Comparing the two families essay: Bend it like Beckham. Jess’ & Jules’ family.

In this essay I am going to talk about the film Bend it Like Beckham and compare the families of Jess and Jules, the two main characters in this film. I will consider their cultural background and discuss how they are different, in what ways they are the same, and why. The movie (Bend it like Beckham) is a movie about two girls from two different cultures, the Sikh and British cultures. they both share the same hobby, namely football. They enjoy playing football together in the team. However, it seems that both their mums are against it. Both their dads don’t mind them playing football together and think it’s totally fine.

First I will look at Jess’ family. They are Sikh immigrants who have moved to live in England. The Sikh culture involves strict rules to follow and certain rules to live by. Jess and her family lives in the East of London and they have a big house with a big back garden. This seems to indicate that they are quite rich. Her dad works every day as a police officer and earns money for the whole family to live. This also seems to indicate that they are well off. Jess’ family believes that a Sikh should do her chores properly and study hard for the future but she doesn’t.

Jess has a sister called Pinky and she works as a stewardess so she also earns money for the family, so this also indicates that they are rich. Her family will teach Jess how to cook instead of cooking for her. Jess’ family sometimes cooks for her, but they want Jess to learn how to cook, especially her mum. So her mum teaches her how to cook different types of food. She hopes that when Jess gets married in the future, she can cook for her family. This is why Jess’ family wants her to know how to cook for the future. The family have strict rules, like you will be expected to marry another Sikh and that you have to have an arranged marriage before getting married. Sikh families like Jess’ all want their daughters to be the perfect wife for an arranged marriage so they can get a good, and rich, husband.

Jess’ family also doesn’t like to see Jess watching or playing football because they don’t like that part of British culture and do not want Jess to show off her legs too much to the public. But later on the family lets Jess be more open and free. Jess’ parents think that her sister Pinky is a good girl and follows the house rules, but in fact she doesn’t. She has an affair with one man while engaged to another man, her parents think she’s doing her job but she’s actually busy helping out Jess and her problems. Sometimes Pinky gets upset so the family is not totally happy. Jess’ goal is to be a professional footballer like David Beckham and play for Manchester United. This is her dream.

Jules’ family is British. She has a British culture and it is totally different to the Sikh culture. Jules has to follow the rules of her own culture, even though it is much more open than Sikh culture. She and her family also live in the East of London and they also have a big house with a garden. This means that both Jules and Jess’ family are quite equal in money. Jules’ family will always cook for her and not teach her how to cook. Her dad likes her to watch and play football but her mum doesn’t, she worries about Jules too much. Jules’ mum wants her to have the right husband in the future but later on her mum starts to like football and learns the rules of football. Eventually she realises that she doesn’t need worry about Jules too much. Jules’ goal is to also be a professional footballer and this is also her dream.

Both the girls have a lot of similarities like, they both love to play football, they both play for the Hounslow Harriers. They both want to play for a real team in the future, they both have this dream. They also fall in love with their football coach, Joe. But unfortunately Jess‘ family expects her to marry a Sikh not a Westerner. They both share similar girls’ dreams, like they really want boyfriends and they both like music.

So in fact, Jules’ family and Jess’ family are also quite similar. Both their mum’s don’t like football and both their mums worry about their daughters too much as I mentioned above. Jess’ mum doesn’t like to see her playing football because she will show off her legs too much to the public, Jules’ mum doesn’t like football but eventually grows to enjoy it. She learns the rules of football and eventually gets to watch her first football game. She then realizes that wanting Jules to have a good husband isn’t important yet. In conclusion, this story seems to be like a clash of the two cultures but in fact both families want the same thing - the best for both girls, Jess and Jules, so their not really that different at all.