Blinded By the Light
My father and I did not connect when it came to movies. We did connect with Bruce Springsteen, however. My first album I “owned”- when I was 7 or 8- was “Born in the U.S.A.,” and that cassette went to him when I started to get into CDs. My deeper love of The Boss came, actually, from the father of another Boy Scout, though, whom taped his albums for me. I was enraptured by the sound Springsteen and the E-Street Band delivered; I was invigorated by the lyrics of youthful rebellious and young love. It’s a love affair that continues to this day; I haven’t missed a Springsteen album since.
My one and only Springsteen concert came in 2012, when Atlanta was at the top of his Wrecking Ball tour, his first one without the band’s great saxophonist, Clarence Clemons. That weekend, my father entered the hospital with a heart attack, which would keep him hospitalized for about a week, and change aspects of his life profoundly. I went to go visit him before going down to Phillips Arena, and it was great to have that connection. A year and a half later, he passed away from complications from the same heart issues that were identified that weekend; at his memorial service, we played “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Glory Days.” I remember when I made a mix tape for him to drive to, and those two, “Darlington County” and “Dancing in the Dark” were the first four tracks on it. He didn’t take the deep dive into Springsteen I did, but I cannot hear any of those tracks, or really, any of that album, without thinking of him.
All of these thoughts came to mind as I watched Gurinder Chadha’s wonderful musical comedy-drama, “Blinded By the Light.” The film is about a father and son and Bruce Springsteen, but the connection between the three does not occur until after over 100 minutes of disconnect between Javed (Viveik Kalra) and his father, Malik (Kulvinder Ghir). Malik came to Britain with his wife, Noor (Meera Ganatra), to try and give his family a better life, and for the most part, he has been successful, although when we meet them in 1987, the austerity measures of Margret Thatcher’s government is about to put Malik out of work for the first time in 16 years. His family’s life is at stake, as jobs are difficult to come by, and Noor is having to expand her sewing business just to make end’s meat. At the same time, Javed is going to school, and writing poetry; his best friend, Matt (Dean-Charles Chapman), bought him a diary for his birthday in 1980, and he’s been using it to express himself ever since. He feels out of step with his peers, however, until a fellow Pakistani student, Roops (Aaron Phagura), gives him two Springsteen cassettes to listen to- “Born in the U.S.A.” and “Darkness on the Edge of Town.” Javed is transformed, and he cannot help but write. The Boss becomes hardwired into his psyche. He hears Springsteen’s lyrics, and he hears an escape from his humdrum life; that is at odds with what his family, and especially his father, need, though. That pull between his dreams, and his family’s reality, is just one part of the drama of the film.
If this film were just about a boy who listens to Springsteen, and is inspired, I’d enjoy it enough, because I’ve had that moment Javed has when he listens to “Dancing in the Dark” for the first time myself. Springsteen’s lyrics made me feel like I could conquer the world, and that someone understood me. Javed, the film’s stand-in for writer Sarfraz Manzoor (whose life is the inspiration for this film), has that same experience, and believe me, it’s empowering. But what elevates the film to something akin to bliss is not only the larger thematic material at work in the film, but how the film gets to an equally-transformative moment- when Javed starts to not just feel Springsteen’s lyrics, but understand what they are saying. Throughout the film, Javed has heard The Boss’s work, and just felt his message of wanting to escape his small town, and become someone of significance, falling in love along the way. But this awakening is coming at a difficult time for his family, a Pakistani family in England. The far-right and neo-Nazi groups are on the rise, and we see the hostility towards immigrants like Javed’s family, which culminates in a far-right group parading the streets as his family is trying to get to the local Muslim community center so that one of Javed’s sisters can get married. There’s a white man next door to Javed’s family whose stare initially seems like one of hostility…until he reads one of Javed’s poems, which he had thrown out at one point. The passionate voice Javed displays in his writing leads to a surprising confession, and it’s also one that inspires his teacher, Ms. Clay (Haley Atwell), and a classmate (Eliza, played by Nell Williams) whom will become his muse as much as Springsteen does. The film deals with prejudice of many forms in a way that doesn’t distract from the wonderful entertainment value of the film, and only enhances its underlying message, which is The Boss’s as well, about the hardships of life, and the importance of holding on to our dreams. This film is as strong an argument for representation in cinema as any film in recent memory.
My story is not Javed’s, but my awakening involved a lot of the same touchstones his did when it comes to how Springsteen’s music affected me. That shows the universality of The Boss. “Blinded By the Light” will resonate with anyone who has vivid memories of those moments in their life when a piece of music, or piece of art, rewired your brain, and filled your heart. It doesn’t matter if it was Springsteen or not; if you had that same moment, you’ll identify with this film, though if you found yourself feeling alive listening to “Born to Run,” “Thunder Road” or “Dancer in the Dark” to the point where you wanted to express yourself to the world, you’ll certainly get more out of it. This film ends with memories of Sarfraz’s with regards to Springsteen, and his family, in the form of pictures. I might as well end this review the same way.
