belonging bend it like beckham

The struggle to belong is significant in shaping the familial and cultural relationships of migrants. This idea is evident in two of Peter Skrzynecki's poems, Feliks Skrzynecski and postcard, as well as the movie bend it like beckham directed by Gurinda Chadha. All of us have had to struggle for something in our lives, however, when minorities such as the ones portrayed in these texts are forced into a struggle due to their ancestry, their ties with their family and culture are greatly influenced.

Struggling to find a sense of belonging with ones family can be overcome by a shared experience. This is evident in Feliks skrzyecki, when Peter, who after migrating to Australia starts to lose his connection with his fathers Polish heritage The poets isolation from his father is shown in the quote "shook hands too violently", visual imagery is used to show the fact that peter cannot connect with his father or his friends. Later in the third stanza the impersonal pronoun "they" is used to exclude Feliks from his father and in turn the cultural heritage that his father belongs to. However, 2 stanzas later, Peter is able to achieve a sense of belonging with his father after an experience encountering a department store clerk. the who " asked me in dancing bear grunts "did your father even attempt to learn english?" the clerk is used as a microcosm to represent an unwelcoming society, which both he and his father struggle to fit into. There shared experience helps build the relationship of he and his father. This shows us that when an experience is shared, a connection can made more easily with ones family.

This idea is also prevalent in bend in like beckham. when main character jess, an indian teenager struggles to connect with her family due to their disapproval of her love for soccer. Her isolation from her parents mirrors that of peter. for example as jess prepares to take a free kick she envisions her family on the opposition team, all dressed in