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blinded by the light

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blinded by the the light is a film which was low budgeted (15mil). It has grossed $17mil, the songs were sung by American pop star Bruce Springsteen who was very well known.

The role of the use of Bruce Springsteen’s music in getting the film financed and in the marketing of the film, there was use of traditional marketing and distribution techniques; trailers, posters, film festivals etc.

Film: Blinded By The Light (12A) - Keighley Creative
Blinded by the light, Notes

CSP – BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

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Blinded by the Light (2019)

  • ‘Blinded by the Light’, directed by Gurinder Chadha (known for 2002 film ‘Bend it like Beckham’ which made over $100M), was released in January 2019.
  • In an interview with Stefan Pape of the ‘HeyUGuys’ YouTube channel in August 2019, Chadha said that she created a film with a similar theme to ‘Bend it like Beckham’ because it is “what she knows” and that she was “worried about the repetition” which is why she left a 17 year gap between the two.
  • This links to David Hesmondhalgh’s idea that the “cultural industries are risky” and indie companies and even majors often rely on repetition of what they know, and are good at producing, to keep a dedicated audience and fan base, meaning money and reduction of risk.

David Hesmondhalgh says; “All business is risky, but the cultural industries constitute a particularly risky business” 

The media and creative industry is based off of audience preference, taste, and how audiences will react to productions. For example, if a production gets a unexpected, negative reaction, money is lost without being made back and jobs are lost, making it a risky venture. Artists and producers take a risk when creating a product as they don’t have any idea how it will be received by the consumers.

  • It is based on the ‘true story’ of a Pakistani boy growing up in the UK in the 1980s. The film is written by and largely influenced by Sarfraz Manzoor’s, 2007, personal memoir, ‘Greetings from Bury Park’ (a play on the ‘Greetings from Ashbury Park’ album by Bruce Springsteen (1973).
  • It was a ‘medium-low’ budget production ($15m), the British coming of age, comedy was co-funded by ‘New Line Cinema’ (founded in 1967), a company of the label ‘Warner Brothers Picture Group’, sub division of the ‘Warner Brothers’ media concentration. Regulation of the industry through the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).
  • ‘Bend It Films’ is a UK based, indie production company owned by major US conglomerate ‘Warner Brothers’. Bend It Films developed the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media. Linking to the fact that major companies need new ideas and concepts, provided by the independent companies they own whilst independent companies need major companies to fuel distribution and exhibition because these major companies have the right to use streaming platforms to display their productions.

Bruce Springsteen’s Music

  • The production uses Bruce Springsteen’s music from his fame during the 1970-80’s. The use of his music is a clever way of not only globalizing exhibition to project to Springsteen fans worldwide and also playing to a older demographic through a sense of nostalgia and way of looking back to the past.
  • “One would assume it would mostly appeal to British Asians who lived through the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen fans, and in particular, Asian Bruce Springsteen fans who lived through the 1980s.” – Guardian online Article : ‘My film is bridging cultural divides. This gives me hope in such polarised times’ by Sarfraz Manzoor, Thursday 29 Aug 2019.
  • Independent online Article : ‘Blinded by the Light, review: Gurinder Chadha’s ode to Springsteen is utterly joyous’, Wednesday 14th August 2019
  •  “Blinded by the Light offers not only a reminder of Springsteen’s lyrical genius, but of how he’s always served as a beacon for the disenfranchised, wherever they may be”
  • Nostalgia for Springsteen fans
  • The director was granted the rights to use Springsteens music at a discounted rate from his management at Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) and Sony Music. In an interview with Variety (Jan 2019), Chadha reflects on her thoughts before making the film “I know how to make this film, but we have to get Bruce on our side.” Evidently the film needed the funding and support from Springsteen himself to be produced and completed. – Being as Bend it Films is an independent company, it needs support, unlike other companies who can self fund projects.

