Jasminder and the coach, Joe, have a very complicated relationship, but throughout the scenes which they share together, two characteristics stick out. Their relationship can easily be described as empathetic and intuitive. Their relationship with one another is empathetic because they both understand what is going with each other’s lives. Their relationship appears to be empathetic to a high degree of intensity when Jasminder is ashamed of the burn on her leg and decides she will not play during practice and instead will watch from the bench. Joe sits next to Jasminder and tells her about how she should not be ashamed of her injuries, but be proud of them since they are remnants of the past. He then goes on to show Jasminder the fracture he has on his own knee which does not allow him to play soccer anymore. He regrets it, although he does not let it hold him back. He tells her that his love for soccer is greater than an injury he has ever received and that is why he became a coach. After this Joe and Jasminder discuss how they received the imperfections on their skin and how they feel about them. The last dominant quality both Jasminder and Joe share is being intuitive with each other. Their relationship comes off as instinctive. I sense a feeling of automatic and natural reassurance when Joe rubs Jasminder’s feet after she goes on a run as a result of a punishment given by Joe. Her foot cramps, but she still continues to run. I feel this comes as a second nature to Jasminder because she tries to not disappoint Joe by appearing weak. Joe notices this and comes to help her. He tells her to take off her soccer cleats and he rubs her feet to loosen her muscles. I feel Joe is mentally inclined to help Jasminder because he understands the pain Jasminder is going through just to please him. It is his first instinct to run over to Jasminder when he sees her struggling. At first Jasminder seems shocked that Joe would touch her feet, but in the end, they both come to an understanding with each other and do what they feel is right.
The Indian culture is seen with a stereotypical point of view during this movie, and sends different messages to every individual viewer. For me, I felt the Indian culture, although it was displayed in a stereotypical fashion, demonstrated the humour that lies underneath the strict lifestyle of an Indian family. There are many ways to describe the Indian culture, but I have shortened this into just five 5 characteristics. The first trait I will describe is transition. In the India culture, the elders teach the younger generation how to follow and respect the Indian culture. One way, in the movie, where this is illustrated is when Jasminder’s mother tries to teach her how to make “aloo gobi” which is an Indian dish. She tries to teach her daughter this because she wants Jasminder to teach her children this dish in the future. This dish has been a family recipe which has been passed down from generations. The next characteristic would be the language. Jasminder’s parents talk in the Indian language, which separates them from the English people who live around them. The language can also apply to art, like the big picture of “Babuji”, who is Jasminder’s grandfather, in the living room. Whenever the parents have a feeling their children are lying, they make them swear upon Babuji that they are not. Thirdly, the Indian culture is adaptable, for example when Jasminder’s parents move to England. Since they lived in India before they moved to England, they did want to lose their sense of tradition. Although they later moved to a different country, they still continued practicing the Indian culture to ensure they do not lose it. The fourth characteristic would be that the Indian culture is static. This means that the culture does not want to mix other cultures with it because they feel it would make the Indian culture “impure”. This is seen throughout the film Bend It Like Beckham. One occurrence is when Jasminder explains to her soccer friends about how she can never marry a “white, black, or Muslim boy” because they do not share the same culture. The last trait would be the Indian culture seen as ethnocentric, meaning the Indian people feel they are superior to the other cultures. There are many examples when the mother talks about other cultures in a snobbish way such as snide comment she made about Jules being white.
The culture of the sport soccer is regarded as “unimportant” to some, yet to others it is considered vital to life. To Jasminder and Jules, soccer is the essence of life. They live and breathe soccer. Soccer can be part of a culture for various reasons. One reason, and perhaps the most important, would be “culture is public”. Cultures cannot consist of only one member. To many people, soccer is not considered a culture, but just a game. But a culture is a group of people working together, and believing the same thing. The public does not necessarily mean people who play on that particular soccer team, but it can also mean all the fans that support the team too. Jasminder was just a fan before she joined Joe’s team and she contributed to the culture of soccer with David Bechkam’s poster which was hung up on her wall. Secondly, culture also has rules. There are many rules about soccer, such as not touching the ball with your hands. If a player touches the ball with their hands during a game, they would be disqualified. Therefore, the players follow a set of rules, so they can play the sport they love. For example when Jasminder pushed a player from the other team violently, she received a red card. Thirdly soccer brings us our identity. To each player or spectator, soccer has its own definition. I believe for Jasminder the definition of soccer was basically just playing the sport she loved. Soccer became a part of her identity after all the times she followed the rules and played the game. A fourth example of how soccer is a culture is to love the sport. This ties up with identity. However to love the sport is a bit different from adding to identity. Soccer bringing identity is just how soccer adds to their life. Loving soccer means to feel affection whenever a person kicks a ball. It also means they long for soccer when they are not playing. For example when Jasminder’s parents restrict her from playing soccer, Jasminder cannot take the agony any longer and decides to secretly play soccer behind their backs. The last important concept related to soccer and culture is spirituality. Spirituality is the inner well being of humans and is expressed through language or actions. Soccer is for the well being of humans internally and externally. It is good for humans externally because it is a sport which helps a person get into shape. Internally it is a time for concentration. For example all the times Jasminder played soccer, it benefited to her well being, and was expressed through actions. All her movements related to soccer were in unison with the game which makes soccer such an extraordinary sport and culture.
I feel Bend It Like Beckham is a very diverse movie. It describes relationships and cultures with a depth, which is incredible for a movie less than two hours long. The movie did a particularly good job with the relationships of Jasminder and Joe, and Jules and her parents. The main cultures in this movie would be the Indian culture and the soccer culture. The movie highlighted how every relationship, and every culture is different in many ways. This movie, since it is targeted to the younger audience, illustrates the point that being different is always a good thing, even if it is embarrassing.