Bend It Like Beckham 2002 depicts a number of cultural differences that may result in potential conflict between British and Indian Punjabi, Sikh cultures. The film focuses on the main character, Jesminder Bhamra’s desire to play football and the conflict she faces due to her family obligations to her Sikh family. Jessminder Bhamra or Jess is left with a dilemma whether to choose to pursue football or to follow her parents’ wish which is simply to complete her studies and marry an Indian man. The film uses comedy to diffuse the tension in the cultural clash between Western values on personal freedom, personal choices, personal achievement and Indian values that strongly value loyalty and obedience to the family as well as a more low profile or humble role of an Asian woman. Now, let us explore some of the issues, cultures, values and worldviews in the Indian Sikh culture from within the movie. Gender Bias Gender bias is one of the predominantly portrayed features in the movie. Female are looked down on and are believed as not capable of playing football as well as males do. The interview in the beginning scene has explicitly described that Indian girls are not supposed to play football for it is considered as inappropriate and that is a shame for girls wearing shorts running in the field chasing after a ball being watched by the crowd. Interestingly, Jess, an Indian girl loves football and is fantasizing to be a professional footballer. Unfortunately her gender and her Asian cultural background are not in favor for her aspirations. Being an Asian girl, Jess is not supposed to play football with boys at the park and to play for the girls’ team, not to say wearing shorts showing off her legs to the spectators. Her acts have ashamed and outraged her parents. For Jess is expected to behave like an Indian girl in general; cook Indian dishes and marry an Indian man. Juliet, a British girl who eventually befriends Jess also fancies football. It is her who brings Jess to join the girl’s team. Juliet’s mother also disapproves her daughter’s hobby. However, it is not a matter of personal freedom, as we know individual freedom is much emphasized in Western culture. Although, it may seem similar to Jess’ parents’ disapproval but if we observe closely, we will discover that Juliet’s mother’s disapproval is not so much of a cultural issue but rather a very pragmatic and parental reason of a mother who worries about her daughter’s chance of marriage. For according to her personal feminine worldview, a woman’s primary goal in life is to be married and in order to be married, one has to look pretty. Her worldview tells that to be beautiful is to have fair skin and a slim body. As playing football will make her daughter’s skin grow darker and her muscle grow bigger and therefore she will eventually lose her beauty. Her main concern is more “individual-based” – personal ideals. Admittedly, Jess’s mother does share similar worldview regarding the idea of “beauty” and a woman’s primary goal in life is to marry a good husband however Jess’s mother’s worldview is intermingled with her Sikh cultural background. Her main concern is more “community-based” – community acceptance, shame. From a gender perspective, both mothers share similar perspective on the role of women and their purpose in life. They are supposed to focus more on attracting husbands, marry good husbands therefore they are to dress up, make up, play no football and behave like girls. Half-naked There was one scene in the movie picturing Jesminder Jess and Juliet running side by side passing two Indian women jogging in their Sari. This scene caught my eyes and remind me of Moslems girls who would go jogging in their long sleeves and long pants with their jilbab or veils on. Obviously, Sikh culture requires girls to wear longer dress that provide more cover to their bodies and definitely “Sari” is the most appropriate dress. It is considered as indecent or inappropriate to reveal too much of their bodies. Jess’s mom explicitly conveys her thinking on the issue of appearance when she said, “I will not allow my daughter running on the field half-naked.” It is my shame! Punjabi or Sikh culture is not so much a guilt-culture but it is obviously a shame-culture as depicted in the movie. Jess’s mom felt ashamed of having her daughter “running half-naked” wearing shorts is regarded as inappropriate in the football field. Pinky and Teetu do not feel guilty of their sex behavior marriage but they would feel ashamed if their sexual behavior is exposed. Honor and shame are very crucial in Asian culture. Pinky and Teetu’s marriage is jeopardized when Teetu’s mom mistakenly saw Jess kissing with an English boy it was not Juliet and they were not kissing but they were both laughing and hugging overwhelmed by joy at the bus-stop. It is a shame for Teetu's parents to have their son married to Pinky with a sister who is regarded to be immoral as she engages in intimate behavior in public. In order to avoid shame to the family, they have to call off the wedding although the engagement ceremony has already been completed. Only when they eventually found out that it was actually a misunderstanding as Jess was just laughing and hugging Juliet as any younger generation will do expressing their close friendship. Same reason why Jess is not allowed to be a footballer, it is a matter of shame and larger family acceptance. The Sikh family is just trying to protect their family’s honor and avoid becoming a laughing stock in their community. Evidently, the family’s honour is paramount in Asian culture. Respecting elder It is interesting in the movie when Jessica’s mom asked Jess to teach her daughter some respect to parents when she said, "Jess, I hope you can teach my daughter a bit about your culture, including respect for elders” She recognizes and emphasizes Indian cultures strong value on respect to their elders. It implicitly portrays the value differences between