Do you know of a situation where athletics affect the parent-child relationship? It is common for a sport to act as unification or a division within the family setting. Fences, a play by August Wilson, and the movie Bend it like Beckham, directed and produced by Gurinder Chadha, both exemplify this sort of situation.
In Bend it like Beckham, sports affect the relationship between parent and child for our protagonist, Jess Bhamra, Jules Paxton, and Joe. Jess' parents do not want her to participate in sports because it goes against their Indian culture. Her mother feels that she should be focusing on finding a husband and learning how to cook traditional Indian dishes. Her father, on the other hand, relies on his own personal experience in the past and doesn't want his daughter to get hurt in attempting to pursue her dream. Jules has an almost similar situation where her father supports her while her mother doesn't.
August Wilson
Bend It Like Beckham
English: The Bandstand in Town Hall Park, Hayes. T...Paula Paxton, Jess' mother says "No man is going to want a wife whose muscles are bigger than his." Joe's situation is quite the opposite; the young Irish male coach comes from a home situation in which the father supported him too much, causing him injury.
Cory Maxson undergoes this type of relationship with his father, Troy Maxson, in the book Fences. Troy, being a former athlete himself, knows how hard it can be to work hard for a dream and have it easily taken away. Though Troy's intentions to keep his son safe are good, he misses the point that Cory doesn't wish to play professionally. Cory is trying to use his ability to pave the way for him to go to college. Troy's unwillingness to see past his own implacableness and into Cory's potential causes him to ruin...