In the Super Hit film “Bend it Like Beckham”, Jesmindar, the main character is faced with a lot of conflict through out her life. Her family wants her to socialize the way they want her to. She is expected to stay and home cook, study and marry a well-educated Indian boy. When in reality she doesn’t only not do what they want her to do, she does it secretively. Jess doesn’t want to follow the Indian culture, she doesn’t care about fashion like her sister Pinky and she doesn’t care about boys, she only cares about soccer and once her friend Juliette comes into the picture Jess changes things and revolts. In Jess’s case the Defense Mechanism theory by Freud is greatly used, as is the Physiological Development theory by Erickson. Jess not only wants to play soccer and date a non-Indian boy she wants to also study abroad, which is not usually part of the Sikh household norm.
The defense mechanism is used many times though out the film, for example Jess’s parents told her not to play soccer and that she wasn’t allowed to join the team, contrary to what her parents what she lies to them ...
These three defense mechanisms allow the child to at least form an attachment bond with the caregivers, even if it is an unhealthy one. Denial is the refusal to accept the reality of things. Regression is when a child reverts to early stages of life such as thumb sucking. Dissociation is the separation of traumatizing events from memory. The use of these defense mechanisms short-term may serve as a protective barrier for the psyche and decrease the damaging effects of trauma. But long-term use will consequently lead to internal confusion and conflict (Hosier 1). Many children learn to use multiple defense mechanisms interchangeably to cope with complex trauma throughout their childhood.
In “The Neuro-Psychoses of Defense”, Freud introduces his study of defense mechanisms. Freud defines a defense mechanism in psychoanalysis as a “defensive mechanism developed by the ego under pressure of the superego and external reality that allows us to fight anxiety”. Some examples of Freudian defenses that are still accepted today include repression, denial, projection, displacement, and regression. Anna Freud and other psychologist’s elaborated on the concept. Defense mechanisms are an essential component in modern clinical psychology, as “no mental status or clinical formulation should be considered complete without an effort to identify a patient’s dominant defense mechanism” (3). Defense mechanisms are today grouped into Narcissistic, Anxiety, Immature, and Mature. The use of Narcissistic, Anxiety and Immature defense mechanisms are considered less healthy than Mature defenses and are often used by emotionally unstable individuals in order to cope with stress. Mature defenses ‘result in optimal
Her realization that she is not alone in her oppression brings her a sense of freedom. It validates her emerging thoughts of wanting to rise up and shine a light on injustice. Her worries about not wanting to grow up because of the harsh life that awaits her is a common thought among others besides the people in her community. As she makes friends with other Indians in other communities she realizes the common bonds they share, even down to the most basic such as what they eat, which comforts her and allows her to empathize with them.
The example was when Wes’s mom found out that Wes’s girlfriend was pregnant, and her reaction was simply looking up and the two of them, and then resuming to cutting the cake she was cutting. “Mary closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She put down the cake knife and locked her fingers behind her head…After a moment, she brought her arms back to her sides, exhaled, and looked around the table. “So who wants cake?”” (Moore 100). If that was the reaction that every parent had towards pregnancy, we would have a tremendous amount of teens becoming pregnant all of the time with no control. The fact that this was her reaction to something so major just shows how Wes’s drug dealing was upsetting to her yet she would probably just take a deep breath and resume what she was doing. Statistics prove that once someone has been to jail, that they can never mentally be the same again (Lindquist). This could also be a major cause as to why Wes became so defiant and did not listen to his mother or
Our identities are constantly evolving throughout our lives to adapt to certain people and environments. Lars Fr. H. Svendsen states “Self-identity is inextricably bound up with the identity of the surroundings” One’s morals and characteristics are forever changing and these self resolutions are influenced by the encompassing aspects of life such as significant events, environmental revolutions and one’s relationship with another. Due to factors sometimes beyond our control, one’s self prowess is merely an expression of their own prior experiences which conclusively preserve and maintain a state of fluctuation for one’s character. A similar concept is evident in the film ‘The Sapphires’
Her philosophy is to “go with the flow” and take life one day at a time. She falls into Marcia’s and Josselson’s identity diffusion status. During this stage, she has shown to have low levels of exploration and commitment because she has not considered her identity at all. In addition she has not established any type of life goals. Her “go with the flow” attitude reflects her hedonic behavior as she floats through life. The social process of how she learns who she is has not become integrated yet because she has not realized what her social identity is or defined her personality traits; therefore, she bounces from one thing to the next with no certainty. Many individuals in this stage of diffusion are obsessed by seeking out things for the gratification of pleasure (Oswalt,
...d and left with little cultural influence of their ancestors (Hirschman 613). When the children inadvertently but naturally adapting to the world around them, such as Lahiri in Rhode Island, the two-part identity begins to raise an issue when she increasingly fits in more both the Indian and American culture. She explains she “felt an intense pressure to be two things, loyal to the old world and fluent in the new”, in which she evidently doing well at both tasks (Lahiri 612). The expectations for her to maintain her Indian customs while also succeeding in learning in the American culture put her in a position in which she is “sandwiched between the country of [her] parents and the country of [her] birth”, stuck in limbo, unable to pick one identity over the other.
