Dear Readers:
The startling new media reviewer Buff Bookman, recently introduced as another of Dr. Ink’s alter egos, today turns his attention to the movies. An interesting new British film, “Bend It Like Beckham” has caught his fancy. He thinks journalists should check out this flick, either late in its theater run, or upon DVD release. Take it away, Buffster.
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Thanks, Doc. As usual, the Buff Man kneels in awe, sucking the sweet ink from the nib of your pen. But I digress.
Journalists should take interest in “Bend It Like Beckham” for two important reasons: 1) as a model of narrative development 2) as a dynamic example of cultural diversity.
Here’s the story: A young Anglo-Indian girl loves to play soccer like her idol, English superstar David Beckham. Beckham can “bend” the ball when he kicks it around a wall of defenders. And Jess, the character played wonderfully by Parminder Nagra, wants to “bend” the boundaries of Indian culture, which limit her romantic and athletic choices.
Jess finds a collaborator in Jules (played by the gorgeous Keira Knightley), whose stuffy English mum worries that her soccer-obsessed daughter is a lesbian. But this is Jess’ story, and the barriers she must hurdle to fulfill her soccer dreams are both hysterical and poignant.
Kurt Vonnegut once offered writers this advice: To create a compelling story, you have to find a sympathetic character and spend the rest of the tale doing horrible things to her. That, in a nutshell, is what happens to Jess, in a cinematic context that mixes the flash and colors of Bollywood with the nicely-drawn character sketches we expect from the British cinema.
This movie will speak to the cultural diversity geeks among us. Those unfamiliar with the motifs of Indian cinema and the imperatives of Indian culture will find in this movie a captivating introduction. But the imperialistic forces in this movie take multiple forms: from the British resistance to people of color playing their game, to the male resistance to women excelling in football, to popular associations of women’s athleticism with lesbianism.
It is will come as no surprise that Bollywood meets Hollywood, in one of those over-satisfying endings that defy the experiences of real life.
Most important to the credibility of this movie, Buff must emphasize, is that both Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley appear to have legitimate soccer skills. If not, the film editors deserve an Academy Award.