Distribution and Marketing

  • Released in cinemas in August 2019
  • Made $18.1 million in box office
  • Picked up by New Line Cinema at the January 2019 Sundance Film Festival in Utah, USA
  • This premiere guaranteed a global cinema release.
  • Premieres took place in London, Luton and Ashbury park (attended by Springsteen)
  • With ‘Bend it Films’ being owned by parent company ‘Warner Bros’, the film lends itself to being promoted through the plethora of streaming services that Warner Bros can access for their productions. For example, the film can be bought or rented on amazon prime video, google play and Apple TV as well as being streamed on Netflix.
  • Use of social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as a way of distribution and advertisement. The ‘Metaverse’ conglomerate uses horizontal integration, meaning that it holds many huge companies under its overarching ownership . The verified Instagram account ‘@blindedbythelightmovie’ has over 6,000 followers however it only follows 5 people, including the director, writer and a few leading characters. Perhaps the use of these accounts is to send a direct message of promotion rather than a way of connecting with their consumers, it’s sole purpose is to inform and distribute.
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blinded by the light

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Film: Blinded By The Light (12A) - Keighley Creative

*Low budget film that cost $15 million to make

*The songs are by Bruce Springsteen a well known American artist

*A small British film production that works with warner bros in America, a big film company

*The film is advertised on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and they put clips of the film to get people to watch it but most of the time it shows spoilers

*Its based on a true story about a Pakistani boy trying to fit in in the UK

*There’s an article on the guardian by Sarfraz Manzoor posted Thursday 29th august 2019 and mentions that people from all over the world from Jerusalem, Omaha and Australia thanking them for the representation in the film and how they connected with the main character

*The film is regulated by BBFC

*The use of Bruce Springsteen’s music helps him earn more money because of the film using his songs

Blinded by the light, Institution

Blinded by the Light- Notes

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  • ‘Blinded by the Light’, directed by Gurinder Chadha (known for 2002 film ‘Bend it like Beckham’), was released in January 2019.
  • Blinded by the Light is an example of a US/UK co-production and distribution. Its distributor New Line Cinema is associated with ‘indie’ films although it is a subsidiary of Warner Brothers Pictures, part of the global conglomerate, WarnerMedia.
  • ‘Bend It Films’ is a UK based, indie production company owned by major US conglomerate ‘Warner Brothers’. Linking to the fact that major companies need new ideas and concepts, provided by the independent companies they own whilst independent companies need major companies to fuel distribution and exhibition because these major companies have the right to use streaming platforms to display their productions.
  • Blinded by the Light is a low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) and independent production companies including Levantine Films. Bend it Films and Ingenious Media. Blinded by the Light has grossed $17.2 million.
  • In an interview with Stefan Pape of the ‘HeyUGuys’ YouTube channel in August 2019, Chadha said that she created a film with a similar theme to ‘Bend it like Beckham’ because it is “what she knows” and that she was “worried about the repetition” which is why she left a 17 year gap between the two. This links to David Hesmondhalgh’s idea that the “cultural industries are risky” and indie companies and even majors often rely on repetition of what they know, and are good at producing, to keep a dedicated audience and fan base, meaning money and reduction of risk.
  • The role of the use of Bruce Springsteen’s music in getting the film financed and in the marketing of the film-Blinded by the Light has been described as a feelgood jukebox musical film using the music of Bruce Springsteen.
  • Use of traditional marketing and distribution techniques; trailers, posters, film festivals etc.
  • Marketing techniques such as use of genre, nostalgia, identity, social consciousness
  • Distribution techniques – reliance on new technology; VOD, streaming
  • Regulation of the industry through BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).
  • it can be considered in its economic context having a mix of independent and major production and distribution contexts targeting a different audience to ‘indie’ and high budget films.
  • It is based on the ‘true story’ of a Pakistani boy growing up in the UK in the 1980s. These links demonstrate how the historical context, nostalgia and British-Asian identity is used in the promotion of the film.
  • “One would assume it would mostly appeal to British Asians who lived through the 1980s, Bruce Springsteen fans, and in particular, Asian Bruce Springsteen fans who lived through the 1980s.” – Guardian Article : ‘My film is bridging cultural divides. This gives me hope in such polarised times’ by Sarfraz Manzoor, Thursday 29 Aug 2019
  • Use of social media such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook as a way of distribution and advertisement. The ‘Meta’ conglomerate uses horizontal integration. The verified Instagram account ‘@blindedbythelightmovie’ has over 6,000 followers however it only follows 5 people, including the director, writer and leading characters. Perhaps the use of these accounts is to send a direct message of promotion rather than a way of connecting with their consumers. (Concentration of media)

