It is my opinion a man's sexual indiscretions ride with opportunity. Which is to say, Mr. Beckham and those others like him who are admired by women for their abundance of attractions are constantly offered that thing which men have the most desire for and the least ability to deny themselves. It is unnatural to resist.
They're just (both) self-evidently nice British people. That's why we love them, and that's why they've never suffered a "tall poppy" backlash. They really did take their place, anonymously, in an eight-hour queue to pay their respects to Her Late Majesty. I don't know how to translate that for Americans, but for a Brit, it *meant* something that validated everything one had ever inferred about Posh and Becks. (And set them apart from the Z-list slebs who slithered their way to the front of the queue.) Rich beyond my wildest dreams, beauty ditto, athletic talent ditto - but they could be my next door neighbours.
This story drove me to Googling. Footballer and Spice Girl and fashion. What amazing lives. And what a heroic figure David Beckham is! All this was outside my consciousness. I had seen "Bend It Like Beckham," but have had my nose to the grindstone too long. Cool Britannia was a phrase I heard on BBC-America as a marketing campaign. Thank you for sending me down a delightful rabbit hole! I really needed this break from my hamster-wheel of work and worry.
There is a brief relief with this piece that does not bash and scapegoat masculinity. Something that points to a man capable of caetaking with integrity and suggets this is a wider character quality held by many other men - like Yogi Berra, or if your watching NFL films - Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Kurt Warner et al. Culture grows from the stories we tell and retell about ourselves.
I really didn't know much about David Beckham or Vicoria other than the tabloid pictures over the years. I don't know why I even starting watching the documentary, but I am so glad I did. He is truly extraordinary both as an athlete and as a human being. I've been recommending the show to everyone. I also recently watched the documentary about Schwarteneger (sorry about spelling), and it also is extraordinary and well worth watching
Reading Ms. Rosenfield's articles is like entering a foreign land. Where I come from, men and women are revered for their separate strengths. She seems to come from a land where men are viewed as redundant. We're both American though, so something strange must be afoot. I got to say though, drooling over this guy in the same article she mentions her husband seems crass. What is going on?
Don’t know enough about David Beckham to have an opinion about him, but I’m going to be the big mean contrarian cynic here, because after being disillusioned by a couple celebrities in the past, it’s become my nature.
Do we really think this documentary would show us anything negative about him, beyond what he allows it to show? Everybody used to think Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward had this fantastic, faithful marriage. He even had the famous quote about not going out for hamburger when you have steak at home. Then he died and it came out that oh, yeah, he had at least one affair (which lasted for eighteen months) and possibly more. Everybody used to think that Bill Cosby was a great guy who advocated for education and the stability of black families. Then it turned out he was a serial rapist who’s only out of prison because the DA’s office messed up and his conviction had to be overturned.
My guess is that David Beckham is not secretly a villain. But I also think that if he were, a documentary he appeared in is the last place we’d find that out.
Yeah - if I hadn’t had an affair, and a lot of people believed I had, I’d think a documentary series about me would be the perfect place to set the record straight. Which he does not do.
Late to the party here, but I imagine that categorically denying or admitting it would have provoked a flurry of gossip articles and brought attention to one of the hardest times of Victoria's life. I don't think it would have been the most gentlemanly thing to re-raise the issue a decade letter to paint himself in a more flattering light (either as having never cheated, or as being 'manly' enough to own up to his past behavior) to the detriment of his spouse.
Interesting take on the documentary. I didn’t really see the main subject as masculinity per se, although it’s there in every frame. I thought the subject was love--love for a woman, for one’s family, for a sport, for one’s teammates, for the camera, for all the details of one’s life. Obviously, on some level, it was a sales pitch for the Beckhams, but it wasn’t a pitch that he or she was the greatest (we already knew that) or most beautiful (ditto). The pitch was that they were just fundamentally nice humans making their way through life with the tools and relationships they were given. And we can watch pitches like that all day.
You're right. But this is the TFP, so everything has to tangentially be framed to trying to talk about "Boys have penises" and "Women have vaginas."
Which is true....but it gets tiresome because, in reality....99.9% of people know/agree with that, but you need some random outliers to keep subscriptions coming.
Actually... And this isn’t a pitch for Kat... But of all the commentators we’ve seen here, she is the least prone to cliché and superficial. She is definitely post-modern and clever, but still quite sympathetic and human. It’s like the scene from the movie Strapless, where one woman comments to the other that the man they know truly loves women. The other woman responds, “Yes, it’s quite rare, isn’t it?” Meaning that you have to hang on to such people when you find them.
And... The treatment of the infidelity was fascinating, because that sort of thing is normally treated in black and white with no allowance for human error or frailties. I kept waiting for the show to condemn or excuse the event, but the producers never took either easy way out. When Victoria gets the last word, she uses it to say exactly nothing. Which is to say, it’s none of our damn business, but don’t imagine from that that he got away with it.
It is my opinion a man's sexual indiscretions ride with opportunity. Which is to say, Mr. Beckham and those others like him who are admired by women for their abundance of attractions are constantly offered that thing which men have the most desire for and the least ability to deny themselves. It is unnatural to resist.
Maybe I'll give it another shot but I turned it off the first time around. Thought they came off as outrageously materialistic and shallow. 🤔
They're just (both) self-evidently nice British people. That's why we love them, and that's why they've never suffered a "tall poppy" backlash. They really did take their place, anonymously, in an eight-hour queue to pay their respects to Her Late Majesty. I don't know how to translate that for Americans, but for a Brit, it *meant* something that validated everything one had ever inferred about Posh and Becks. (And set them apart from the Z-list slebs who slithered their way to the front of the queue.) Rich beyond my wildest dreams, beauty ditto, athletic talent ditto - but they could be my next door neighbours.
