Analysis Of Bend It Like Beckham
The dual definition of citizenship from May Joseph’s article Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship, can be used to analyze the different forms of citizenship that are presented in the film, Bend it Like Beckham, directed by Gurinder Chadha. Citizenship is typically referred to as someone being considered a member of a country under specific laws. This general idea of citizenship is further analyzed in Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship. The article presents the idea that citizenship is found to be more than a membership of a country and is concluded that citizenship can be much more personal and unique to each individual person. There is more than one definition for citizenship, the idea itself is much more complex
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than one may think. This idea of citizenship is subject to change as a person’s surroundings might. As people are displaced from their homeland, referred to as diasporas, their citizenship is free to change or it can stay the same. As seen in Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ idea of citizenship roots from two different sources; her family’s traditional Indian culture and her legal citizenship to the Untied Kingdom. Throughout the film, it can be concluded that citizenship can have different meanings for different people. According to Joseph, citizenship is dually defined as belonging to a land and a personal participation in one’s way of identifying themselves in a certain location. This idea of a flexible definition is later contrasted by Ghannam’s article as an exclusive membership to a community that refuses to indigenize. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ ideas of cultural and legal citizenships are explored and are found to correspond with May Joseph’s arguments and are opposed to Ghannam’s interpretation of citizenship. The concept of citizenship being a dynamic term is explored in Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship, an article written by May Joseph. The author writes about citizenship being able to be more than a surface level idea solely dependent on documentation and legality. “Citizenship is an ambiguous process vulnerable to changes in government and policy,” (Joseph 3). Citizenship does not have a sole definition, it is open to interpretation and is subject to change. These changes can be brought from either an alteration in the social or political environments. Jess, the main female character of the film Bend It Like Beckham, is of Indian descent and is part of a family whose traditional values are heavily influenced by their homeland. Jess’ family identifies with being devout Punjabi Sikhs, a set of beliefs and traditions that are native to areas in Northern India. Jess and her family now live in London, England. It can be concluded a diaspora was what led Jess’ ancestors, and eventually her family, out of India and into an English land. Diasporas are simply movements of a certain number of a population away form their homeland. Diasporas cause an evident environmental change, given a relocation is taking place, and are also responsible for changes in the social aspects of people’s lives. Mobility and diasporas have a major influence on a person’s perception on citizenship.
Ideally, a person is a member of only one country and one culture for the entirety of their lives. In example, a citizen of the United States of America is attributed to the acquirement of legal documentation and the inhabitance of the country. This sense of being part of a larger nation is something that is wanted and not taken for granted, thus understanding why many people develop a strong sense of patriotism towards their countries becomes simpler. In a world where citizenship to a single country is the norm, moving from place to place introduces a problem for those whom are not used to staying in one place. “Mobility and stasis are experienced simultaneously, as institutions, laws, even street names change rapidly, creating a feeling of disjuncture,” (Joseph 7). Mobility alters a person’s view on both their legal and cultural citizenships by causing confusion on the subject. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ family’s legal citizenship has probably undergone multiple changes due to the migration from their homeland into a new territory. Legal citizenship is subject to change depending on the location a person resides in given that polices and laws are different and unique to certain places. In comparison with legal citizenship, the cultural citizenship of Jess’ family is subject to change as her surroundings changed. Cultural citizenship is much more personal and best explained as a personal experience and participation. The fact that cultural citizenship has the ability to change can be confusing in the sense that your traditions may be altered depending on your physical location. Mobility in the physical sense suggests that mobility in the social and cultural sense will occur. With the cultural differences between Indian culture and English culture, Jess finds herself confused on the subject of participating in her cultural citizenship. Mobility proposes a problem in the
sense that instead of having one culture to participate in, there is now a new culture of the new land the person resides in. A central dilemma in Bend It Like Beckham is the merging of two cultures and finding out how to identify oneself in the midst of different sets of ideals, Indian and English. Jess is infatuated with playing soccer, a sport that requires her to wear shorts that show her skin and cause her to interact with males and other aspects of the London culture. Jess becomes irritated with the challenge that defining her cultural citizenship presents her with. Jess does participate in her Indian culture, making her a valid and respected member of the Punjabi Sikhs lifestyle. In addition to participating in the traditions of her Indian culture she has to somehow participate in the culture of the city of London. Jess has to adapt to the differences that the town of London has in comparison to her cultural citizenship she identifies with at home. “Publicly proclaiming one’s identity …is a sphere of experience that must be acquired,” (Joseph 11). Cultural citizenship is more of a personal experience and is used as a way identifying and distinguishing oneself in a place where there are several different social groups. Jess participates in both her Indian