents set their daughters up with doctors. "his stereotype is actually pro$en
wrong in the mo$ieJ (ess tells the girls on the football team that her sisterEs
marriage is a Flo$e match.F 7 Flo$e matchF means that the two people fell in lo$e
and made the choice to get married% although their parents still must agree to the
marriage )Kamat% GHHI*.
Bhen (ulesE mother first meets (ess she says to her% F(ess% I hope you can teach my
daughter a bit about your culture% including respect for elders and the like% ehDF
)!hadha% GHHO*. "his shows the stereotype that all IndianEs hold the same e6act
$alues and always respect their elders.
"he struggles between generations are portrayed in the film through (essE and
(ulesE relationshipswith their parents. (essE parents do not seem to realize that (ess
is growing up in a $ery different culture than what they grew up in because they
were in India. (essE father tells her about a time when he first came to Britain and
was kicked out of playing cricket. &e says that they made racial slurs and he ne$er
went back. (ess e6periences some of what her father did during a soccer game. 7
girl on the opposing team refers to (ess as a F5akiF which is a derogatory term. "he
difference between (ess and her father is that (ess fought and would not back
down% unlike her father who +ust remo$ed himself from the situation.
8ot only do the girls face conflict from their parents% especially their mothers% it is
unusual in British culture for women to play football. "here is no professional
womenEs football team in Britain. Bhen (ess points out to her team that Indian
girls donEt play football% (ules responds% FItEs not +ust an Indian thing. &ow many
people support usDF "he girls on the team are breaking through gender barriers that
society has set for them.
7t the end of the mo$ie% (ess must attend her sisterEs wedding and miss the final
football game and the scout is coming to watch. (essE father sees how unhappy his
daughter is and allows her to lea$e during the ceremony. "he film then alternates
$iews% showing (ess playing her soccer game and her family celebrating the
wedding. F/oreo$er% (ess can re+oin her family and participate happily in the
reception after playing in the match. F"his suggests an important integration%
within her identity% of a place for family ties and cultural traditions alongside her
less traditional path.F)/c!lain%GHHM* In the conclusion of the mo$ie% (essE parents
allow her to go to the <nited States to play soccer. &er father says% FI donEt want
(essie to suffer. I donEt want her to make the same mistakes her father made of
accepting life% accepting situations. I want her to fight and I want her to win.F "his
statement reflects that her father is finally ready to let his daughter break down the
cultural barriers and become her own person% apart from her cultural identity.
Bhen different cultures come together it can be difficult to integrate without losing
original cultural $alues. Bend it like Beckham shows that it was possible for (ess to
incorporate the $alues of another culture into her lifestyle while still maintaining
her cultural identity. "he film also shows that regardless of what culture a person is%
there are always challenges that must be o$ercome.