Blinded by the light, Uncategorized

Blinded by the Light

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  • A low-medium budget film (15m$)
  • Music from the artist Bruce Springsteen has been around for multiple decades, so the music has already been bought (most likely). This funds the music side of the movie finances as they already own it. Which means that they are gaining more money than spending as they don’t need to purchase it.
  • The movie is an example of an indie vs majors collaboration, where a small indie company (Bend it Films) produces something but is in need of a major company (Warner Bros) to distribute it as they have the contacts needed to exhibit the movie.
  • The production has a lot of diversity as the director is British, likewise the co-company Bend it Networks. The main distributer/co-company is WarnerBros, an American company.
  • Major US global conglomerate Company, WarnerBros, has the money to produce and exhibit but the independent companies like Bend it films has the ideas that will be successful, so working together gives more smaller companies a chance to produce their work.
  • The movie has Social Media accounts such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to help the distribution by promoting it. On Twitter they have 3490 followers while only following 6 people, showing that it is purely for the marketing and distribution.
  • This is also an exhibition example as there will be trailers/spoiler clips of the movie where the public can view it, creating more money for the companies.

The movie in industry:

  • Using the music of Bruce Springsteen gives extra marketing, as fans of him will want to watch
  • Director Gurinder Chadha said in an interview with ‘Hey U Guys’ youtube channel, that she waited 17 years to produce Blinded by the light after producing very successful film Bend it like Beckham. Blinded by the light is very alike bend it like beckam, theme wise, so she was concerned about what people would think.
  • This shows how risky the cultural industries are as if they don’t enjoy the second movie, their reputation will be negative (She said that she was ‘worried about the reputation‘) and the company won’t receive the expected profit, ultimately leading to job losses not just within the production company, but also the distribution companies and people involved with the consumption/exhibition such as marketing companies hired and people working in cinemas. risky business

Media Industries

  • Co funded by New Line Cinema (american production studio owned by warnerbros) and indipendent production companies Levantine films, ingenious media and bend it films
  • Bruce Springsteen music essentially funds the movie and markets it too.
  • Film festivals are used to find distribution deals for films such as blinded by the light.
  • The film uses nostalia, identity, social consciousness and genre to market it: people can identify with the movie and relate to it
  • To distribute, they use new technologies such as streaming platforms (Netflix) where there is a large user consumption as the film has more chance of being watched and making more profit.
  • The regulation of teh industry is kept up through Britsh Board of Film Classification and Livingstone and Lunt.
  • “Blinded by the light has been dedcribed as a feelgood jukebox muiscal film using the music of bruce springsteen”

Social Economic & cultural contexts

  • Characteristic of contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages, reflecting shifting patterns of audience consumption.
  • As it is low budget, it can be considered in its economic context having a mix of independent and major production and distribution contexts targeting a different audience to ‘indie’ and high budget films.

Gurinder Chadha INDIEWIRE INTERVIEW

  • ‘What inspired me to make the movie was the way in which I saw the world going in terms of politician dividing us’
  • ‘Brexit threw a lot of ugly polarisation’
  • ‘As a film maker I wanted to use my voice and highlight that [poeple being divided for other games]
  • ‘Using the words and music of bruce springsteen let us tap into bruce’s philosophy on this’
  • ‘The power of music transcends the potential divisions.’

Exam Prep, Institution, NEA

blinded by the light

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Notes:

  • It was inspired by the life of journalist Sarfraz Manzoor and his love of the works of Bruce Springsteen. Manzoor co-wrote the script with Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges.
  • The budget for Blinded by the Light was 15 million USD.
  • Bruce Springsteen-Themed ‘Blinded by the Light’ Film Gets Distribution Deal. Blinded by the Light, a film about a Muslim in 1987 Britain whose life changes after hearing the music of Bruce Springsteen, has secured a $15 million global deal with New Line and Warner Bros.

