Summary

 website (Bend it Networks)
• website (Warners)
• posters
• trailer
• social media presence (Twitter, Instagram, facebook etc).

His experiences as a British Muslim boy growing up in 1980s Luton and the impact Bruce Springsteen’s lyrics had upon him.

It is a low-mid budget release ($15m) co-funded by ‘New Line Cinema’, a company owned by the ‘Warner Brothers Picture Group’.

WarnerMedia – is a Global Conglomerate of Warner Bros, Home Box Office, Turner Entertainment Networks, CNN Worldwide, etc

It was directed by Gurinder Chada, a British director known for Bend it Like Beckham

“At a time of such political and social instability in the world, this film provides us with a vital reminder of our shared humanity and the transformative power of music on both a personal and global scale.”- Gurinder

“I was so affected by Springsteen’s songs shows just how powerfully music can transcend race, religion, nationality and class.”- Sarfraz Manzoor

Media industries- how does this film work

• 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.
• co-funded by New Line Cinema and independent production companies including Levantine Films, Bend it Films and Ingenious Media.
• ‘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.
• The role of the use of Bruce Springsteen’s music 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.
• They have 1472 Instagram followers and 37 posts
• • 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

Importance of film festivals

Five-minute standing ovation at the film’s world premiere at the festival. Carolyn Blackwood, President & Chief Content Officer, New Line Cinema, “‘Blinded by the Light’ is one of those incredibly special films, filled with humanity, heart and pure joy, that is simply impossible to resist.

Gets the film known with popular people who will help advertise it and reach their audience as well as a new audience.

The Importance of recognisable Generic Conventions (and the use of familiar music)

Ideas about the importance of genre: His life is saved when he’s turned on to the music of Bruce Springsteen during the late ‘80s National Front/dole queue era. It serves as a poignant parallel to the xenophobia of today.

The use of recognisable music in the marketing of the film: Music can make the other side of the ocean feel like it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump away. It’s the reason Bruce Springsteen can speak directly to a British-Pakistani teenager, who is just trying to survive the cruelties of Thatcher’s Britain.

Chadha tries to reinforce the meaning of Springsteen’s lyrics by having key phrases fly across the screen, but it’s a totally unnecessary – and, frankly, quite an awkward stylistic choice. 

The sense of joy is infectious.

Influences when making the film (social, cultural and economic impacts)

As a low-mid budget film, 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.

http://mediamacguffin12.blogspot.com/2021/01/film-industry-blinded-by-light-case.html