This story drove me to Googling. Footballer and Spice Girl and fashion. What amazing lives. And what a heroic figure David Beckham is! All this was outside my consciousness. I had seen "Bend It Like Beckham," but have had my nose to the grindstone too long. Cool Britannia was a phrase I heard on BBC-America as a marketing campaign. Thank you for sending me down a delightful rabbit hole! I really needed this break from my hamster-wheel of work and worry.
Brilliant, as always, Kat.
There is a brief relief with this piece that does not bash and scapegoat masculinity. Something that points to a man capable of caetaking with integrity and suggets this is a wider character quality held by many other men - like Yogi Berra, or if your watching NFL films - Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, Kurt Warner et al. Culture grows from the stories we tell and retell about ourselves.
I really didn't know much about David Beckham or Vicoria other than the tabloid pictures over the years. I don't know why I even starting watching the documentary, but I am so glad I did. He is truly extraordinary both as an athlete and as a human being. I've been recommending the show to everyone. I also recently watched the documentary about Schwarteneger (sorry about spelling), and it also is extraordinary and well worth watching
It’s a well done series
Thanks for the article. A man must stay true to himself. Simple as that.
The hard part is staying true to himself.
Best part of the documentary?
When David calls out his wife, of film, for trying to portray herself as "working class."....when her father drove her to school in a Rolls-Royce.
Reading Ms. Rosenfield's articles is like entering a foreign land. Where I come from, men and women are revered for their separate strengths. She seems to come from a land where men are viewed as redundant. We're both American though, so something strange must be afoot. I got to say though, drooling over this guy in the same article she mentions her husband seems crass. What is going on?
Kevin Babcock: Here is the link to Wikipedia's article on Ms. Kat Rosenfield:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kat_Rosenfield
She isn't a blue collar kinda gal. Perhaps men are redundant in her world.
Great write up.
Don’t know enough about David Beckham to have an opinion about him, but I’m going to be the big mean contrarian cynic here, because after being disillusioned by a couple celebrities in the past, it’s become my nature.
Do we really think this documentary would show us anything negative about him, beyond what he allows it to show? Everybody used to think Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward had this fantastic, faithful marriage. He even had the famous quote about not going out for hamburger when you have steak at home. Then he died and it came out that oh, yeah, he had at least one affair (which lasted for eighteen months) and possibly more. Everybody used to think that Bill Cosby was a great guy who advocated for education and the stability of black families. Then it turned out he was a serial rapist who’s only out of prison because the DA’s office messed up and his conviction had to be overturned.
My guess is that David Beckham is not secretly a villain. But I also think that if he were, a documentary he appeared in is the last place we’d find that out.
Edit: typo
Yeah. I watched the documentary and--while DB comes across well, overall--it was pretty obvious he'd had some affairs.
Related: I had no idea how good looking he was in his younger days. Wow
Yeah - if I hadn’t had an affair, and a lot of people believed I had, I’d think a documentary series about me would be the perfect place to set the record straight. Which he does not do.
Agree. All he had to say is "I never cheated on Victoria. Ever."
Instead he squirms and looks sheepish and mumbles something about Spanish culture.
Hmmmmmmm
Hopefully it was with another Spice Girl, at least. Keep it in the family! /s
The manly thing to do would be admit it. Hard to consider Beckham a paragon of manliness if he can’t either categorically deny it or admit it.
Late to the party here, but I imagine that categorically denying or admitting it would have provoked a flurry of gossip articles and brought attention to one of the hardest times of Victoria's life. I don't think it would have been the most gentlemanly thing to re-raise the issue a decade letter to paint himself in a more flattering light (either as having never cheated, or as being 'manly' enough to own up to his past behavior) to the detriment of his spouse.
A friend recommended it and I forgot, now it's must see.
Interesting take on the documentary. I didn’t really see the main subject as masculinity per se, although it’s there in every frame. I thought the subject was love--love for a woman, for one’s family, for a sport, for one’s teammates, for the camera, for all the details of one’s life. Obviously, on some level, it was a sales pitch for the Beckhams, but it wasn’t a pitch that he or she was the greatest (we already knew that) or most beautiful (ditto). The pitch was that they were just fundamentally nice humans making their way through life with the tools and relationships they were given. And we can watch pitches like that all day.
You're right. But this is the TFP, so everything has to tangentially be framed to trying to talk about "Boys have penises" and "Women have vaginas."
Which is true....but it gets tiresome because, in reality....99.9% of people know/agree with that, but you need some random outliers to keep subscriptions coming.
Actually... And this isn’t a pitch for Kat... But of all the commentators we’ve seen here, she is the least prone to cliché and superficial. She is definitely post-modern and clever, but still quite sympathetic and human. It’s like the scene from the movie Strapless, where one woman comments to the other that the man they know truly loves women. The other woman responds, “Yes, it’s quite rare, isn’t it?” Meaning that you have to hang on to such people when you find them.
And... The treatment of the infidelity was fascinating, because that sort of thing is normally treated in black and white with no allowance for human error or frailties. I kept waiting for the show to condemn or excuse the event, but the producers never took either easy way out. When Victoria gets the last word, she uses it to say exactly nothing. Which is to say, it’s none of our damn business, but don’t imagine from that that he got away with it.