CAPS #4- Megan Merrill

            The film Bend It Like Beckham characterizes the differentiation between the European-English culture and the Sikh culture. The plot is centered on two young women who form a bond over their love for European football (American soccer) regardless of the wishes of their mothers. The movie depicts their efforts to living up to their families expectations for them, as well as the expectations from their respective cultures. Each character is faced with making the tough choice to pursue their dreams of playing football professionally, or respect their cultural traditions and stop playing the game. The film emphasizes the opposite values of the cultures, as well as emphasized the beliefs that each culture, individual, and family wishers to honor and how those beliefs effects their daily lives in the community in which they live in. This is an excellent example of people of various cultures living collectively in a society in order to try to adapt. Jess, the character who identifies with both an Indian and European culture, struggles with breaking into both cultures that she identifies with. 

            Jess’s family provides a key example of struggling with cultural adaptations to the English-European ways of life. This process is by which individuals learn the rules and customs of new cultural contexts (Martin & Nakayama, 330). This is a process is what the Indian family is struggling with in the film. The European values and morals conflict with the Sikh values and cultures. While Jess wishes to play football, her family values draw her into settling down and getting married.  

            In the film, Jess’s mother states: "Jess, we let you play all you wanted when you were young. You've played enough. What family will want a daughter in law who can run around kicking football all day but can't make round chapatis?"           

            Jess’s family’s wishes conflict with Jess’s dream to play soccer. Because she has become socialized into the English-European culture, settling down to marry and create a family is not a high priority for her, unlike her family that is not as cultured as she is.