culture and that of London’s. Because she actively participates in both the cultural aspects of India and London, she finds it hard to “choose” what to be a part of. Here, the argument that citizenship is dynamic is supported. Citizenship is not limited to one per person but rather many per person. A person is not limited to just identify as a member of one community in the same way that people are not limited to associate themselves to one sole country. Citizenship is flexible and can be molded depending on new locations or new participation. In the context of Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship, citizenship is not a static ideal with just one meaning. This idea is contradicted in Ghannam’s article, Two Dreams in a Global City, which takes a much more limited and exclusive look on the idea of citizenship. Dreamland, a gated community in Cairo, Egypt also confuses the idea of cultural citizenship. The cultural aspect of citizenship is explored in this article and seems to have a different meaning in lands that are rapidly urbanizing. The ability to identify oneself with a larger community is becoming harder to reach. “Family background, education, prominent careers, connections to current members, and relationships to the political system are all central to membership,” (Ghannam 267). Citizenship in Dreamland can be thought as more of an exclusive club that follows strict policies. Dreamland has a more Americanized focus on the formation of their habitat. In Dreamland, the idea of citizenship is very unlikely to be subjected to change. Its founders have already decided what Dreamland will turn out to be. A major concern for the founders of the exclusive club is that the different cultures that people are members of in Cairo will make their way into the community. “They reject the Egyptianization, Arabization, or Islamicization of the new forms they are introducing. Dreamland promises to be a self-contained community,” (Ghannam 272). This view on citizenship is resistant to change and is not open to interpretation. Citizenship, according to Joseph, is a flexible circumstance that can be changed as many times as a person desires. In Ghannam’s article, the idea of citizenship seems that it will never change. To be a member, you must meet the criteria that the Dreamland has developed for membership. It is evident that once you are a member of the Dreamland society, there is no way that your ideals on the topic of citizenship will be able to change. When compared to the idea of citizenship depicted in Bend It Like Beckham it is clear that Ghannam’s ideals do not coincide with Jess’ life. Jess’ personal take on her citizenship is free to change, open to interpretation, and overall a more free-flowing ideals. Thus concluding that Jess’ outtake on citizenship agrees with Joseph’s interpretation rather than Ghannam’s. Both articles, article Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship and Two Dreams in a Global City approach the idea of citizenship different manners. One takes a more dynamic approach while the other approach is much more bounded by a parameter of specific policies. In the film, Bend It Like Beckham, one can notice that the main character’s idea of citizenship is more subject to change given the difference of cultures that she has encountered in her lifetime. Jess participates in citizenship both legally, to the United Kingdom, and culturally, to her Punjabi background. Mixing ideals of citizenship can be confusing but not necessarily chaotic. She has learned to merge the differences in her life and create a harmonious and diverse environment for herself. Jess does not assimilate into the English culture, but rather finds a way to participate in her changing legal citizenship and her familial cultural citizenship. Bend It Like Beckham showcases the dual definition of citizenship and how it can be interpreted. In this film’s case, ideals of citizenship attribute themselves more with the ideas presented in May Joseph’s article rather than Ghannam’s.
than one may think. This idea of citizenship is subject to change as a person’s surroundings might. As people are displaced from their homeland, referred to as diasporas, their citizenship is free to change or it can stay the same. As seen in Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ idea of citizenship roots from two different sources; her family’s traditional Indian culture and her legal citizenship to the Untied Kingdom. Throughout the film, it can be concluded that citizenship can have different meanings for different people. According to Joseph, citizenship is dually defined as belonging to a land and a personal participation in one’s way of identifying themselves in a certain location. This idea of a flexible definition is later contrasted by Ghannam’s article as an exclusive membership to a community that refuses to indigenize. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ ideas of cultural and legal citizenships are explored and are found to correspond with May Joseph’s arguments and are opposed to Ghannam’s interpretation of citizenship. The concept of citizenship being a dynamic term is explored in Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship, an article written by May Joseph. The author writes about citizenship being able to be more than a surface level idea solely dependent on documentation and legality. “Citizenship is an ambiguous process vulnerable to changes in government and policy,” (Joseph 3). Citizenship does not have a sole definition, it is open to interpretation and is subject to change. These changes can be brought from either an alteration in the social or political environments. Jess, the main female character of the film Bend It Like Beckham, is of Indian descent and is part of a family whose traditional values are heavily influenced by their homeland. Jess’ family identifies with being devout Punjabi Sikhs, a set of beliefs and traditions that are native to areas in Northern India. Jess and her family now live in London, England. It can be concluded a diaspora was what led Jess’ ancestors, and eventually her family, out of India and into an English land. Diasporas are simply movements of a certain number of a population away form their homeland. Diasporas cause an evident environmental change, given a relocation is taking place, and are also responsible for changes in the social aspects of people’s lives. Mobility and diasporas have a major influence on a person’s perception on citizenship.
