BLINDED BY THE LIGHT

• 'feel good' British movie about an Asian boy growing up in Britain in the 1980's
• It had a low/medium size budget which is very small compared to the average Marvel superhero blockbuster that costs hundreds of millions.
• It is directed by an award winning Asian female film maker called Gurinder Chadha who also made the highly successful Bend It Like Beckham. It was based on a popular best selling book called Greetings From Bury Park.
• Blinded by the Light has a niche target audience of British/Asian so it's an example of a US/UK co-production and distribution.  The film was co funded by smaller independent production companies including:-

  Levantine Films

   

  Bend it Films

   

  Ingenious Media. 

  It was also co-funded by New Line Cinema who also distributed it. Its distributor New Line Cinema is associated with lower-mid budget ‘indie’ films.
• New Line Cinema - Warner Media 

  New Line is also however a subsidiary of the major Hollywood Warner Brothers Pictures who make the big budget superhero movies in the DC Universe which compete directly with Marvel. Warner Brothers Pictures is itself part of the giant global conglomerate, Warner Media. 
• L O W - M E D I U M  B U D G E T  F I L M

  NEW LINE(Indie) = L o w  B u d g e t ( u p t o M i d)

  WARNER(Mass Audience) = M i d  B u d g e t (u p  t o  H i g h)

  B l i n d e d B y T h e L i g h t :£ 15 M i l l i o n P o u n d s

  
  

  This is why the film could be classed as between the two types of budgeted films eg a low and big budget films. This could also be targeting a different audience to ‘indie’ and big budget films. Low budget films under 10 million will usually target small niche audiences.
• A mid budget film like Blinded By The Light which cost 15 million will target both niche audiences eg Asian community but also a wider mass audience eg people that like Bruce Springsteen or nostalgia for the 80's.
• In which time period is the film set?

  Late 70's to early 80's
• What was the political climate in Britain during the film's setting?

  Thatcherism was at its height and there was economic decline and social unrest
• What were some of the consequences of Thatcher's policies?

  Closure of factories and mines leading to mass unemployment
• What types of public services did Thatcher cut back on?

  Education and health care
• What was the reaction of workers to the cuts in public services?

  They felt unfairly treated and responded with strikes and protests
• How do the events of the late 70's and early 80's reflect in the film?

  • The film depicts the economic decline and social unrest of the time
  • It shows the impact of Thatcher's policies on workers
  • Music is portrayed as a source of hope and inspiration during difficult times
• B R E X I T

  The divisive BREXIT referendum in the UK 2019 led to a disturbing resurgence of racist attitudes and values not seen in the UK since the 80's as a result of the UK leaving the European Union known as BREXIT. This influenced the need for Gurinder to release the movie and bring hope for Asian people
• Gurinder had to seek independent financing to get the film off the ground as the film industry in 2019 was dominated by the big budget superhero genre from companies like Marvel owned by Disney which target mass audiences. Any film with a potentially smaller or niche audience would have to seek initial financing from outside the big film companies. It would also have to use free modern forms of advertising and promotion including film festivals and social media. 
• 1 9 8 0's

  The social & cultural contexts of the 80's depicted in the film is similar to the contexts of The Specials and Ghost Town in that the Asian community were facing racism from racist organisations like the National Front(N F)as well as high unemployment due to the brutal economic policies of Margaret Thatcher and her Conservative government. This also led to the creation of the Voice Newspaper for the black community in 1982.The film distributors used different aspects of the film to promote it to a worldwide cinema audience.
• BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN MUSIC

  Bruce Springsteen became a massive world famous music star in the 1980's. His music lyrics were often inspiring to people who were working class or from ethnic minorities.

  The role of the use of music by Bruce Springsteen in getting the film financed was crucial as the film would not have been made without gaining his specific permission. It would be usually very expensive to use the music of an iconic music artist like Bruce Springsteen and low or mid budget films would not normally be able to afford it.
• The director and writer got Bruce's music involved by accidently bumping into Bruce Springsteen at a celebrity event where they made use of the opportunity to 'cheekily' ask him to read the script. Bruce agreed to read it and then gave his official permission to go ahead a few months later. The film makers then made a deal with Sony Music who own Springsteen's music. They secured the rights to use his music at a significantly reduced affordable rate. 
• Springsteen's music and blessing for the film was then used in the marketing of the film as the film featured established Springsteen classics to appeal to lovers of 80's music appealing to a wider audience than just the Asian community..
• MAXIMISING PROFIT

  This is what media theorist Hesmondhalgh would call an obvious attempt at minimising risk in order to maximise profit.
• FILM FESTIVALS

  Low budget indie films are often entered for film festivals like The Sundance Film Festival usually for a small fee or sometimes for free. The film then has the opportunity to be seen by audiences and critics which could generate good reviews and win awards. This can bring a film that does not have a distribution deal to the attention of a big company like Warner who have the money and resources to distribute the film nationwide and then also internationally. 
• DISTRIBUTION DEALS

