Now I know what you’re thinking. Bruce Springsteen. His music is on the opposite side of the spectrum when it comes to showing the lives of British Asians. However, trust me when I say this, it works. His music shows the thought process of the lead character, Javed, without taking the limelight.
The movie is brilliant. It really shows what immigrants from South Asia, and their families went through in Thatcher’s Britain. The movie follows the life of a young teenager, Javed. Unlike common South Asian traditions, Javed wants to become a writer. That is his passion. However, his father sees it as a hobby and wants Javed to use his education to get a proper job.
On top of that, the movie follows Javed and his family, as they are the victims of discrimination and hate crimes. Throughout the movie they are labelled as “Pa*is” and other slurs. 80s Britain wasn’t a great prosperous place for the working class. The conservative government had created a depress state as the recession hit the country. In the eyes of the public, the cause of the problem were the Immigrants coming into this country. The movie shows the troubles and hardships of British Asians in the 80s. It doesn’t try to hide the fact that 1980s Britain was rife with racism and discrimination. Attacks on British Asian were normal. Kids were raised to hate anyone with brown skin. The great 80s wasn’t great for everyone.
As the movie continues, we start to see a rift between Javed and his father. His father was hit by the economic disaster, as he was laid off. As he struggles to pay the bills, he starts to expect more of Javed, to bring in money to help the family out. We see this rift hit a boiling point as Javed wants to follow his passion of writing, but his father wants him to get a “real job” to pay the bills.
To some simple minded people, Javed’s father is the villain of the movie. However, I don’t see it like that. I can understand and sympathise with him. Although I don’t agree with him. He was just looking out for his family. He came to this country with nothing, but the will to provide the best possible life for his family. Due to circumstances out of his control, he was about to lose everything he worked hard for. To him he felt like he failed. He wasn’t able to provide the lifestyle he wanted for his children. He was looking to his son for some help to make this journey to the UK a success.
Even though I understand his mindset, I don’t agree with him. He needs to let his son live the life he wants. If he is passionate about writing then he should pursue that, especially since Javed is a genius at writing. This setback he was going through will only be a small setback if he puts his faith in his son. In the end he did allow Javed to follow his dream and it turned out to be the right move.
Another reason why I don’t see his father as the villain is because we see the pain he is going through. Not just him but his wife too. They’re struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills. Javed’s mum has to pawn off her bangles just so they have some money to survive. There’s this really beautiful moment towards the end where Javed brings back the bangles for his mother.
Another positive about this movie is that it doesn’t whitewash the lives of British Asians. It shows us as who we are. We’re not completely different to everyone else, but we still lead different lives. The movie doesn’t show the younger characters as these sex obsessed freaks. On top of that it doesn’t show the family as this completely backwards, oppressed family who live by these strict rules. Yes, Javed father does have some rules, which he wants his children to abide by, but they’re not way over the top. Nonetheless, his children break all the rules anyway. Their lives are not that different to the lives of other children.
The movie has a really emotional ending. After leaving his family home, Javed travels to America and sees the birthplace of his Idol. When he returns, he is performing his poem at his school. His family walk in to watch him speak. However, Javed changes the script. He no longer agrees with what he wrote, because it was written in the past. When he wrote the poem, all he cared about was leaving Luton, and putting everything behind him as he lives a new life. Now, he has discovered who he is. Instead of putting everything behind him, he’s going to bring everything he holds dear with him on this ride called life. He speaks about his fathers hardships and he realises everything his father has gone through just so he could be on that stage.
Now lets talk about Bruce Springsteen. There is a quote in the trailer “what does Bruce Springsteen know about us” and Javed’s father says “he doesn’t sing for people like us”. When I watched the trailer, I was like that is so true. What does Springsteen know about British Asians? For someone who loves 80s culture, I’ve never really listened to Springsteen. Well, because I’ve always thought he was a patriotic American-phile. His most popular song is Born in the USA. Oh, how wrong I was. Even Born in the USA is about working class veterans coming back from the war in Vietnam. A war in which the working class, especially African Americans were thrown into the line of fire just so America could create some kind of unwritten status around the world.
The way the movie uses Springsteen is amazing. His music holds the movie beautifully. The music tells the story of Javed. It really shows Javed’s mindset without trying to overshadow it. The music is used as a secondary story line in the background. You know it’s there and you tap along to it, but your focus is on Javed.
Unfortunately, there is a negative aspect to this movie. It’s not the fault of the movie, but society. This movie is about a story in 1987. 32 years later, in 2019, the problems are still relevant today. The hardship of Javed’s family are still felt by British Asians today. Islamophobia is on the rise, so is hate crimes. Masjids are constantly attacked and vandalised. We have seen attempted attacks on masjids in this country, but also horrific terrorist attacks on masjids across the world. Just like Thatcher’s Britain, the Tory government are bleeding dry the poorest and most vulnerable. Just like in the 80’s it is immigrants who are to blame for all the hardship present today. That is why Brexit is a thing. By kicking out all the immigrants, we will be able to go back to the white United Kingdom who will thrive without the dirty hands of immigrants. Unfortunately, that is the mindset of people today. It is really sad to see a movie based on the 80s and find so many negative similarities.
To all children of immigrants. I don’t just request you to go watch Blinded by the Light. I demand you to go watch it. If you truly want to know what your family went through when they came into this country then watch this movie. It will show you the true hardship they had to go through. It wasn’t all plain sailing. They were discriminated by their neighbours. On top of that the policies of Thatcher’s government didn’t help them in any way. This movie isn’t just educational. The story line is amazing. It is funny and emotional. Watch it, laugh and cry. It is a ride, but you will come out of the theatre with a better understanding of what it means to be British Asian.
