![]() ![]() We’re seeing all too similar things, here and now in the United States. The UK of the 80s saw fascist marches against immigrant families - not distinguishing between legal or illegal - with “Keep Britain White” banners. I feel a little pang because this movie could be set entirely in the US today. “No one in America cares where you’re from.” He speaks about the American dream as something he can attain, with stars in his eyes. ![]() The British Pakistani community’s struggle against the NF bears powerful echoes to today. This blindness pervades the film: blindness to others’ needs, to family’s wishes, to the world around us. The film speaks of being blinded by the light - straight from The Boss himself. Javed’s father tells him he’s supposed to keep his head down and not be noticed, but Javed has a voice that cannot be silenced. Springsteen’s music provokes Javed to write about who he is, who he hopes to be, even who his father wants him to be. “You must write more and get your message out.” He needs to counter people like the NF, who are marching and spreading bile and hate throughout England. His writing affects those around him its importance rings true in the midst of the prejudice. Clay (Hayley Atwell), who tells him to write more, that he has a responsibility to make himself heard. He finds support from his English teacher Ms. Javed just wants to write, to say something, to shout truth and find meaning into the oppressive void. Yet he yearns to escape, and Springsteen provides him with a picture of another world, speaking the language of angst, but fighting against that oppression he feels. Javed’s community is totally isolated, further reinforcing his father’s words. Kids are peeing in the Pakistani families’ mail slots and shouting, “Smelly smelly Pakis.” This isn’t isolated - it’s so common that Javed’s family friends just keep plastic beneath the mail slot. ![]() You will never be British.” Meanwhile, neo-fascists, led by the National Front (the NF) are scrawling “Pakis get out” and chasing him around the estate. His father tells him: “You will always be Pakistani. Yet children are told to dream, to pursue their passions. He’s simply supposed to work at something respectable and stable – maybe a lawyer – and provide for his family. It gives Javed the impetus to pursue his writing, to ask out a girl, to dream, to hope.įrom a young age, Javed has kept diaries and written poetry, but he’s never thought anything of it because his father would never allow him to pursue writing as a career. Bruce doesn’t speak for Javed, but his words echo Javed’s experience and help him figure out how t o speak for himself. Music helps him to forget the world around him, but also to make sense of it. Roops tells him about Springsteen: “The Boss is the direct line to everything true in this sh–ty world.” And with that, Javed’s world changes.īruce helps unleash Javed’s creative dreams, affirming that his pain is real. Javed runs into a fellow outsider, a Sikh student at his school, Roops (Aaron Phagura). Get out of here.” The person who helps him make sense of all the conflicting aspects of his worldview: The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. ![]() In his words, Javed wants to: “Make loads of money. Moreover still, Javed is a teenager, attempting to sort out his impending university, his exams, his best friend, his girlfriend, and his pursuit of writing. More than that, his father has no intention of seeing his son integrate into their adopted society. The 1980s saw a rise in fascism, which meant that his family was encircled by people who looked down on them. He’s ethnically Pakistani and religiously Muslim in a traditionally Caucasian Christian nation. Javed is the son of Pakistani immigrants Malik (Kuvinder Ghir) and Noor (Meera Ganatra), and he struggles furiously to navigate his multifaceted identity. It’s a tale of growth, of music, of words, of love, of life, and it’s utterly universal – infused with the music of Bruce Springsteen. Blinded by the Light is a musical coming-of-age story that’s truly timeless, saying profound things about life and struggles in 1980s England that transcends its setting and hits us in the here and now.ĭirector Gurinder Chadha, along with writers Paul Mayeda Berges and Sarfraz Manzoor (on whom Blinded by the Light is based), tell the story of Javed Khan (Viviek Kalra) as he grows up in Luton, in the southeast of England. ![]()
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