Cultural Assessment Assignment: Bend it like Beckham Movie

Cultural Assessment Assignment- View a Movie
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Introduction
The film Bend it like Beckham highlights the stereotypes of women and girls in the society, specifically Jesminder (Jess) an aspiring British Asian soccer (football) player. Jess has to respect her Indian heritage while playing soccer even as her close family members initially oppose this. The generation gap between Jess, her sister and the parents is one of the reasons why they set limits and are reluctant to support her sporting activities. The close knit Sikh family are closely involved in making decisions for Jess, who is at times forced to go against her parents’ wishes the Indian culture influences health seeking behavior and attitudes, and should be considered in interventions.
Description of Movie Family
Jess forms a close bond with Jules a fellow soccer player who is White British. The clash of Indian cultu4res with Western culture highlights the differences between the two, but also attempts to bridge cultural gaps. Jess goes to soccer matches against her family’s wishes. However, as Jess gets more deeply involved in soccer matches her family learns about this and come to appreciate her efforts when her team wins a championship (Chadha, 2003). Jess has to overcome the clash between modernity and transition as well a generational conflict to succeed, even as the family members think that soccer will corrupt her.
Assessment of Culture and Ethnic Traits
The Indian family is concerned with duty and honor, and Jess’s mother is more preoccupied with this as she desires her daughter to be a ‘good Indian girl’ with homemaking skills (Chadha, 2003). Even though the family lives in a middle class neighborhood, the Indian family still respects traditions. As such, contact with extended family members is highly appreciated, and the parents make major decisions for their children.
Communication between the family members is one that depends on seniority. The father is the head of the family, followed by the mother. Jess and her older sister do not question their parents. One-way communication has to be maintained where there is emphasis on obedience and the children less likely to engage in confrontation especially if they are girls. Insistence on recognizing the hierarchy influences communication and the role that different family members play. This extends to the authoritative parenting style with the parents dictating their wishes to be followed through by the children.
One of the challenges in dealing with the family is that the parents often seek the opinion of other family members and people sharing the same heritage. Decisions are made depending on how they affect family honor, and family outcome, with fathers tasked with making the major decisions. There are distinct family roles, and male family members are expected to carry on the family’s name and provide for the families, while women honor their families, utilize the homemaking skills and respect her husband’s family. Jess’s sister was expected to marry a person who had chosen her without asking questions. Because of the close interdependence the actions of each individual affects the whole family.
The Briti...