Freeman CAPS Blog #2: Interpretive Approach

Culture is something that plays a large role in everones life, it doesn't matter where you are from or what you do everyone has some type of culture.  For this blog I chose to watch the movie Bend it Like Beckham and look at it using the interpretive approach.  The main themes that I took out of the movie were family, gender, and nationality. 

The plot of the movie Bend it Like Beckham centerd around a teenage girl from London named Jess who is very into soccer.  Although she only plays in pick-up games in the park with her male friends, she is naturally gifted at it.  While playing Jess is spotted by a women named Jules who talks her into coming to try out for her club team, it is Jess's ultimate goal to play professional soccer in the United States.  However this goes against what Jess' traditional Punjabi parents want for her.  They want her to go to law school, and learn how to cook traditional Punjabi food so she can find a nice Punjabi husband.  However Jess is determined to play on Jules' team regardless of her parents.  Jess struggles with deciding if playing soccer is something that she should be doing with her life, or if she should listen to her parents and focus on family. 

The movie also focuses on a girl named Jessminder.  Her family is from East India and relocated to London.  Jessminder is preparing to play football which is not acceptable to her parents. But Jessminder knows she is good at the sport, and she does receive considerable encouragement. Her parents are clearly uncomfortable with their daughter running around in shorts, chasing a soccer ball, instead of focusing on traditional Indian traditions.  It is a struggle for Jessminder to chose what she should do. 

The interpretive approach type of research relies on qualitative methods, which utilize field studies, observations, participant observations, interviews, and document/textual analysis.  I think this ties into the movie very well.  For Jess I feel like her gender and family are the political forces that make it though for her to play soccer, and for Jessminder I think that family, gender, and nationality play a large role in why she is not allowed to freely play soccer even though it is something that she loves doing, and makes her happy.  Overall I think the movie does a good job looking at differences in cultures around the world and why somethings are more important in different places.