Bend It Like Bekham Analysis
Bend It Like Bekham is the story of a young Sikh girl named Jess living in England who wants nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of David Bekham and play soccer. Her parents are very traditional to Sikh values and customs, which prevents her from playing soccer. Even though she knows her parents don’t approve, Jess goes behind their backs and plays anyway. Considering her heritage and where she is living, Jess is caught between two very different cultures, modern London and traditional India. Sikhism is a religion that originated near Punjab in Southern Asia (Origins of Sikhism). It acknowledges God as above everything else in the world, including time and space. While it is a simple religion, it is rooted strongly in discipline
(Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism). The film actually doesn’t identify the Bhamra family as Sikh, but it is implied when an older relative asks Jess if she would like to marry “a proper Sikh”. This gives us the impression that they are of the Sikh faith, which is the reason for Jess’s struggle with obeying her parents. The strict rules they force on her come from their beliefs and culture, not what she feels is her own. Growing up in modern London definitely changed her perception of what’s important and to have a different outlook on life than her parents. Due to the standard beliefs of the Sikh, her family already has her future planned out; go to university, get married to an Indian man, and get a well-paying job just like her sister plans to do. The most predominant example of a cultural marker in this film is presented in the way that Jess’s family dresses in comparison to the more traditional British families. Their Indian/Sikh origins lead them to dress in the more traditional Indian fashion of turbans for men and saris for women, while the British people in this movie wear what we would consider average clothing. Another good example of a cultural marker is the character’s names. Jess’s given name is Jesminder, which is what her mother and father address her by. However, she took on the nickname “Jess” to fit in better in England. Jess attempts to deal with the culture difference in her life by lying to her parents about what she’s doing and where she’s going. Knowing her parents don’t approve of her playing soccer, she tells them that she got a job, but in actuality she has joined the Hounslow Harriers. I’ve never personally seen this happen to anyone, but when I was 11 years old, my family moved to Bulgaria, which was a huge culture shock for me. We chose to try and balance cultures by integrating the two together. For example, in Bulgaria, there is a holiday called Baba Marta where you wear Martinitsas (little charms made of white and red yarn) during March and then hang them on a tree at the end of the month to celebrate the beginning of Spring. We participated in this tradition while we were there, but since we’ve been back, we just hang the Martinitsas around our rooms. Similar to the way Jess’s dad lets her leave Pinky’s wedding to make the second half of her soccer game. Immigration is a huge issue for countries all over the world. The book says that immigration is important to Europe for population and economic reasons, however this applies everywhere. Migration causes a population fluctuation that affects the economy of a country greatly. It can change the unemployment rate, the amount of daily spending, and even cause shortages or abundances of certain products, depending on the direction of the migration rate.
Works Cited
"Origins of Sikhism." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. "Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism." RealSikhism. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.
(Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism). The film actually doesn’t identify the Bhamra family as Sikh, but it is implied when an older relative asks Jess if she would like to marry “a proper Sikh”. This gives us the impression that they are of the Sikh faith, which is the reason for Jess’s struggle with obeying her parents. The strict rules they force on her come from their beliefs and culture, not what she feels is her own. Growing up in modern London definitely changed her perception of what’s important and to have a different outlook on life than her parents. Due to the standard beliefs of the Sikh, her family already has her future planned out; go to university, get married to an Indian man, and get a well-paying job just like her sister plans to do. The most predominant example of a cultural marker in this film is presented in the way that Jess’s family dresses in comparison to the more traditional British families. Their Indian/Sikh origins lead them to dress in the more traditional Indian fashion of turbans for men and saris for women, while the British people in this movie wear what we would consider average clothing. Another good example of a cultural marker is the character’s names. Jess’s given name is Jesminder, which is what her mother and father address her by. However, she took on the nickname “Jess” to fit in better in England. Jess attempts to deal with the culture difference in her life by lying to her parents about what she’s doing and where she’s going. Knowing her parents don’t approve of her playing soccer, she tells them that she got a job, but in actuality she has joined the Hounslow Harriers. I’ve never personally seen this happen to anyone, but when I was 11 years old, my family moved to Bulgaria, which was a huge culture shock for me. We chose to try and balance cultures by integrating the two together. For example, in Bulgaria, there is a holiday called Baba Marta where you wear Martinitsas (little charms made of white and red yarn) during March and then hang them on a tree at the end of the month to celebrate the beginning of Spring. We participated in this tradition while we were there, but since we’ve been back, we just hang the Martinitsas around our rooms. Similar to the way Jess’s dad lets her leave Pinky’s wedding to make the second half of her soccer game. Immigration is a huge issue for countries all over the world. The book says that immigration is important to Europe for population and economic reasons, however this applies everywhere. Migration causes a population fluctuation that affects the economy of a country greatly. It can change the unemployment rate, the amount of daily spending, and even cause shortages or abundances of certain products, depending on the direction of the migration rate.
Works Cited
"Origins of Sikhism." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013. "Sikhism: Beliefs and Principles of Sikhism." RealSikhism. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2013.