  Big film company distributors like Warner Media (and Disney)attend these film festivals and are always watching for new films to distribute (with the help of New Line)so they do not have to risk any of their own money in the production costs. If the film wins awards and good reviews at the festival then big companies can strike a deal with New Line and the film makers to use their massive worldwide resources to help market and distribute the film to cinemas. BBTL was shown in the big multiplex chains like Odeon and Vue  alongside the big budget superhero movies
• DISTRIBUTION

  Blinded By The Light despite having been  partly funded independently had the benefit of being distributed by New Line which has access to mass distribution to multiplexes like Odeon and Vue due to New Line being supported by its giant owners Warner Bros Pictures. This gave Blinded By The Light a distinct advantage over independent and low budget films not backed by a giant media conglomerate like Warner Media.
• TRADITIONAL MARKETING & PROMOTION

  Blinded By The Light used traditional film marketing and distribution techniques:

  
  

  TRAILERS

  (At cinemas/YouTube)

  
  

  Theatrical trailers of varying lengths were also released with a PG certificate to

  make them widely available to a range of potential audiences globally. The UK theatrical film trailer took up costly advertising slots in cinemas and on terrestrial TV focussing heavily on the nostalgic elements of the film such as the 80s soundtrack and mise en scène styling eg musical dance numbers/romance to grab the audience’s attention.
• TRADITIONAL MARKETING & PROMOTION

  Blinded By The Light  used traditional film marketing and distribution techniques:

  DIRECTOR NAME/PREVIOUS HIT 

  (eg The acclaimed director of Bend It Like Beckham)

  FILM FESTIVALS

  (eg Sundance) 
• TRADITIONAL MARKETING & PROMOTION

  Blinded By The Light  used traditional film marketing and distribution techniques:

  
  

  NEWSPAPER REVIEWS

  Newspaper and magazine critic reviews eg the Guardian newspaper review which called the film a ‘buoyant but uneven crowd-pleaser.’ Some of the best reviews with their accompanying star ratings were displayed in the later phase of the trailer and the poster campaigns as ‘proof’ of the film's quality in an

  attempt to create an economic niche for the product which was ultimately marketed as:-

  
  

  a ‘quirky, and well-written, independent British film’.
• CONTENT MARKETING

  Marketing techniques related to the content of the film such as:-

  GENRE(Drama)

  INSPIRATIONAL(Following dreams)

  MUSIC(Springsteen + appeal of new songs)

  NOSTALGIA(80's)

  IDENTITY(British/Asian)

  SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS(Racism)

  FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, YOUTUBE

  FREE ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

  These social media sites are the modern free way to advertise,promote and generate word of mouth on a film in the digital age. These techniques are particularly useful for low budget and independent film-makers who do not have big studio backing.
• B B F C

  Regulation of the British film industry is done through the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) which gave the film a 12 rating due to the use of swear words and racist language.
• MULTI-CULTURAL CROSSOVER

  UK / ASIAN /AMERICAN

  The film targets the large and significant UK Asian community as well as BAME community in the UK who could relate to the aspects of racism and 'not fitting in'. 

  It would have a crossover appeal to white UK audiences who appreciate nostalgia and the 80's.

  Bruce Springsteen fans + added appeal of new previously unreleased tracks would further add to the appeal.

  American audiences would be drawn to the inspirational feel good factor as well as the American(Springsteen) soundtrack.
• PRODUCTION BUDGET = £ 15 Million

  BOX OFFICE RESULTS  = £ 18 Million
• DIGITAL STREAMING

  Blinded by the Light made use of various distribution techniques including a reliance on new technology; VOD(Video On Demand)and streaming:-

  AMAZON

  iTUNES / APPLE TV

  GOOGLE PLAY

  YOUTUBE MOVIES

  NETFLIX

  VUDU

  The film has continued to do well on Video On Demand(VOD)streaming services as well as selling well on home video DVD and Blu Ray. 
• BAD TIMING & THE OTHER ASIAN MUSIC FILM...

  YESTERDAY

  Blinded By The Light may not have made as big a profit as it could have had it not suffered by being put into direct competition with another British film with similar content. The film was called Yesterday.
• YESTERDAY: The film was also released just before Blinded By The Light but trailers for both films were shown around the same time in cinemas. The similarities could have confused some audiences in thinking both films were very similar. Even some of the posters used for marketing were strikingly similar. This could have hurt both films by dividing a potentially smaller niche audience further into two.
• Hesmondhalgh argues that the media is increasingly dominated by a specific hegemonic group which extends its power through this control and because these small amount of large companies dominate the media landscape there is little room for diversity as they enforce and promote their hegemonic view across different cultures. This results in a homogenous(eg the same)world view. 
• LOWER BUDGET

  The low budgets of most independent films mean that their measure of success is different – it is a lot easier for a film costing £3-15 million to make back its budget than a film costing $350 million! Low budget films can actually make a bigger percentage profit than a big blockbuster because it needs to make much less to make a profit. A mid budget film like Blinded By The Light is less of a risk than a big superhero blockbuster.