bend it like who?

aside from word of mouth, this newsweek article made me really want to go see "bend it like beckham".. and i did.. last night. what a great movie! truth be told, i'm kind of sick and tired of all indian-english movies having an elaborate traditional wedding in the background because really, name one that doesn't.. it kind of ends up being a stereotype of sorts in the sense that every single fucking movie that deals with my peeps has to have a wedding ceremony somewhere in it. i suppose it has a lot to do with the simple fact that deshi weddings are really very colorful and spectacular and just a big ass deal. of course there's the whole dynamic of arranged marriages and the fact that women aren't really women unless they're bound, gagged and tied to a man who can take care of them.. but really, give the wedding ceremonies a break! there are 12 million other traditions that could easily replace the same old red-and-gold-sari-wearing-weighed-down-with-500-pounds-of-gold-jewelery scenes that drill in viewer's brains the fact that getting married is the end all and be all of the indian (subcontinent) society . at any rate, in the case of this movie, it actually has a decent tie-in to the plot and to some degree goes against the norm!

not only was it funny, but at times very liberating. i could completely relate to the jasminder character who is torn between her love of soccer and her deep respect for her parents and family values. not that my family were as strict as hers, but the underlying fact that academics and marriage are the only two things a woman should aim towards in life is definitely a universal indian-subcontinental phenomenon. so much of her reminded me of myself, the way she dressed, the way she feared disappointing her parents which resulted in a sacrifice on her part, the way she was so enthusiastic about sports..etc. when i was in high school, i was really good at basketball, despite being vertically challenged at 5'2". one day, our team won because i shot the winning basket and when i came home to tell my dad about it, all he said was, "good. what about your exams? when are you going to study?". that was a blow that my dad probably didn't even fathom would affect me in anyway, but it did.

so, go see bend it like beckham. it's really a fun movie no matter your nationality.

another movie i started watching on dvd (yes, lisa, i finally got one and joined netflix!) was hedwig and the angry inch which was one of c's choices. i was so totally not interested in watching it because i figured it was a musical, and i really, really dislike musicals. not because of the music per se, but because it always seems like out of nowhere people just burst into song and that just annoys the living crap out of me. c owns the sound of music and to this day i will not sit through the whole thing. i have no idea how that movie ends. now, movies like grease i can tolerate, mildly, because, you know.. grease is cool.. hehe. so anyways, we started watching hedwig and i found myself thoroughly engrossed in it and didn't even really mind the musical aspect of it because every song told a story of hedwig's past and you really had to pay attention to the lyrics to follow the plot. but half way through the movie i looked at the clock and realized it was way past my bedtime, so hedwig continues this evening. but so far, it's been really interesting... quite a sad story, at times disturbing, but definitely interesting.