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Blinded by the Light

 Blinded by the Light
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TVTItem
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Blinded by the Light
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BlindedByTheLight
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Blinded by the Light (also known as Music of My Life) is a 2019 film by Gurinder Chadha inspired by the book Greetings from Bury Park: Race, Religion and Rock N’ Roll by Sarfraz Manzoor. Manzoor also is credited as a writer for the film.Luton, 1987. Javed Khan (Viveik Kalra), a son of Pakistani immigrants, wants three key things out of life: 1. To get out of Luton. 2. To undertake writing as a profession. 3. To find a girl. Unfortunately, the circumstances of his family and the culture of the time make all three of these things difficult, and things are not helped when his father, Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), is laid off from the automotive plant in town.Things change, from the way he looks at his own life and his relationship with his father, when a new friend at school gives him two tapes by Bruce Springsteen, and Javed finds that the lyrics perfectly describe his situation in life. The film also stars Meera Ganatra, Nell Williams, Aaron Phagura, & Dean-Charles Chapman and was released on August 9, 2019 by eOne Films.No connection to the like-named trope.
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2024-04-13T15:16:14Z
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2024-04-13T15:16:14Z
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DBTropes
 Blinded by the Light / int_1434e55c
type
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents
 Blinded by the Light / int_1434e55c
comment
Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: On the first day of school, Javed's father, Malik, shouts at him from the car to stay away from girls and "follow the Jews" to success. Matt also views his father this way. Eliza also feels this way about hers. They believe she's only with Javed to shock them, mention that Eliza once brought home a "colored fellow" before (which she tells him is a term no one uses anymore) and her dad offers him wine even though as a Muslim it's forbidden. As they're Conservatives and she's a leftist activist, it's clear she finds that an embarrassment as well.
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Trailers Always Spoil
 Blinded by the Light / int_143939c1
comment
Trailers Always Spoil: Some of the trailers spoiled that Javed would go to America and see Springsteen's hometown.
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Cool Old Guy
 Blinded by the Light / int_17501df2
comment
Cool Old Guy: Mr Evans, Javed's neighbour, who encourages his writing and standing up against the NF.
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I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham
 Blinded by the Light / int_20a18a93
comment
I Do Not Like Green Eggs and Ham: Malik is completely dismissive of Bruce Springsteen and his music, considering it a bad influence that is distracting Javed from pursuing a noble profession. But then when he actually listens to Springsteen's songs, he finds himself appreciating the themes of family and working hard for a better life. He reconciles with Javed soon afterwards (while joking that Springsteen has to be a fellow Pakistani given the lyrical content) and the film ends with them listening to "Born to Run" as they drive to Manchester.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_233d181
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Misaimed Fandom
 Blinded by the Light / int_233d181
comment
Misaimed Fandom: Discussed In-Universe. Matt doesn't understand Javed's love of Springsteen and cites "Born in the U.S.A." as an example of the guy being a one-note patriotic American. Javed points out the song is actually about the harsh treatment and trauma Vietnam War veterans had to face upon returning home.
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Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times
 Blinded by the Light / int_24ddbe2b
comment
Saw "Star Wars" Twenty-Seven Times: The end credits note that Sarfraz Manzoor, "the real Javed", has now seen Springsteen in concert 150+ times.
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Fantasy-Forbidding Father
 Blinded by the Light / int_308ac24f
comment
Fantasy-Forbidding Father: For much of the film, Malik is an authoritarian, intolerant stick-in-the-mud who cannot conceive of his son following pursuits like writing. Even when Javed writes a newspaper story defending their community which gets published on the front page, all Malik can think of how his son stirring up trouble when any other parent would be screaming in pride up and down the street with a copy of the story in his hands.
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FantasyForbiddingParent
 Blinded by the Light / int_419a459d
comment
With his father Malik. Both had dreams of leaving home and making something of themselves elsewhere, with a Fantasy-Forbidding Parent. Malik also ends up with an appreciation for Springsteen, like his son
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 Blinded by the Light / int_5134c207
type
Failed Dramatic Exit
 Blinded by the Light / int_5134c207
comment
Failed Dramatic Exit: Javed has a big emotional fight with his father and storms out of the house and attempts to drive off. The car does not start.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_55232afa
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Politically Incorrect Hero
 Blinded by the Light / int_55232afa
comment
Politically Incorrect Hero: Malik is not a villain by any means, but he does have a rather narrow worldview as shown by his frequent comments about Jewish people. (Even these are positive, but stereotypical)
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 Blinded by the Light / int_564caaae
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Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure
 Blinded by the Light / int_564caaae
comment
Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure: While it's implied their friendship had been wavering for some time before then, Javed and Matt fall out when Matt finally has enough of Javed not sticking up for him against his father making fun of him and his taste in music. However, the trope is zigzagged with Javed going back to Matt’s house to apologize at the very end of the scene and Matt accepting the sentiment after a brief pause.
