Bend it Like Beckham

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Bend it like Beckham is a 2002 British movie by the director Gurinder Chadha starring Anupam

Kher as Jessminder “Jess” Bhamra, an 18-year-old daughter of a Punjab Sikh living in London.

She is obsessed with soccer, she finds a friend in Juliette “Jules” Paxton who is a native English

girl played by Keira Knightley. The English soccer superstar and midfielder maestro David

Beckham is well known for his technique, inspire the movies’ name passing and exemplary free-

kick abilities. While this is a sporting film, it is very rich in the culture and conservatism of

Indians and it tackles some social issues like religion, marriage, and homosexual. The film’s

theatrical release was by Redbus Film Distribution, and on DVD and VHS by Warner Home

Video on November 18, 2002. The film was a critical and commercial success that came as a

complete surprise. It is the highest-grossing sports film to focus on association football, which

grossed $76.6 million at the box office.

The story begins by depicting Jess’s love for football, but her family won’t let her play because

she is a woman. She does, however, frequent the park regularly where she plays with the boys

from time to time, including her best friend, Tony (Ameet Chana), who is a closet homosexual.

Whilst jogging through the park, Jules observes Jess’ talent, befriends her, and invites her to try

out for the Hounslow Harriers, a local women’s football team coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys

Meyers). Even though Joe is wary about a new player joining the squad, Jess is thrilled and

enthusiastic about trying out. Joe welcomes Jess into the team after seeing her abilities, although

Jess lies about her parent’s approval. Soon after, Jess develops feelings for Joe, who goes clubbing

together when the team visited Hamburg, and is caught kissing by Jules, who also has feelings

for Joe severing their friendship because Jules insists she told Jess about her crush. Jess tries to

mend their friendship by visiting her at their home, but this had Jules’ mother (Juliet Stevenson)

misled and believes they are concealing a lesbian relationship. Thanks to Jess and Jules’s input,
skills, and prowess in the team they reach the finals of the local tournament. Meanwhile, Jess is

forbidden from ever playing by her strict parents upon discovering that she went behind her back

plus the racism that met the father when tried out for cricket. The final match date coincided with

Jess’s elder sister’s wedding, who had ascribed to the traditional path common to women in their

culture. The finals begin without Jess on the pitch and her team concedes a goal and trail.

Halfway through her sister’s wedding, Tony convinces Mr. Bhamra to allow her daughter to play

the finals, which he accepts. Tony drives Jess to the game where she arrived her team down by a

goal with 30 minutes to spare. Upon her being substituted, Jess and Jules combined and leveled

up the score line. The Hounslow Harriers then win a free kick which is assigned for Jess to take.

She bent the ball around the wall into the net, resulting in the Harriers being victorious. They

awarded Jess and Jules scholarships to Santa Clara University; Jules being excited she

immediately tells her parents whereas Jess is implacable. Jules and her mother, Mrs. Paxton,

storm the wedding where she accused Jess of being a hypocrite and a lesbian. Jules embarrassed

grabs her mother and they leave. Tony rushes to aid Jess by lying they are engaged to allow Jess

to attend the college she wishes. Jess comes clean with her mother, who blames Jess’s father for

allowing her to play and refuses Tony’s proposal. Jess’s father convinces her mother to accept

Tony after telling her he doesn’t want Jess suffering as he did. Jess flees to the football field to

tell Joe of her parent’s decision. The two almost kiss, but Jess pulls away, saying her parents

would object, and that although they had come far enough to let her go to America to play, she

doesn’t think they would be able to handle another cultural rebellion from her. Mrs. Paxton gives

her daughter a football jersey and wishes her as Jules and Jess took their plight. Joe confesses his

love for Jess as she is about to board the plane and Jess assures him that she’ll give them their

relationship when she returns from America.

The protagonist is conflicted between following her dreams or adhering to the wishes of her

parents which were also in line with the Indian tradition. Here the sexism theme is explored

when parents preferred the protagonist’s sister’s path which included getting a suitable mate to

marry and have children. The protagonists had to use deceit rather than face the parents who

were strict in the religion and culture. Another source of the conflict was that despite the

Bhamra’s residing in London they had disregarded integrating with the society putting their

daughter at a crossroad because her friends were more open-minded. The parents show signs of

ethnocentrism when they remarked that it would be disgraceful if one of their children didn’t

marry an Indian. This put the protagonist’s life’s two worlds; that of her family and that of her

friends at odds and the movie’s plot drives to the resolution of the conflict.

Racism is another theme that the film highlights and it could be the reason the Bhamras were

very adamant about letting their daughter Jess pursue her dream of playing soccer. This could be

viewed as a form of protection, even parental love of shielding their daughter from the harsh

reality that the parents had perceived of that society. Jess’s father was a victim of racism during

his tenure in the cricket team which saw him sidelined and denied an opportunity to display his

prowess despite being the batsman in his former cricket team in Nairobi. Jess also experiences a

mild form of racism when an opponent called her a Paki after tugging her shirt in a match.

The movie also explores the intercultural friendship between the protagonist and Jules, her best

friend. Their bond undergoes several struggles from their families, Jules’s mother accusing Jess

of lesbianism. Jess and Jules also tussle over love as they both are in love with Joe but in the end,

their friendship triumphs.

The theme of sexuality is touched but not satisfactorily explored in this movie as Tony, Jess’s

childhood friend is reported to be a closet homosexual. His role is minimal in the movie and his
story is always seen as orbiting around Jess being a supportive friend. Mrs. Paxton is also seen as

being strict at adhering to conservative values condemning Jess for being lesbianism with

unfounded allegations.

Another theme that is rarely explored in this film is the lack of ethics and professionalism from

Joe the coach of the Harriers. He falls in love with a player who can often be nuanced, confusing,

and contentious since professional and private worlds collide and position distinctions blur.

These kinds of relationships are inextricably linked to power dynamics, and they often result in

ethical dilemmas. His actions could be deemed as sexually predatory.

A common motif that is recurrent in the movie is the linguacultural dimensions of the

conversations. It is possible to conclude the various attitudes and behaviors that are triggered by

the different types of participants and communicative circumstances by using language. When

people of various generations meet, the language becomes recognizant of the person’s position in

the society.

This movie is filled with humor, twists, and intercultural social dynamics that affect how

individuals of different races, religions, and cultures interact in their day-to-day lives. Having

scored 85% on rottentomatoes.com, this movie will be a pleasant watch for people of all age

groups who are looking for a good laugh and an interesting storyline.
REFERENCES
Summary on Bend It Like Beckham. (2018, Oct 24). Retrieved from

http://studymoose.com/summary-on-bend-it-like-beckham-essay

Summary on Bend It Like Beckham. (2018, Feb 05). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/paper-

on-bend-like-beckham/