SCÈNE 03. Madeline Hill, Social Strategist & Founder/Writer, Impersonal Foul
When the glare of David Beckham posters pasted across a bedroom wall reflects back a teenage girl's ambitions.
It’s good to see you again; this is our third edition of Mise-En-Scène. Our journey into what mise-en-scène from films, TV, and other cultural works have burrowed themselves into people’s minds, hearts, and dreams—to paraphrase the recent world-shaking J.Lo trailer—continues. (I’m being unseriously serious here: Don’t say you weren’t forewarned-slash-threatened if… when… I publish an emergency issue of Mise-En-Scène following La Lopez’s multiverse-of-madness movie musical premiere on Amazon Prime. It looks rich in… details. And that iconic glossy nude lip stands ten toes down across time, space, dimensions of sight and sound, science and superstition!)
For this third edition, our featured guest and special mise-en-scène curator is none other than my go-to decoder ring for sports pop culture, a zone that is decidedly not my area of expertise but one that has me routinely studying like Taylor Swift at a football game (allegedly). Madeline Hill (@mad_hill) is a seasoned social & digital strategist, the founder/writer of the beloved weekly newsletter Impersonal Foul (@theimpersonalfoul)—a featured Substack publication, OKURRR!—and a recent Oxford master’s graduate who may have authored the only thesis I’d want to read in full.
My sister in Substack, and a lifelong lover of sports, Madeline began publishing Impersonal Foul to ensure no sports gossip crumb was left untasted. In her words, the newsletter is what happens “if Bravo and ESPN had a baby,” and—over three steady years of delighting in her deep-dives on subjects like the sports agent responsible for landing Adele in this courtside situation; The Ballad of Larsa Pippen; and why karma is the guy on The Chiefs—I’m here to confirm that, well, yes!
Up ahead, Madeline goes in on her (fitting!) Mise-En-Scène selection: A poignant teenage-bedroom moment in the 2002 international hit, Bend It Like Beckham. (Wistful scenes inside teenage bedrooms reign supreme in coming-of-age movie tropes!) Directed by Gurinder Chadha—an expert helmer of yearning, incisive coming-of-age stories that explore what it’s like to grow up between two cultures—Beckham is a movie I haven’t revisited in a while. It’s remained sweet and sincere, and even grown in relevance thanks to many real-world nuances, good, bad, and grey-area: Women being more visible in sports, Brexit, the recent David Beckham Netflix documentary series.
And with that, here’s a flick pass over to Madeline to wax poetic on girls, family, and football (soccer). Take it away, Madeline1!
“ANYONE CAN COOK ALOO GOBI, BUT WHO CAN BEND A BALL LIKE BECKHAM?”: SOCIAL STRATEGIST AND IMPERSONAL FOUL FOUNDER/WRITER MADELINE HILL ON BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, 2002
MADELINE ON WHEN SHE FIRST CAME ACROSS BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM:
I vividly remember seeing this movie at our local independent movie theater when I was a kid: The Tara in Atlanta! (The. Best. Theater.) I'm pretty sure we even saw it opening weekend?
MADELINE ON WHY BECKHAM IS A CUT ABOVE OTHER SPORTS MOVIES:
Many sports movies are ridiculously cheesy and are terribly acted. Bend It Like Beckham is different because it stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers who are acting acting. It's so good! The soccer scenes are entertaining! The David Beckham throughline is relevant today (especially after the documentary release)! The love story! Keira Knightley's mom! (Nat’s note: The great Juliet Stevenson!)
As someone who writes about the intersection of sports and pop culture for my newsletter, Impersonal Foul, I've always felt like this movie is one of the best sports movies to ever be made.
MADELINE ON THE MOVIE’S FATEFUL PARK SCENE, WHICH GETS THE BALL ROLLING (!) ON THE PLOT:
The park scene gets me every time.
[It sets a] crucial moment where Nagra's character [Jess] is grappling with the fact that she wants to play soccer, but knows her [traditional Indian Sikh] family likely won't approve. And what does she do? She starts playing soccer with shirtless (lmao) men in the park—and completely destroys them. Plus: It's the beginning of the friendship between Jess (Nagra) and Jules (Knightley), which is maybe the best part of the entire movie.
MADELINE ON THE SLIGHT-BUT-LOADED MOMENT BETWEEN HEADSTRONG DAUGHTER AND CONVENTIONAL FATHER AS BECKHAM WATCHES OVER:
[My Mise-En-Scène pick] is from the moment Jess arrives home from playing soccer and is daydreaming about a career like Beckham's. Her dad walks in and the look on his face says it all: He knows his daughter has a dream, but also knows that internal conflict she faces with familial pressure to conform. Ahh! The! Tension!
What stands out the most are all of the posters of David Beckham in her room. You can clearly tell that Jess looks up to him (Nat’s note: Literally!) and that it’s a central part of her character’s development in the film.
Fancy a cheeky linger? Spend more quality time with Madeline’s cultural picks beyond Beckham. (I repeat: No affiliate links!)
MADELINE HILL RECOMMENDS
Hunter Harris’s Hung Up newsletter.
Madeline says: My friend Hunter Harris’s incredible newsletter Hung Up is my go-to for all things entertainment and pop culture. (Nat’s note: I forward nearly every issue of this newsletter to at least one person so that they can howl alongside me. Hunter deserves credit for making me fixate on the aforementioned J.Lo signature glossy nude lip, among other pop culture curiosities.)Fargo Season 5 on FX.
Madeline says: The latest season of Fargo! Juno Temple is so captivating to watch.High Sport Long Kick Flared Stretch-Cotton Knit Pants.
Madeline says: I bought these splurge pants from High Sport that I’ve wanted for a year [in black] and they are the best thing I’ve ever purchased. (Nat’s note: I have these same pants in navy blue and they’re a purchase I’ll never regret.)Big Swiss by Jen Beagin.
Madeline says: I just started this book and have been loving it so far.Lauren Sherman’s Line Sheet newsletter for Puck.
Madeline says: I religiously read Lauren Sherman’s fashion business newsletter for Puck. I really do drop everything to devour it. (Nat’s note: That makes two of us! And I’m thrilled Rachel Strugatz is joining the team as their contributing business of beauty correspondent.)
Thanks for spending time with us reliving the early aughts! Now I’m hungry for aloo gobi.
Follow Madeline Hill as she gamely dissects more sports gossip and culture headlines: Subscribe to her newsletter Impersonal Foul here and glimpse her adventures abroad in London at @mad_hill.
Happy trails to you! Until the next one.
Lightly edited for clarity.