Bend It Like Beckham Reflection

Bend it like Beckham is a film about “football” also known as soccer in America. It is based on a young Indian girl named Jesminder “Jess” Bhamra whose dream is to be a professional soccer player one day. However, her immigrant parents who follow Sikh culture and religion are not supportive of her dream. As a young Indian girl from a Sikh family, traditional roles such as cooking should be taught. Jess is supposed to be focused on learning these traditional roles to eventually be married. The movie opens up with a playback of a scene from a soccer game of David Beckham. They somehow incorporated Jess into the match and she is being compared to Beckham as the next best soccer player. Her mom is a guest on the show and the anchors express to Mrs. Bhamra that she must be very proud of her daughter. Mrs. Bhamra then responds by saying “no Jess is bringing shame on the family by running

As show in the movie hair is a very important aspect of the Sikh culture. On several occasions Mrs. Bhamra states that young British girls now cute their hair short and look like men. They do not cut their hair. Men wear turbans like the father did throughout the movie. The Turban is also a symbol of personal control and responsibility to others. What was contradicted to what I learned is that Sikh’s do not use of tobacco and alcohol. During the Pinky’s wedding there was a lot of alcohol present. As a social worker my concern would be helping Jess. The focus should be on helping her develop goal for intervention. It would be my job as a social worker to help Jess express her grief about her family’s disapproval. After a discussion with Jess I would be interested in having a discussion with her family. I must be aware that the way that I approach the parents requires knowledge, understanding and sensitivity of Asian Indian culture. I would keep in mind that men are the head of household and decision