Dr Andy Martin of the Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages will speak as part of the Festival of Ideas about a culture clash of the highest order. Having coined the term Becksistentialism, Dr Martin will explore in his lecture on Saturday how David Beckham’s football icon persona stands up against the existential tradition of Parisian intellectuals on his move to Paris Saint-Germain.

The talk, based on Dr Martin’s blog, Becks in Paris, will present “Beckham's intellectual adventures in Paris” as he comes to terms with the struggles of personality. Dr Martin explained to Varsity: “The point of the lecture – and Becksistentialism – is to restore, to explore the forgotten subjectivity: the mind, the soul, the enigma that is Becks. [I explore] all this via the labyrinths of French philosophy, from Voltaire to Sartre and beyond, which I think Becks helps to clarify. I go on to consider the existential crisis, being-for-others, and the significance of the haircut. Not to mention the Confucian tattoo.”

Beckham’s move to Paris Saint-Germain, although marred by his retirement in May, was according to Dr Martin a turning point in his life ripe for existential analysis. This, combined with the revelation this week in the autobiography of Beckham’s former manager and mentor, Sir Alex Ferguson, that Beckham had become “bigger than the manager”, would seem to point to complexity within his personality which Dr Martin claims “existentialism brings out and dramatises.”

The lecture, entitled Becksistentialism, is just one of over 200 events taking place as part of the annual Festival of Ideas, which encourages engagement with the arts, humanities and social sciences.