There are male nude statues outside of a dance club. A girl answers the door wearing her boyfriend’s shirt and then he walks out shirtless, implying they just had sex. He also gives Javed an object with a fertility symbol on it for his birthday.
Matt makes out with his girlfriend in public several times. He also comments to a waitress that he likes his tea the same way he likes his girls: sweet. Roops crudely jokes that Javed has “popped his Bruce cherry” and that “you never forget your first time” after Javed listens to a Springsteen cassette tape that Roops gives him. (Javed later finds that Shazia has been secretly going to the underground dance club mentioned above there, Pakistani youth engage in sensual dancing that no doubt would have scandalized their more traditional parents.) However, she leaves quickly with the promise that she won’t tell their parents, and it is uncertain whether or not they continue. His sister, Shazia, comes home unexpectedly and catches them. Elsewhere, Eliza and Javed make out on his couch while his family isn’t home. Javed and Eliza slow dance together and kiss. Javed’s teacher calls Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a “witch.” A church in Bruce Springsteen’s hometown is seen in the background of a picture.Īn organization called the National Front is very hostile to the Pakistani population in Luton, apparently for both racial and religious reasons. Eliza and Javed attend an anti-facist party in a church cemetery. Javed’s father mentions Jewish people a few times and continually mistakes Bruce Springsteen as being Jewish.
#Blinded by the light film free
(Javed eventually discovers a dance club where many Pakistani youth feel free to shed their cultural inhibitions and dance with abandon, which the film depicts in a positive light even though the club itself is quite clandestine.)
Roops and his family are Sikh, and he wears a turban throughout the film. There are a few references to Islam’s rules about drinking and sex. Accordingly, his mother covers her hair in public, and his dad attends morning prayers at the local mosque, which is seen in the background of at least two scenes. Both Matt and Eliza are instrumental in helping Javed realize that he can’t blame his family for his own failures and that he has to take responsibility for his actions if he wants to accomplish his goals. Eliza, Javed’s girlfriend, is a bit of a political activist, always fighting for social justice and defending those in worse circumstances. Javed’s best friend, Matt, has been loyal to him since they were little kids, protecting Javed from bigotry and sympathizing with him when their dads get them down. But eventually Javed learns that where you come from shapes who you are, and he realizes that the sacrifices his parents are asking him to make are nothing compared to the ones they have already made by emigrating to England. Javed spends lots of time and energy trying to be a normal British teenager (to the disappointment of his proud Pakistani parents, especially his father). We see how this music eventually teaches Javed some important life lessons, including a few he was too stubborn to see before. We see the power that music can have to inspire someone in a new way. Though many of Bruce Springsteen’s songs are prominently featured here, Blinded by the Light tells Javed’s story. Springsteen’s hits inspire Javed’s writing, his way of thinking-even his wardrobe-even as the teen’s understanding of Springsteen’s lyrics grows ever deeper. Guided by Bruce’s stories of determination in the face of hard luck and broken dreams, Javed goes on a (sometimes mildly rebellious) journey of self-discovery. And as The Boss would say it, “Talk about a dream, try to make it real.”Īnd trying to make it real is exactly what Javed does.
But a friend named Roops introduces him to the music of Bruce Springsteen. Javed’s dreams seem further away than ever. When his dad is laid off and England’s economy starts sinking, Javed is expected to be a dutiful son by finding a job and contributing to the family’s basic needs. He has three goals in life: Make lots of money, kiss a girl and get out of this… town? He never actually says that word, but Javed’s dream is to become a writer-something he can’t easily do if he’s stuck in Luton. Javed Khan is a Pakistani teenager growing up in the 1980s in Luton, England.