Diasporic and Cultural Identities

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Diasporic and Cultural Identities
The excitement that befalls immigrants often end up being cut short with the culture shock, complexities that come along with racial and ethnic identities, and stereotyping. A more challenging experience that people in the diaspora, especially those of subsequent generations, have to battle is the dual culture. The drama film, “Bend It Like Beckham” (Chadha) narrates the story of Indian immigrants in a rather comic way, and most scenes dwell on the life of Jess, the protagonist in the film. The thriller, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” (Nair), on the other hand, gives an interesting story of a young Pakistani during a period when those in the Diaspora and of Asian descent faced it quite harshly in the U.S following the September 11 attack. The article “Behind the 'model minority' myth: Why the 'studious Asian' stereotype hurts” (Fuchs) highlights some shocking revelation about the American education system as it tries to justify the stereotyping that befall foreigners of different descent. I found these materials quite informative as they broadened by understanding of the struggles of people on diaspora.
The film Bend It Like Beckham portrays the protagonist Jesminder Bhama as a young girl who got up with the ambivalence of being half British and half Indian. Aspects of cultural conflict resonate within the film, and Jess had to carefully manoeuver the complexities of having to blend contrasting cultures. Elements of racial abuse are captured in the film during a football match where a white opponent commits a foul on Jess, racially abuses her, and is sent off instead for violently responding to the injustice (Chadha). I was particularly irked by this incident because I believe sports activities ought to unite people. The struggle for social justice portrayed in the scene depicts a typical social issue that those in the diaspora are bound to encounter.
I also found that elements of conflicting gender, ethnic, and sexual identity are also evident in the film through the three characters: Jess, Jules, and Tony (Chadha). Soccer is a male-dominated sport in Britain, and the gender identity theme is depicted by the fictional female soccer team, Hounslow Harriers. Jules and Tony are the main characters battling sexual identity issues, at one point Jules is mistaken for being gay by her mother. I was impressed with Jess when she demonstrated her cultural hybridity with the way she handled Tony’s revelation of being homosexual, a trait that is incompatible with the typical Indian culture.
The film The Reluctant Fundamentalist narrates the story of a young Pakistani torn between life in...