Someday, the world will understand what a powerful and sacred thing it is to be an adolescent girl. This was very poignant. I would argue, given the film, Bend It Like Beckam, that things haven't changed that much for adolescent girls of color, living outside their location of ancestory, surrounded by light skinned people of European descent. I see so much courage in films like these. The demands of the competing cultures are truly inhuman and the girls are very brave. I want a grandmother just like hers. Auntie Shaila, whom I wanted to smack in the face on several occassions, is played by the author, Meera Syal. I have to be nice to her, just like a real family member who would drive me crazy. Chandeep Uppal, who played the protagonist, is so wonderful, even I wanted to pinch her cheeks, and I do not do that. It is amazing to me that any of us survives her adolescence!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anita_and_Me
