Bend it Like Beckham and Slumdog Millionaire have given me very strong impressions of Indian people and culture.
Bend it Like Beckham showed me a lot about modern Indian culture, specifically Indians living in England. In this film, Jess’s Sikh family is very religious. Jess’s sister; Pinky’s wedding was a great example of modern India. You can see the celebrations, the food and the clothing. You can always see the family talking to the painting of Guru Nanak/Babaji and their traditional Indian greetings. Their one goal in life is to have their daughters prepared and ready for marriage. They have expectations to live up to, so they did not like the idea of Jess playing soccer.
Jess loves to play soccer. She has a real talent for it and has been playing it for
…show more content…
Exploitation of women and children is also shown in this film. Once again, it is something I knew was there but I didn’t realise how bad and how much of it there really is. The blinding scene was definitely one that stayed in my mind. The fact that somebody would purposely take away somebody’s vital senses, and blind somebody, much less a child, for their own benefit, shocked me to the core. What’s even more scary for me is this is based on what actually happens in India. Turning children into beggars, making women into prostitutes is a normal regular thing. This shocks me so much because of my values. To me, children and women deserve to live a normal happy life. For children, they deserve a happy, loving childhood and to have a great future. I think because I was raised in these circumstances that I find it difficult to imagine any other child to not have the same benefits. For women, they should have the same opportunities and lifestyle choices as men. Not to be turned into what Latika was, somebody forced to get married to somebody she didn’t love and be used for sex and to be a servant for that man. It’s simply not
In the films Bend It Like Beckham and My Big Fat Greek Wedding, two very different folk cultures are shown. Due to the culture and traditions of the protagonists, there are some significant gender conflicts, as well as conflicts with popular culture. Both Jess, the main character of Bend It Like Beckham, and Toula in My Big Fat Greek Wedding want to have experiences that the do not agree with the ways of their families. With these differing views, there are high tensions between family and friends, and some secrets are kept. Throughout the films, the effects of folk culture on young adults in a modern society are demonstrated.
In Bend It Like Beckham, it showed a girl who idealizes playing soccer. However, with her being a Punjabi Sikh Indian from Hounslow in west London her parents forbidden her to play because of the solo fact that she was a girl. In America girls playing a sport has become more of a norm and are
Jesminder Bhamra, like the director, is British-Asian. Just like Director Chadha had refused to take traditional Punjabi dancing lessons and watch Bollywood films as a child, Jesminder unintentionally rebels when trying to integrate cultures. Jesminder’s traditional Sikh parents want her to be ‘good’ by completing university and marrying an Indian man. However, due to local
In ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ the Indian culture is reconnoitered through conventional Sikh pious principles. For instance the importance of cultural rituals, cookery, clothing, the traditional role of a woman, and the particular importance given to elders (A. Ratna). The Indian Sikh culture integrates prayers into their daily life. For example, the Bhamra family hung a portrait of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism and Jess's mother is regularly praying and talking to the portrait. Unlike her mother, Jess has a portrait David Beckham, above her bed, and she is seen talking to the image about issues present on in her life. This portrait has a comparable part in Jess's life as that to the portrait of Guru Nanek.
In today's world, society creates a major impact on human life. Identity is shaped as a result of a collaboration of social and personal experiences a person endures during the courses of their life. So, therefore, the key factors influencing the environment around a person can ultimately change who they are. This idea is exhibited throughout the film Bend it like Beckham by Gurinder Chadha and James Moloney's A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove. Both these stories, play an important role in displaying how a person's place can impact who they become which ultimately changes their relationship with friends and family.
For this assignment, to make an intersectional analysis I decided to watch a movie. After searching and thinking for a while I picked the movie Bend it Like Beckham, since a lot of elements in this movie are applicable on my own life and I really could relate to one of the characters in the movie. As the title of the movie already implies, it is about football and takes place in England. Jesminder is a Sikh, Indian girl from a very traditional Indian family. She is not interested in fashion, boys and her looks; the only thing she is interested in is football. One time when she is playing in the park with her friends, who are all boys, Jules sees Jesminder play. Jules is an English, white
Bend It Like Beckham is a film that revolves loosely around soccer, but incorporates many life lessons and situations common in this day and age. The two main characters, Jess and Jules, both are women living in a culture where society and their loved ones expect them to act a certain way. Jesminder Bhamra, nicknamed Jess, has a great love for playing soccer, but because of her traditional Punjabi Indian family believing women have roles to cook, clean, and get married, she is not allowed to play. Jess meets Juliette Paxton, nicknamed Jules, who also struggles with her mother’s expectations of believing women should dress femininely, attract boys, and not play sports. Jules encourages Jess to join the soccer team she is on, and Jess accepts but must keep it a secret from her family and the rest of the Indian community. The situation with her family grows even more complicated because of her sister’s upcoming wedding, and the incredible pressure that the Bhamra’s are under because of it. Despite cultural differences, Jess and Jules both find themselves in positions where their mother’s don’t approve of their dedication to soccer, and grow a strong intercultural friendship and bond because of it. They also both have a strong relationship with their coach, Joe, who also went against what his father thought was right and decided to coach the women’s team. This film applies to this course because cultural identity, ecological fallacies, cultural traditions, conformity and
The reasons for the issue emerge almost instantly in the film. As seen in the beginning of the movie, the conflict arises when Jess wants to fulfill her potential of being a great football player while also staying true to her societal norms. Throughout the film, Jess can be seen escaping from her household, in order to play football with her teammates so that she can achieve her dream of being a professional football player. Jess has been watching football her entire life, and strives to be like her favorite athlete, David Beckham. Unfortunately, her culture strongly disapproves of women playing football professionally. Jess’ loyalty is expressed when she is reluctant to leave her sister’s wedding to play in a football game that day. Due to Jess being raised in an Indian household, she has naturally developed a sense of truth to her societal traditions. Although she has different intentions, she still attempts to respect these values. However, conflicts emerge when Jess finally chooses to go against these customs and determine her own future.