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Second-Act Breakup
 Blinded by the Light / int_59166261
comment
Second-Act Breakup: Eliza and Javed break up when she finds out that Javed left his older sister's wedding processional, and completely missed them being attacked because he left to buy Springsteen tickets. Tickets that were never in danger of selling out.
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Politically Incorrect Villain
 Blinded by the Light / int_729c69f3
comment
Politically Incorrect Villain: Though far from the focus, the National Front are present throughout the movie harassing and threatening the Pakistanis.
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Hated Hometown
 Blinded by the Light / int_7f67b0c6
comment
Hated Hometown: One of Javed's biggest desires, even from a young age, is to leave Luton as soon as he can. One of the poems he writes is even called "Luton is a Four Letter Word."
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Politically Motivated Teacher
 Blinded by the Light / int_808316b6
comment
Politically Motivated Teacher: Ms Clay makes her political position clear on her first appearance.
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Middle Child Syndrome
 Blinded by the Light / int_83a30cd3
comment
Middle Child Syndrome: Javed has an older sister, and a younger one and is the only child to really have problems with his dad.
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Bait-and-Switch
 Blinded by the Light / int_8797239c
comment
Bait-and-Switch: Mr Evans finds one of Javeds poems, bluntly condemning the local skinheads and brings it over the house sternly. Malik is started to apologize when he says how he fought men with swastikas in World War Two and is happy to see someone standing up to people wearing them in the streets of Britain’s and compliments his writing. When Javed arrives in New Jersey and is going through customs, the stern looking official asks him why he's visiting the country. After Javed explains that he's won a contest and is also going to tour Bruce Springsteen's hometown, the man tells one of his coworkers what Javed just said. He then smiles at Javed and tells him he can't think of a better reason for someone to visit America.
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Children Are Innocent
 Blinded by the Light / int_91672d3e
comment
Children Are Innocent: Not exactly; some of the racists harassing the Pakistanis are children, but while the teenager threatens Javed and the adults flat out assault people, the kids do gross "pranks" and then run away laughing to themselves.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_9e447c8c
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Suspiciously Apropos Music
 Blinded by the Light / int_9e447c8c
comment
Suspiciously Apropos Music: The plot is largely kicked off because of how much the lyrics to certain songs by Springsteen fit Javed's life like a glove. Of particular note is how "Dancing in the Dark" and its lines of "I check my look in the mirror Wanna change my clothes, my hair, my face" and "I'm sick of sittin' 'round here tryin' to write this book" describe Javed's trouble with girls and issues as a writer.
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Silly Love Songs
 Blinded by the Light / int_a040ed2e
comment
Silly Love Songs: What Matt wants Javed to write for his band. After Javed starts dating Eliza, he does.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_a3a838c7
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Values Resonance
 Blinded by the Light / int_a3a838c7
comment
Values Resonance: In-Universe. The main focus of plot is how the lyrics of some of Bruce Springsteen's songs meant to describe the feeling of middle class New Jersey in the late 1970s/early 1980s resonate to a Pakistani boy living in Britain nearly a decade after they came out.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_a4905771
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Double-Meaning Title
 Blinded by the Light / int_a4905771
comment
Double-Meaning Title: Besides being a shout-out to Springsteen, the title also refers to how the revelation of Springsteen and how music and words can be used, seeing the light if you will, completely takes over Javed's life and makes him oblivious to the issues going on with his family. This all comes to a head when Javed ditches his sister's wedding and is not there when his family is attacked by NF marchers because he left to buy Springsteen tickets.
