Blinded by the Light

‘Blinded by the Light’ is a feel-good film directed by Gurinder Chadha. It was 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.

Blinded by the Light is a characteristic of the contemporary cultural production in its use of new technology at production and distribution stages, reflecting shifting patterns of audience consumption.

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. 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.

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 which is part of a global conglomerate, WarnerMedia.

Blinded by the Light was released in January 2019.

‘Bend It Films’ is the UK based, indie production company owned by major US conglomerate Warner Brothers’. – Major companies work with small indie companies in order to produce a variety of new ideas and concepts provided by the independent companies they own whilst the independent companies need major companies to fuel distribution and exhibition as they have the right to streaming platforms which display their productions. The industry is regulated through BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).

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 is “what she knows” and that she was “worried about the repetition” which is why she left a 17 year gap between the two. Hesmondhalgh argues that ‘cultural industries are a risky business’ and indie companies and even major companies rely on repetition of what they know and are good at in order to keep a dedicated audience and minimising risk due to a fan base. The result is Blinded by the Light has grossed $17.2 million.

Blinded by the Light utilises the music of Bruce Springsteen – an American rock musician – to receive finance and marketing for the film which has been described as a feelgood jukebox musical 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 bring cultural divides. This gives me hope in such polarised times” By Sarfraz Manzoor, Thursday 29 August 2019.

The production used traditional marketing and distribution techniques such as trailers, posters, and film festivals. Marketing techniques such as use of genre, nostalgia, identity and social consciousness to attract their audience. They relied on new technology; VOD streaming.

They also utilised 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. The use of social media is to promote their product further linking to the concentration of media and Habermas’ transformation of the public sphere.

“Bend It TV aims to take stories of characters who are normally on the margins and place them at the centre of the screen for mainstream, international audiences. Gurinder Chadha is one of the UK’s most respected filmmakers who is passionate about telling effortlessly diverse stories with strong points-of-view. Across genres – both behind and in front of the camera – we tell urgent, joyous, subversive, female-driven stories which connect global audiences and invite them to see the world from a new perspective”. – About Bend It Networks