Ideally, a person is a member of only one country and one culture for the entirety of their lives. In example, a citizen of the United States of America is attributed to the acquirement of legal documentation and the inhabitance of the country. This sense of being part of a larger nation is something that is wanted and not taken for granted, thus understanding why many people develop a strong sense of patriotism towards their countries becomes simpler. In a world where citizenship to a single country is the norm, moving from place to place introduces a problem for those whom are not used to staying in one place. “Mobility and stasis are experienced simultaneously, as institutions, laws, even street names change rapidly, creating a feeling of disjuncture,” (Joseph 7). Mobility alters a person’s view on both their legal and cultural citizenships by causing confusion on the subject. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess’ family’s legal citizenship has probably undergone multiple changes due to the migration from their homeland into a new territory. Legal citizenship is subject to change depending on the location a person resides in given that polices and laws are different and unique to certain places. In comparison with legal citizenship, the cultural citizenship of Jess’ family is subject to change as her surroundings changed. Cultural citizenship is much more personal and best explained as a personal experience and participation. The fact that cultural citizenship has the ability to change can be confusing in the sense that your traditions may be altered depending on your physical location. Mobility in the physical sense suggests that mobility in the social and cultural sense will occur. With the cultural differences between Indian culture and English culture, Jess finds herself confused on the subject of participating in her cultural citizenship. Mobility proposes a problem in the
sense that instead of having one culture to participate in, there is now a new culture of the new land the person resides in. A central dilemma in Bend It Like Beckham is the merging of two cultures and finding out how to identify oneself in the midst of different sets of ideals, Indian and English. Jess is infatuated with playing soccer, a sport that requires her to wear shorts that show her skin and cause her to interact with males and other aspects of the London culture. Jess becomes irritated with the challenge that defining her cultural citizenship presents her with. Jess does participate in her Indian culture, making her a valid and respected member of the Punjabi Sikhs lifestyle. In addition to participating in the traditions of her Indian culture she has to somehow participate in the culture of the city of London. Jess has to adapt to the differences that the town of London has in comparison to her cultural citizenship she identifies with at home. “Publicly proclaiming one’s identity …is a sphere of experience that must be acquired,” (Joseph 11). Cultural citizenship is more of a personal experience and is used as a way identifying and distinguishing oneself in a place where there are several different social groups. Jess participates in both her Indian culture and that of London’s. Because she actively participates in both the cultural aspects of India and London, she finds it hard to “choose” what to be a part of. Here, the argument that citizenship is dynamic is supported. Citizenship is not limited to one per person but rather many per person. A person is not limited to just identify as a member of one community in the same way that people are not limited to associate themselves to one sole country. Citizenship is flexible and can be molded depending on new locations or new participation. In the context of Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship, citizenship is not a static ideal with just one meaning. This idea is contradicted in Ghannam’s article, Two Dreams in a Global City, which takes a much more limited and exclusive look on the idea of citizenship. Dreamland, a gated community in Cairo, Egypt also confuses the idea of cultural citizenship. The cultural aspect of citizenship is explored in this article and seems to have a different meaning in lands that are rapidly urbanizing. The ability to identify oneself with a larger community is becoming harder to reach. “Family background, education, prominent careers, connections to current members, and relationships to the political system are all central to membership,” (Ghannam 267). Citizenship in Dreamland can be thought as more of an exclusive club that follows strict policies. Dreamland has a more Americanized focus on the formation of their habitat. In Dreamland, the idea of citizenship is very unlikely to be subjected to change. Its founders have already decided what Dreamland will turn out to be. A major concern for the founders of the exclusive club is that the different cultures that people are members of in Cairo will make their way into the community. “They reject the Egyptianization, Arabization, or Islamicization of the new forms they are introducing. Dreamland promises to be a self-contained community,” (Ghannam 272). This view on citizenship is resistant to change and is not open to interpretation. Citizenship, according to Joseph, is a flexible circumstance that can be changed as many times as a person desires. In Ghannam’s article, the idea of citizenship seems that it will never change. To be a member, you must meet the criteria that the Dreamland has developed for membership. It is evident that once you are a member of the Dreamland society, there is no way that your ideals on the topic of citizenship will be able to change. When compared to the idea of citizenship depicted in Bend It Like Beckham it is clear that Ghannam’s ideals do not coincide with Jess’ life. Jess’ personal take on her citizenship is free to change, open to interpretation, and overall a more free-flowing ideals. Thus concluding that Jess’ outtake on citizenship agrees with Joseph’s interpretation rather than Ghannam’s. Both articles, article Nomadic Identities: The Performance of Citizenship and Two Dreams in a Global City approach the idea of citizenship different manners. One takes a more dynamic approach while the other approach is much more bounded by a parameter of specific policies. In the film, Bend It Like Beckham, one can notice that the main character’s idea of citizenship is more subject to change given the difference of cultures that she has encountered in her lifetime. Jess participates in citizenship both legally, to the United Kingdom, and culturally, to her Punjabi background. Mixing ideals of citizenship can be confusing but not necessarily chaotic. She has learned to merge the differences in her life and create a harmonious and diverse environment for herself. Jess does not assimilate into the English culture, but rather finds a way to participate in her changing legal citizenship and her familial cultural citizenship. Bend It Like Beckham showcases the dual definition of citizenship and how it can be interpreted. In this film’s case, ideals of citizenship attribute themselves more with the ideas presented in May Joseph’s article rather than Ghannam’s.