Flashback Friday-Bend It Like Beckham (2002)

Tradition clashing with the modern world is as old the world itself. A young person rebelling against tradition to find their own path is also an often told story.

In Bend It Beckham (2002), Jess (Parminder Nagra) comes from a traditional Sikh family living in England. Her favorite activity is playing soccer. She hopes to play professionally one day. But a good Indian girl from a traditional Sikh family does not play soccer, either informally or professionally. Jules (Keira Knightley) also wants to play soccer professionally, but her mother prefers that her daughter become a proper lady.

Coached by Joe (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), the girls believe that their future lays on the soccer field. But pressure at home will make the girls question their choices. Will Jess and Jules follow their hearts (and their talent) or will they bow to the pressure and become the good girls that their families want them to be?

I have not seen this movie in a long time, but I connected with it. I think we all reach a time in our lives when we have to choose between what our loves think is best and what we know is the only way live our lives.

I recommend it.

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Isn’t That Interesting?

Back in the day, comedian Dana Carvey played a character called Church Lady on Saturday Night Live. On of her trademark lines was “Isn’t that special?”.

In Kentucky, in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of marriages between same sex couples, Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to any couple, gay or straight.  When a federal judge ruled that Ms. Davis has to issue licenses, she refused. She is now in jail and will only be let out once she agrees to hand out marriage licenses without prejudice.

Ms. Davis claims that her religious beliefs dictate that marriage between same sex couples are wrong. She is entitled to her opinion and her beliefs, as we all are.

However, there are facts about her life that are laughable in context of her refusal to issue the marriage licenses.

• She has been married four times.
• Two of her children were born out of wedlock.
• She is part of a denomination of Christianity called  the Apostolic Church, where the Bible is taken literally.
• I’m no bible scholar and I have never claimed to be, but doesn’t the bible say “love thy neighbor as thyself?”.
• I also seem to remember something in the bible about a woman having a child outside of marriage. It’s not a good thing.

What I find interesting is that she would refuse to give marriage licenses to same sex couples who have been together for many years, who are loyal and loving to their partner as any straight person. But yet, she has been married four times and two of her children were born outside of marriage.

Isn’t that special?

Flashback Friday- 7th Heaven (1996-2007)

Wholesome family dramas have been a staple of the entertainment industry since it’s earliest days.

In the mid 90’s among the teenage dramas, the late WB network premiered a new wholesome family drama, 7th Heaven (1996-2007).

Rev Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) is a minister and his wife, Annie (Catherine Hicks), is a stay at home mother. They have five children, ranging in age from early elementary school to high school. The drama focused not just on the inner workings of the family, but their friends, neighbors and the surrounding community. As is par for the course with shows of this nature, many of the episodes dealt with real life issues.

For it’s time, 7th Heaven straddled both the world of traditional wholesome family dramas while dealing with issues that modern families dealt with every day. It was at time, one of the few shows that a family could sit down and enjoy as a family.

Unfortunately, the legacy of the show has been marred by Stephen Collin’s recent admission of sexually abusing several women in the past.

Do I recommend it? If you can look past the controversy, then yes. But if not, then I don’t blame you for not wanting to watch.