Bend it Like Beckham, Gurinder Chadha (2002)

Though this film is framed by a fairly simple “feel-good” story, it is quite complex in its cultural criticisms. Jess, the main protagonist, is the youngest daughter of orthodox Sikh parents and is forbidden to fulfill her dreams of playing soccer on the grounds that it is inappropriate behavior for a young lady. Jules, the only daughter of a normal middle-class British family, is a soccer lover as well. Jules is, in the same way, discouraged to play the game by her mother who would prefer that she take an interest to things more typical of high school females (namely boys) and behave in altogether more “feminine” manner. While the girls have different familial relationships and cultural backgrounds, they endure similar animosity and societal pressures as they strive for independence. In Jess’s case, her parent’s biggest concerns are the disrespect of religion, tradition, and the approval of their religious community. For Jules, her mother’s biggest fear is that her daughter is secretly a lesbian. Chadha, an English citizen of Indian descent, seems to be claiming that homosexuality in the traditional British family is the cultural equivalent to Jess’s situation. In my research, I found that Chadha originally wrote the screenplay so that Jess and Jules would indeed end up in a romantic relationship—but, ironically, she was afraid it would be too controversial. Instead, Chadha made the girls’ soccer coach Joe the object of desire for both Jess and Jules. It is interesting that the director chose to perpetuate female competition in favor of promoting tolerance of homosexuality, but one may never know if the film would have had such success with a lesbian sub-plot. The film definitely deserves credit for the way it addresses issues of sexuality, albeit in self-conscious way. That being said, the ultimate “message” of the film is definitely a positive and practical one. Unlike most teen films the romantic interest doesn’t stand a chance against the incredible ambition of these young women. The film is an attainable sort of fairy tale.