Blinded by the Light: contexts and key sequences

Blinded by the Light (Gurinder Chadha, 2019): in Luton in 1987, British Pakistani teenager Javed, who wants to be a writer, is transformed by the music of Bruce Springsteen, while his father loses his job and the National Front marches in the town.
Directed by Gurinder Chadha from Sarfraz Manzoor's memoir.
Thatcher's Britain, unemployment and racism, and the tension between Javed's ambitions and his father's expectations.
Key sequences to know in detail: the opening in Luton, 'Dancing in the Dark' in the storm, and 'Born to Run'.
Cinematography and mise-en-scène: hand-held realism against choreographed musical numbers, lyrics projected on walls, and 1980s costume and props.
Editing and sound: archive news footage and split screen, voice-over, and Springsteen's music.
The few short lines of dialogue that matter most in these sequences, a few words each.
Short answers of the kind the first parts of the Section C question ask for: naming and describing a costume, setting or visually distinctive scene, and explaining how it creates meaning.
How to answer each part: the marks, and what the short identify and explain parts need as well as the extended answer, since naming a technique instead of a specific example from the film loses marks there. Practice questions to try, each headed 'Practice question' with its marks.
Quote only short lines of dialogue you're sure of, a few words at a time, and base every point on what happens in the finished film.

What you need to know