From gender delegations, gender discrimination, and gender shaming the world is messed up place. From Scout, to the Flappers, to Leelah Alcorn nobody seemed to show any remorse towards the discrimination of any of them. Whether its society, the friends, or even the parents everyone seems to follows society’s gender guidelines and they beat up on who doesn’t no matter who they are, even if it drives them to the point of suicide. When society admits a gender rule everyone is pushed to follow this guideline and if they don’t well, from what it seems like they should just kill themselves unless they change. Similar to Scout, she was perfectly fine dressing like a boy, acting like a boy, and playing with boys until her Aunt installed these insecurities in her head to make her change her views and essentially herself. Society seems to always get it’s
...the reasons behind her commitment to McLean Hospital, and partial definitions of Borderline Personality Disorder (the diagnosis which Susanna was submitted to), it is unequivocal that social non-conformity is often confused with insanity. Ultimately, non-conformity can surface in many fashions. People who possess this trait can range from misfits, rebels, and troublemakers, to ones who simply perceive the world differently. These non-conformists can be disagreed with, glorified or vilified, but the only thing one cannot do is confine them indefinitely. Creativity which emanates from non-conformity transforms society. And while some may see these individuals as “the crazy ones”, they will always play a critical role in pushing the human race forward, one “crazy” idea at a time.
She states, “Any good liar knows that the way to perpetuate an untruth is to deflect attention from it” (Ericsson 123). This is true. I remember getting in trouble with my parents for lying about my bad grades. Knowingly, that I was not the only one in the house with bad grades, when I was getting yelled at and listening to a lecture from my parents. I deflected all attention by announcing to my parents that my sisters also had bad grades. Deflecting all the attention off of me my parents were quick to call my sisters and lecture them about their grades. Learning from that I had learned to deflect my lies so that I would not get in trouble in the
The second film we watched was, Bend it Like Beckham, about a British girl of Indian descent who wants to play soccer. The conflict in this film deals with the opposing views of the athletic, modern, westernized-protagonist and her supportive, but more conservative and traditional parents, who worry about their tomboyish daughter who would rather play soccer than learn how to cook a full Indian dinner. The basic theme is the value of embracing your culture as w...
There comes a point in everyone’s life when they are pressurized by society’s demands. One is given the option to either conform or challenge these social norms in order to suit one’s life.
Growing up in a society damaged by political harassment can make a person involuntary act in a certain way. When looking at society there should be a mass sum of understanding and experience. This should allow each person to profit the insight and skill of the society. In Marjane situation she doesn’t obey the rules. She’s a confident woman who refused to conform to demand roles expect of her. She discovers that she didn’t have a perfect idolized life growing up. However, those flawed lessons in her life constructed her to be the woman she is today. During her times of difficulty and insecurity she formulates open-mindedness, spiritual enlightenment and feminist qualities. Marjane creates a new, customary identity out of her experiences. Marjane is the person that she wants to be not conformed to be.
The film “Bend it like Beckham ” by Gurinder Chadha shows concepts of how people are treated differently based on their race and identity. The representation of these concepts shows and influenced by how they change an individual's life of the environment. The main character, Jessminder lives in an Indian household, struggles between her and cultural barriers. The film shows how Jess shapes herself because of her environmental surroundings. The themes that are presented throughout the film are; Sexism, cultural barriers and friendship. Through the use of visual techniques such as camera angles/shots, this shows the emotion of the protagonist. Therefore the decisions that the main character chooses are shaped by her environmental surroundings.
Society has changed a lot in the last couple of decades, though, at the time set in the play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the stereotype was very much alive. Even today echoes of this archaic family model still exist. Being normal, and adapting to society, can often lead a person to feel a sense of belonging in the short term. However, the penalty for conforming is that the individual can be lost. Giving up your personal goals, in the pursuit of those passed down from your family can lead to a lifetime of regrets. Basing decisions on societal norms can also have devastating consequences, leading the individual to become lost in a mundane life that is not of their choosing. Martha and George created a fictional son for their private needs to take away from the failure they felt as married individuals by not being able to conceive a child. Nick and Honey started their marriage to fill their roles as future parents in the expected family dynamic. Confronting each couple is a personal failure resulting in an unrealized future. Neither couple has a desire to admit their shortcomings for fear of judgment from the other couple. The play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? displays how the desire to be normal and successful, in the eyes of our peers, impacts our life