Western culture represented by the British and the Asian cultures represented by the Indian Sikh culture in the movie. Arranged Marriage - Am I free to marry? Arranged marriage is common in the Sikh culture that is why Pinky and Teetu’s marriage is very special as their marriage is not an arranged marriage, instead it is a love-match which is not the norm of the society. A "love match" means that the two people fall in love and make the choice to get married. However, parents’ approval does play an important role in Asian culture. Inter-religious as well as inter-race marriage is described as unfavorable in the film. It is considered as disloyalty or a betrayal to marry someone from a different race or religion. Cultural and racial prejudice is obviously depicted in the movie that convey against inter-racial and inter-religious marriages. Sad Bride, Happy Family Indian bride is not supposed to smile or to show her joy in her marriage. Pinky is filled with joy and is not able to hide her joy and therefore is reminded by the cameraman that Indian bride is not supposed to smile. However, the family is to be happy and show their happy faces in the wedding. After a serious ritualistic wedding, the family will shift to singing and dancing joyfully. What a contrast! Guru Nanak – the founder of Sikhism The camera frequently shoots on the picture of Bubaji hanging on the wall in the living room. Guru Nanak or Babaji is an Indian saint, the founder of Sikhism whom is much revered. Jess’ mother prays to Guru Nanak for good result on Jess’ exam. This shows that Guru Nanak is very important in protecting and blessing the family. On another scene, Jess is asked by her mom to swear on Guru Nanak in order to prove that she is telling the truth. Guru Nanak seems to serve as the family’s Reference Point to constantly remind them of their values, protection and blessings. Am I free to choose? Religion or faith is not something one can freely choose in the Sikh culture. It is absolutely not an option but it is what someone is born to be. Neither it is an individual matter but it is absolutely a family matter. Inheriting the traditional religion and faith is a way to safeguard the family’s honor and it is regarded as the duty of the family members. Indian parents expect their children and even grand children to continue to be loyal to their family faith. In other words, their traditional religion and faith is their legacy and it is their honor to pass down and to live out their legacy. Bias Superior and Inferior Culture Asian culture is often viewed as being more inferior to Western culture. Jess’ father was rejected to play for the cricket team due to his wearing of turban. On another scene, Jess is deeply hurt, furious and overreacts when she is called “Paki” by the opponent player. Presumably, Asian culture is considered as being inferior by Western culture due to the fact that Western civilization is more developed in their technology. However, the rise of China and India as well as the wave of Korean culture does elevate Asian dignities. Joe, an Irish, does express that he himself also experienced racism from the English. He sympathizes with Jess who is deeply hurt when she is humiliated by an English player. And on one occasion when Joe visits Jess’ parents informing her parents about an upcoming important match, Joe parents’ dislike Joe because Joe is a Westerner. Obviously, cultural prejudice is strongly portrayed in the movie. Homosexuality Indian can’t be gays Another interesting message is Indian cannot be gays. Jess’s Indian friend admits that he is a gay and Jess’ response is interesting for she said, but you are an Indian”. This shows that an Indian should not be a gay or it is not a norm neither it is acceptable for Indians to be gays. Gay and lesbian behavior are indeed a controversial issue and a taboo for Asian culture. However, the movie does portray that it is also not acceptable in the British family when Juliet’s mother thinks that Juliet is dating Jess. Unfortunately, the movie does not depict how Tony’s family and Indian friends will react when they find out that Tony is a gay. Worldview What have I done wrong? Instead of blaming on their ways of educating the children, the parents Jess’ parents are asking whether they have done anything wrong that causes both their daughters to lie and bring so much shame to their family. Their worldview on life is karma. They are blaming themselves and their past-lives for their misfortunes and for what they are experiencing in their current state. Worldview Change, Cultural Change! Almost at the end of the movie, a shift of cultural views occurs. Juliet’s mother opens up herself to football and allows Juliet to pursue her hobby when she understands that female football players can also have normal family with children. It is paramount to note that Jess’ father also has a dramatic change of worldview. He allows Jess to skip out from her sister’s wedding and play in the tournament. At the end of the movie, he himself returns to play cricket with Jess’s boyfriend. The most touching script is Jess’ father’s new perspective when he says; "I don't want Jessie to suffer. I don't want her to make the same mistakes her father made of accepting life, accepting situations. I want her to fight and I want her to win." For me it is the peak of the movie, a point of awareness and realization, a point of worldview renewal and cultural transformation. Final Remarks Bend it like Beckham is an interesting movie that portrays cultural clash in a humorous way. It highlights some important features in both British and Sikh cultures that may potentially result in cultural clash. Most importantly, the movie also portrays that cultural clash does not only occur between or among different cultures but also within a culture itself such as between the older and the younger generations. It is indeed an enjoyable film to watch as it contains rich messages for reflection.