On top of that, the movie follows Javed and his family, as they are the victims of discrimination and hate crimes. Throughout the movie they are labelled as “Pa*is” and other slurs. 80s Britain wasn’t a great prosperous place for the working class. The conservative government had created a depress state as the recession hit the country. In the eyes of the public, the cause of the problem were the Immigrants coming into this country. The movie shows the troubles and hardships of British Asians in the 80s. It doesn’t try to hide the fact that 1980s Britain was rife with racism and discrimination. Attacks on British Asian were normal. Kids were raised to hate anyone with brown skin. The great 80s wasn’t great for everyone.
As the movie continues, we start to see a rift between Javed and his father. His father was hit by the economic disaster, as he was laid off. As he struggles to pay the bills, he starts to expect more of Javed, to bring in money to help the family out. We see this rift hit a boiling point as Javed wants to follow his passion of writing, but his father wants him to get a “real job” to pay the bills.
To some simple minded people, Javed’s father is the villain of the movie. However, I don’t see it like that. I can understand and sympathise with him. Although I don’t agree with him. He was just looking out for his family. He came to this country with nothing, but the will to provide the best possible life for his family. Due to circumstances out of his control, he was about to lose everything he worked hard for. To him he felt like he failed. He wasn’t able to provide the lifestyle he wanted for his children. He was looking to his son for some help to make this journey to the UK a success.
Even though I understand his mindset, I don’t agree with him. He needs to let his son live the life he wants. If he is passionate about writing then he should pursue that, especially since Javed is a genius at writing. This setback he was going through will only be a small setback if he puts his faith in his son. In the end he did allow Javed to follow his dream and it turned out to be the right move.
Another reason why I don’t see his father as the villain is because we see the pain he is going through. Not just him but his wife too. They’re struggling to put food on the table and pay the bills. Javed’s mum has to pawn off her bangles just so they have some money to survive. There’s this really beautiful moment towards the end where Javed brings back the bangles for his mother.
Another positive about this movie is that it doesn’t whitewash the lives of British Asians. It shows us as who we are. We’re not completely different to everyone else, but we still lead different lives. The movie doesn’t show the younger characters as these sex obsessed freaks. On top of that it doesn’t show the family as this completely backwards, oppressed family who live by these strict rules. Yes, Javed father does have some rules, which he wants his children to abide by, but they’re not way over the top. Nonetheless, his children break all the rules anyway. Their lives are not that different to the lives of other children.
The movie has a really emotional ending. After leaving his family home, Javed travels to America and sees the birthplace of his Idol. When he returns, he is performing his poem at his school. His family walk in to watch him speak. However, Javed changes the script. He no longer agrees with what he wrote, because it was written in the past. When he wrote the poem, all he cared about was leaving Luton, and putting everything behind him as he lives a new life. Now, he has discovered who he is. Instead of putting everything behind him, he’s going to bring everything he holds dear with him on this ride called life. He speaks about his fathers hardships and he realises everything his father has gone through just so he could be on that stage.
Now lets talk about Bruce Springsteen. There is a quote in the trailer “what does Bruce Springsteen know about us” and Javed’s father says “he doesn’t sing for people like us”. When I watched the trailer, I was like that is so true. What does Springsteen know about British Asians? For someone who loves 80s culture, I’ve never really listened to Springsteen. Well, because I’ve always thought he was a patriotic American-phile. His most popular song is Born in the USA. Oh, how wrong I was. Even Born in the USA is about working class veterans coming back from the war in Vietnam. A war in which the working class, especially African Americans were thrown into the line of fire just so America could create some kind of unwritten status around the world.
The way the movie uses Springsteen is amazing. His music holds the movie beautifully. The music tells the story of Javed. It really shows Javed’s mindset without trying to overshadow it. The music is used as a secondary story line in the background. You know it’s there and you tap along to it, but your focus is on Javed.
Unfortunately, there is a negative aspect to this movie. It’s not the fault of the movie, but society. This movie is about a story in 1987. 32 years later, in 2019, the problems are still relevant today. The hardship of Javed’s family are still felt by British Asians today. Islamophobia is on the rise, so is hate crimes. Masjids are constantly attacked and vandalised. We have seen attempted attacks on masjids in this country, but also horrific terrorist attacks on masjids across the world. Just like Thatcher’s Britain, the Tory government are bleeding dry the poorest and most vulnerable. Just like in the 80’s it is immigrants who are to blame for all the hardship present today. That is why Brexit is a thing. By kicking out all the immigrants, we will be able to go back to the white United Kingdom who will thrive without the dirty hands of immigrants. Unfortunately, that is the mindset of people today. It is really sad to see a movie based on the 80s and find so many negative similarities.
To all children of immigrants. I don’t just request you to go watch Blinded by the Light. I demand you to go watch it. If you truly want to know what your family went through when they came into this country then watch this movie. It will show you the true hardship they had to go through. It wasn’t all plain sailing. They were discriminated by their neighbours. On top of that the policies of Thatcher’s government didn’t help them in any way. This movie isn’t just educational. The story line is amazing. It is funny and emotional. Watch it, laugh and cry. It is a ride, but you will come out of the theatre with a better understanding of what it means to be British Asian.
Aleha