Bending the Culture: Hybridization of Punjabi Ethos in Gurinder Chadha’s Bend it Like Beckham
“Sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.” - Salman Rushdie
‘Diaspora is the term used to describe any population which is considered deterritorialized, dislocated and disintegrated fostering feels of ‘unbelongingness’ and ‘dispossession’. The diasporic experience severs the sense of belonging and possessiveness, and the expatriate straddles the polarities of nationality and exile. The issue of identity captures the essence of diasporic consciousness. Diaspora can be defined as a social form …show more content…
The film stages the generational conflict within a migrant Sikh family in Hounslow, London. Jesminder (Jess), the daughter of the family is good at football. Her desire is to bend the ball like Beckham which becomes a metaphor for Jess’ desire of bending the cultural values to achieve her goal. Jess’ mother, Mrs. Bhamra, on the other hand is an uncompromising critic of this “football shootball” and is opposed to Jess’ dream of becoming a professional football player. The generational gap is represented as a conflict between the demands of cultures: cooking ‘Aloo Gobi’ or bending the ball like Beckham. Mrs. Bhamra, the mother, typifies domestication and is equated with civilization and conformity. Jess seeks self-definition by straddling the multicultural space between freedom (represented by football) and civilization (represented by traditions). Ethnic minorities like Bhamras tend to live in a comfort zone which is defined by racial sameness. Any kind of invasion is seen as a threat to the home culture. Bhamras’ home becomes a microcosm of Punjabi ethos. This domestic space of Bhamras is replete with significant markers of Punjabi identity like Punjabi food, ethnic T.V shows and Punjabi language. Mrs. Bhamra wants to preserve the cultural heritage by avoiding any contamination by western ethos. Football, thus, means a foreign invasion into her domestic space. The crisis in the family is a direct outcome of Jess’ desire to break away from tradition to play football, running around in shorts “showing her bare legs to seventy thousand people” instead of behaving like “proper
“Sometimes we feel we straddle two cultures; at other times, that we fall between two stools.” - Salman Rushdie
‘Diaspora is the term used to describe any population which is considered deterritorialized, dislocated and disintegrated fostering feels of ‘unbelongingness’ and ‘dispossession’. The diasporic experience severs the sense of belonging and possessiveness, and the expatriate straddles the polarities of nationality and exile. The issue of identity captures the essence of diasporic consciousness. Diaspora can be defined as a social form …show more content…
The film stages the generational conflict within a migrant Sikh family in Hounslow, London. Jesminder (Jess), the daughter of the family is good at football. Her desire is to bend the ball like Beckham which becomes a metaphor for Jess’ desire of bending the cultural values to achieve her goal. Jess’ mother, Mrs. Bhamra, on the other hand is an uncompromising critic of this “football shootball” and is opposed to Jess’ dream of becoming a professional football player. The generational gap is represented as a conflict between the demands of cultures: cooking ‘Aloo Gobi’ or bending the ball like Beckham. Mrs. Bhamra, the mother, typifies domestication and is equated with civilization and conformity. Jess seeks self-definition by straddling the multicultural space between freedom (represented by football) and civilization (represented by traditions). Ethnic minorities like Bhamras tend to live in a comfort zone which is defined by racial sameness. Any kind of invasion is seen as a threat to the home culture. Bhamras’ home becomes a microcosm of Punjabi ethos. This domestic space of Bhamras is replete with significant markers of Punjabi identity like Punjabi food, ethnic T.V shows and Punjabi language. Mrs. Bhamra wants to preserve the cultural heritage by avoiding any contamination by western ethos. Football, thus, means a foreign invasion into her domestic space. The crisis in the family is a direct outcome of Jess’ desire to break away from tradition to play football, running around in shorts “showing her bare legs to seventy thousand people” instead of behaving like “proper