  . “Bend it like Beckham” is about an immigrant family from India to the United Kingdom and the movie emphasizes the clash between traditional values and culture. Jessminder (Jess) loves David Beckham, the Soccer star from Manchester. But her orthodox Sikh parents are totally against not only for been a fan of Beckham but her talent in Soccer.
Jess and her sister have grown up crossing borders and cultures and they have learnt to negotiate with the current culture in Britain. A community can have similarities between its neighboring communities. Therefore, Sri Lankan culture and traditions are similar to its northern neighbor India. Women have been segregated from many activities in a community. In my community a woman’s role would be cooking, cleaning the house, looking after children and etc.
I see this in the movie “Bend it like Beckham” too. Jess’s mom always “nags” her daughters about cooking “Aloo” (potatoes) and “Chapatties” (bread). I think if a woman has a talent for something then she should improve on it by practicing it. But Jess’s dad understood about her talent and the stress she went through as he was also unfairly treated when he was good at cricket. He was shunned by the British Cricket team because he was wearing a turban (a head dress). Weddings in India last for two weeks. The movie showed some of the events of the wedding with women dressed up in their best “Saris” and men in their “Kurtas” and turbans. One event was very amazing to watch. It was the wedding reception where everyone was dancing to the beat of drums. Celebrations are the best thing in the Southeast Asian cultures. They are colorful, brightly decorated and musical. It doesn’t matter if you are old or young; everyone dances and has a nice time. “Guru Nanayak” plays a major part in many Indian families.
Jess’s report card was opened after praying to the “guru” for better results. This reminded of my mother, who is very superstitious and religious. She would have an auspicious time for me to go out of the house for an exam. My culture is based more social than individual. One couldn’t pass without been noticed by relatives and friends. “Gossip” is the disease for my culture back in Sri Lanka. I could relate when Pinky’s (Jess’s sister) in-laws sees Jess and Jules (The English girl), hugging each other at the bus stop and they thought that Jess was hugging a white boy.
Therefore they called off the wedding. People don’t judge you by your own actions but by someone else’s actions. Even though the cultures continue to clash, I guess it is all about understanding and respecting each other’s values, culture and traditions. Living in different communities helps to preserve your own culture and values. 