Overall, ‘Bend it like Beckham’ was an inspiring and comical film of the conflicts that arise in the clash of culture versus family/culture. Many themes were presented within the film such as wanting is will. This theme is explained with the constant perseverance of Jess, where she set a dream for herself and never gave up, in the end accomplishing what she dreamed for; her goal. Another theme explored was that of, your parents don’t always know what’s best for you. Times
In the movie Bend it Like Beckham, Jess Bhamra, the main protagonist, is an 18-year-old Indian girl whose families religion is Sikh. Based on her family's strict religious beliefs they do not accept her decision to play soccer because they believe a woman should not be playing a such a masculine sport; they are also against her wearing short-shorts, revealing her legs to the world. Traditionally, society solely praises men for their athletic abilities and abilities to entertain the public, but this aspect is not merely exclusive to men. As women’s sports continue to grow in popularity around the world, they are becoming accepted more as athletes in society. However, they still do not receive the recognition they deserve for their athletic
Through the use of cinematic techniques, Hidden figures, a movie directed by Theodore Melfi and Bend it like Beckham by Gurinder Chadha both explore the dangers that are inherent in a marginalised society. Each text demonstrates that hope for change is needed in society as it can build the momentum for an individual to strive. Through these texts, we see that people have no conscience about harming others until they learn the truth about their circumstances. This is depicted by the way in which Jess’ coach Joe behaves after learning about her cultural expectations in Bend it like Beckham. Similarly, this is shown in Hidden Figures by Mr. Harrison. Both directors emphasise that the abuse of power leads to corruption and this can be seen through the segregation between the black and white people in Hidden Figures and the way in which cultural values overrule the lives of the Bhamra’s in Bend it like Beckham. Both characters highlight the importance of creating opportunities rather than seeking it, this is shown when Mary Jackson goes to court for educational rights in Hidden Figures and in Bend it like Beckham when Jess stands up to her father who appears to be patriotic about his cultural values. The resolutions to both texts justify that determination comes from within and that though many factors can outweigh a person’s ability to triumph, consistency can lead to rewarding results. As an audience we are able to further increase our understanding of perseverance through
I selected to do a cultural analysis on the movie “Bend It Like Beckham”. To give a rundown on the plot of the movie, there is a girl named Jess Bhamra, who is an Indian living in England. She is a very talented soccer player, but her parents will not permit her to play. One day, she meets a girl named Jules Paxton, who persuades Jess to play soccer. Throughout her time on the team, Jess has to make sure that her parents do not discover that she is playing professional soccer and that she has a growing crush for her coach, (Chadha, "Bend it like Beckham").
Conflict of Cultures in the film Bend It Like Beckham Gurinder Chada creates conflict of cultures in various different ways in the film Bend It Like Beckham. Gurinder Chada uses techniques such as accents in the voice, contrasts, stereotypes, sarcasm, characterization and juxtaposition of British and Indian cultures which creates humour. This creates a film that attracts the attention of the audience and keeps them interested in the storyline. In the film Bend It Like Beckham a young female Indian footballer hopes that one day she will be able to become a professional footballer and play for her country.
This means that Jess isn't able to continue her soccer career. However eventually, Jess’ mum discovers that she needs to let Jess continue her passion of soccer, if she wants to be close to her daughter, and have a happy
Bend it like Beckham is a film that was written, directed, and produced by Gurinder Chadha, a British film maker who was grew up in India. The film focuses on the main character's desire to play football and the conflict she faces due to her obligations to her traditional Sikh family. The character, Jess Bhamra, must make the decision to pursue football or follow her parent's wishes and complete school and marry and Indian man. As Jess struggles to find her own identity without losing her family, she befriends a British footballer Jules. Jules' parents offer an interesting parallel to Jess' family, showing that although cultures may be very different in some ways, they are actually very similar in others. Director Chadha explains that