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All for Nothing
 Blinded by the Light / int_aed65980
comment
All for Nothing: Javed's neighbor Mr. Evans laments that he and his friends risked their lives in World War II to defeat the Nazis, only for the National Front in Luton to adopt their symbols and ideology. Javed ducks out from a family wedding to get Springsteen concert tickets while they are still available. It turns out that he needn't have hurried: there were plenty available at the dealer and selling relatively slowly.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_b3f77675
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Grass Is Greener
 Blinded by the Light / int_b3f77675
comment
Grass is Greener: Inverted. Malik is wary of Javed traveling to Monmouth University in New Jersey for a conference because of America's issues with gang violence and drugs. Javed points out their very town has those same exact problems.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_ba5bbda5
type
Mirror Character
 Blinded by the Light / int_ba5bbda5
comment
Mirror Character: Twice in relation to Javed: With his father Malik. Both had dreams of leaving home and making something of themselves elsewhere, with a Fantasy-Forbidding Parent. Malik also ends up with an appreciation for Springsteen, like his son With Matt. Despite their differences in taste, both found a connection to their music that very few people understand, and both of them clash with their father over it.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_c10da874
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The '80s
 Blinded by the Light / int_c10da874
comment
The '80s: It begins with a prologue in 1980 and then flashes forward seven years to 1987. Aside from the fashions and music various references to 1980s Britain abound, including several references to Margaret Thatcher.
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 Blinded by the Light / int_c335b9ec
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Irony
 Blinded by the Light / int_c335b9ec
comment
Irony: Several characters mock Javed's love of Springsteen, claiming that he's a has-been whose music is for old people while praising musicians such as Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, who were all very much fad musicians that never had the lasting impact Springsteen has had.
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Letting Her Hair Down
 Blinded by the Light / int_ccfc0535
comment
Letting Her Hair Down: Javeds younger sister Shazia does this both figuratively and literally at a club she sneaks off to to go dancing and once has Javed accompanying her.
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Cool Teacher
 Blinded by the Light / int_cf231d54
comment
Cool Teacher: It's clear that Ms Clay has ambitions in this direction, and she helps Javed a lot — though from what we see, her actual lessons are usually fairly conventional, and it's not clear how seriously any of her other students take her attitude.
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ToiletHumor
 Blinded by the Light / int_d442f9d1
comment
Toilet Humor: Subverted; some racist kids piss through Javed's father's friend's mail slot, but it's presented as gross and the brats are the only ones laughing. They apparently do it so much that the family sets plastic down inside their house.
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Dating What Daddy Hates
 Blinded by the Light / int_de89c0a1
comment
Dating What Daddy Hates: After meeting Eliza's Conservative parents and hearing them mention how she's brought a "colored fellow" home before, Javed asks her whether she's only dating him as a form of rebellion. She assures him that when they're together, the last thing she's thinking about are her parents.
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Empathic Environment
 Blinded by the Light / int_e3cee2e7
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Empathic Environment: Javed contrives to suffer an evening's worth of especially tumultuous emotions on the night of the Great Storm of 1987.
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Calling the Old Man Out
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comment
Calling the Old Man Out: When Javed wins the contest to get to visit Monmouth University in New Jersey Malik forbids him from going, as well as forbidding him from even thinking about going to Manchester to study. Javed calls him out, saying that Malik, too, left his home, Pakistan, at a young age. Malik's wife, Noor also does this to him near the end after Malik banishes Javed from returning home from his USA trip, reminding him that he too left Pakistan at a young age against his family's wishes and how his actions are pushing Javed away. She then urges him to make it right with Javed or else they might lose him forever and she'll never forgive him.
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Parental Hypocrisy
 Blinded by the Light / int_ede89ad6
comment
When Javed wins the contest to get to visit Monmouth University in New Jersey Malik forbids him from going, as well as forbidding him from even thinking about going to Manchester to study. Javed calls him out, saying that Malik, too, left his home, Pakistan, at a young age.
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Ironic Juxtaposition
 Blinded by the Light / int_f09e6c1c
comment
Ironic Juxtaposition: Javed's sister's wedding is attacked by some National Front demonstrators who beat up Javed's father, calling for immigrants to be removed from Britain, right beside a billboard for the Conservative Party proclaiming its message of "Uniting Britain."
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My Sister Is Off-Limits
 Blinded by the Light / int_fb56b948
comment
My Sister Is Off-Limits: Averted. Javed sees Shazia dancing familiarly with a boy at the club and, frowning asks how long they’ve been together, with Shazia hesitantly saying they’ve been in a Secret Relationship fifteen months, at which point her brother breaks into a smile and congratulated her for being able to hide it from the family for so long. Then, he shifts the conversation to talking about the sense of liberation music brings them.
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Titled After the Song
 Blinded by the Light / int_fcdf597b
comment
Titled After the Song: Titled after the first track of ''Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.'' (which incidentally makes it the first Springsteen song commercially released), though the title also has another meaning in the context of the film. See Double-Meaning Title.
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The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

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