Sociological Themes in The Film Bend It Like Beckham

Throughout this essay there will be a variety of sociological themes identified from the movie Bend it like Beckham (released in 2002). Bend it like Beckham is a movie about an 18-year-old female who is Indian and dreams of becoming a professional footballer however her family disagree with her decisions due to her being an Indian female and Indian females are traditionally known as being a wife, mother, student and will sacrifice their time for their family. The movie highlights that the teenager tries to live in two different cultures so that she is able to fulfil her dreams. The themes which will be identified throughout this movie will be acceptance, religion/culture, and gender stereotyping. The themes which are identified continue to have a huge impact on sports today and can stop many people from wanting to participate in sports. This movie is a great example to show people what obstacles there can be within sport and how people can overcome that obstacle.

An important scene in the movie which identifies gender stereotypes, “their gender identity, sexual orientation, values and social roles are often questioned”, is the part when Jess is out in the park playing football with her Indian male friends and she shows her talent to them when she beats them and does not take interest in their insults when she is playing against them. When Jess returns home she goes to her room and speaks to a poster on the wall of Beckham about the differences in the freedom of which Indian boys and girls get and she stars to explain that it is “unfair that she has a curfew because she is a female and her friends don’t have and can do what they want because they are male”. Also during this scene it shows Jess in park the next day playing football with her male friends showing she has no interest in them and her sister and friends are on the park bench judging her because she is a female playing football and does not show interest in the traditional feminine side of the Indian culture. Playing football with male friends allowed Jess to build confidence within herself. Theberge “found that women are often discriminated and suffer various inequalities such as their participation in sports, as well as the opportunities they are given for coaching, funding and often scholarships for particular sports”. Another theme identified within this scene is religion, “a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things … which unite into one single moral community”. This theme is shown in the scene when Jess goes down stairs from being in her room, speaking to Beckham, to attend her sister’s engagement party where she has to serve everyone and she does not show too much interest in the whole party and she is not a traditional Indian female. During the engagement party Jess serves all the elder’s food and takes part in the Indian traditions such as the bangles and the money rituals, where the couple getting married receive money from the family and friends.

In the movie Jess follows the Sikh religion, “Sikhism preaches that people of different races, religions, or sex are all equal in the eyes of god. It teaches the full equality of men and women”. However, the movie does not show that Indian males and females are equal. A scene which shows this is when Jess has come back from training for the female football team and is playing in the park with her male friends in her shorts showing her scar on her leg, which shows she has gone against the ‘the traditional female’. The males which she is playing with then start to offend her and make remarks about her scar however she does not care and challenges them, “I bet I can still skill you with my eyes closed”. This scene highlights the themes of culture and gender stereotyping, when Jess is in the park after training one of her male friends pick her up and her mother sees them and is disgraced as she is against her playing football as well as hanging around with males. When Jess and her mother return home Jess is seated on the coach and is spoken to by both her parents, as her mother is a traditional Indian female she states ‘I was married at your age’, this shows her mother stereotyping Jess suggesting she should be married at her age. Also, during this scene Jess’s mother expresses worry about the only future she can perceive for her daughter and states “what family will want a daughter-in-law who can run around kicking a football all day but can’t make round chapattis?”. This also shows her mother stereotyping Jess and suggesting she should be able to cook basic Indian food. As part of the Sikh religion Jess should be following the morals of the religion and should be able to cook and married at her age, however she is playing around with boys showing her body to them which is going against the morals of the Sikh religion. After a failed appeal to her father Jess’s mother declares “no more football” and her dad says, “start behaving like a proper woman” (Bend it Like Beckham). This part of the scene shows that her parents are trying to get Jess to follow the traditional cultures and not put shame on the family.

The final scene which identifies important themes in the movie is the wedding scene which identifies acceptance, culture, “a way of life created by humans”, and gender. In this scene it shows Jess at her sister’s wedding and as part of her culture Jess had to accept the traditions and dress like a traditional female. Even though Jess stays at her sister’s wedding she does not show she wants to be there as she would rather be playing her final game in the cup. Tony (Jess’s best friend) notices that Jess is sad and quiet during the day and asks her if she wants him to drive her to the game so she can make the second half. The next part of the scene shows acceptance from her father, “the act of saying yes to it or agreeing to it”. Tony and Jess manage to convince her dad to let her to go to the second half of the game as he says “if this is the only way I’m going to see you smile on your sister’s wedding day then go now”. As Jess manages to leave the wedding to play her final match she will be getting the chance to be seen as an American college scout and as she leaves her dad says “play well and make us proud”. This shows the acceptance of her father as he approves her going to the football match and he wants her to do well so that she can show her family that she is good at what she wants to do. The next part of the scene shows gender stereotyping, when Jess arrives at the game her team tied against the opposition and Jess gets put into play and is given a penalty kick as she is about to take the penalty she visualises her mother, sister and other Indian women as the wall disapproving and shaking their heads at her, this suggests that Jess should not be at the football match and should be at her sister’s wedding in preparation for her own. After the football final and the wedding Jess and her family are back at home with some other relatives and Jess tells her family that she has been offered a full football scholarship in America to play professional football and states “I didn’t ask to be good at football Guru must have blessed me … I’ll never be happy whatever I be”. This shows that Jess’s desire is to play professional football and wants her parent’s approval of it before she takes the scholarship and begs them to understand that playing football makes her happy. Her father accepts her decision and says “two daughters made happy in one day that’s all any father can ask for” her mother then says “at least I’ve taught her full Indian dinner the rest is up to her”. This shows that her parents have accepted the fact that Jess is growing up in a different environment than they did, and it is acceptable for females to play football.

In conclusion throughout the movie there has been a variety of sociological themes highlighted which affected Jess and her desire to play professional football as female growing up with traditional Indian parents. The movie has highlights religion, acceptance, and gender stereotypes. Bend it Like Beckham tells a great story which relates to real life issues that women of different cultures have to overcome in day to day life. It shows that women of a culture can incorporate values of another culture into their lifestyle, so they are able to play sports as well as maintaining their cultural identity. The movie shows that trying to please your parents will not always make you happy and you should always follow your dreams, like Jess did, and become successful. The movie also shows that women can overcome obstacles and become what they dream of becoming at the same time as making parents proud. “Don’t give up before the miracle happens – Fannie Flagg”.

References

• Bend it Like Beckham. Dir. Gurinder Chadha. Perf. Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathon Rhys Meyers. Fox Searchlight, 2002. DVD.
• Bhachu, P. (1988). Apni Marzi Kardhi: home and work: Sikh women in Britain (pp. 76-102). S. Westwood, & P. Bhachu (Eds.). London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Durkheim, E. (1912). The Elementary Forms of Religious Life.
• Griffin, P. (1998). Strong Women, Deep Closets: Lesbians and Homophobia in Sport. Human Kinetics: Windsor, Ontario.
• Status of Women and Family Planning, quoted in United Nations, Population of India (New York, ESCAP Population Publication, Country Monography Series No. 10, 1982), p. 359.
• Theberge, N. (1981). A critique of critiques: Radical and feminist writings on sport. Social Forces, 60(2), 341-353.