Bruce Springteen:

  • Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician.
  • He has released twenty studio albums.
  • He is one of the originators of the heartland rock style of music.
  •  He has been nicknamed “the Boss”.
  • Springsteen was nicknamed “the Boss”, as he took on the task of collecting his band’s nightly pay and distributing it amongst his bandmates.
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key words in “The culture industries”

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Cultural industries This is an economic field concerned with producing, reproducing, storing, and distributing cultural goods and services on industrial and commercial terms. This is the companies included in the field of culture industries such as Netflix or Warner Brothers which is usually in favour of popularity.
———————————————————
Links to gate keeping as these large business decide what media is consumed through the large parent companies. This follows on the borderline of the idea of monopolies as these massive parent companies own the most of all cultural industries but allow few smaller more irrelevant companies to be involved to not be against government regulations.
ProductionThe action of making or manufacturing from components or raw materials, or the process of being so manufactured.
(The making and creation of media)
Media producers may be responsible for a range of tasks, like animation and narration, editing and arranging videos or developing program material.
DistributionThe methods by which media products are delivered to audiences, including the marketing campaign.
– This is one of the main sections of the culture industry.
Exhibition / ConsumptionA public display of works of art or items of interest, held in an art gallery or museum or at a trade fair. This includes companies such as Netflix or Cineworld where they exhibit the production for consumption, the sort of middle man between the promotion then the consumption of the production.
Media concentrationThe ownership of mass media by fewer individuals.
ConglomeratesA group that owns multiple companies which stand out different media specialised in written or audio-visual content.
Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)The worldwide integration of media through the cross-cultural exchange of ideas.
Cultural imperialismThe practice of promoting the culture values or language of one nation in another.
Vertical IntegrationWhere media companies expand by acquiring different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution.
Horizontal IntegrationA way in which media companies expand by acquiring media companies that work in similar sectors.
MergersWhere 2 or more business combine together to make one.
MonopoliesConcentrated control of major mass communications within a society. When a group owns everything in a specific line of business, such as owning the rights to wine, meaning you are the only one that can sell it. This is illegal in most places in the world.
GatekeepersThe process through which information is filtered for dissemination.
RegulationThe process by which a range of specific, tools are applied to media systems and institutions to achieve established policy goals such as pluralism, diversity, competition, and freedom.
DeregulationThe process of removing or loosening government restrictions on the ownership of media outlets.
Free marketOne where voluntary exchange and the laws of supply and demand provide the sole basis for the economic system.
Commodification  The transformation of the relationship, which is trafficked into things that are free of the commercial nature of the relationship.
Convergence  The merging of previously distinct media to create an entire new form of communication expression.
Diversity  A variety or assort of media.
Innovation  The changing in several aspects of the media landscape. The invention of new vales in the marketing sector.
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blinded by the light movie examination prep

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the movie blinded by the light made by new line cinema in association with warner brothers. the movie rides its popularity of  Bruce Springsteen’s music and popularity for their publicity as well as using posters, film festivals and trailers. there are many things that make this a good film for that they have the use of genre, nostalgia, identity, social consciousness which can apply to many people young and old making it a content for everyone to watch. the company distributed their product via VODS( Video on Demand)

Exam Prep, Institution, NEA

Blinded by the light

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Notes :

  • A key example of a low-medium budget film production and US / UK co-production and distribution.
  • New Line Cinema is an American film production studio which was founded in 1967 as well as being the distributor of Blinded By The Light film. New Line Cinema is associated with ‘indie’ films and is a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. This altogether being part of the global conglomerate of WarnerMedia.
  • This low budget production cost around $15 million and was co-funded by New Line Cinema, as well as other production companies such as Levantine Films, Bend it Films and Ingenious Media.
  • Bruce Springsteen’s music is featured in getting the film financed and in the marketing of the film.
  • The use of film festivals in finding distribution deals for films
  • • Use of traditional marketing and distribution techniques; trailers, posters, film festivals etc.
    • Marketing techniques such as use of genre, nostalgia, identity, social consciousness
    • Distribution techniques – reliance on new technology; VOD, streaming
    • Regulation of the industry through BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).
    • Regulation including Livingstone and Lunt
  • A ‘feel goof jukebox musical film’ – description of Blinded by the Light film.
  • The director of the musical was by Grinder Chadha. She is a British director known for Bend it Like Beckham.
  • A mixture of independent and major production / distribution contexts, targeting towards a different audience to ‘indie’.
  • Historical context is displayed by the film being based upon a true story. For example of a Pakistani boy growing up in the UK in the 1980s.