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Malik: Stay away from the girls. Follow the Jews!
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Javed: [about his poems] They're not brilliant, but they're mine.
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Mrs. Anderson: Oh, please, Colin. Tiffany? Even I know Tiffany's not all that.
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Matt: Synths are the future!
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Matt: Who writes songs about nuclear war and Thatcher, anyway?
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Javed: Who's that?
Roops: The Boss.
Javed: Whose boss?
Roops: The boss of us all.
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Malik: You're very lucky. You'll always be Pakistani. You will never be British!
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Roops: Congratulations! You've popped your Bruce cherry. You never forget your first time!
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Alan: No one listens to Springsteen anymore. He's history!
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Javed: It's Bruce Springsteen.
Malik: Springsteen? Jewish?
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Mr. Evans: 48 years ago I marched into war with my friends to fight men in swastikas. Today I see swastikas on young men on the streets of Luton. That was a very brave poem, young man. You must write more and get your message out. N.F. scum indeed!
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Javed: Goodbye, cheese and pickle! My summer job is done! The cold war rages on. Reagan and Thatcher are still number one! But I'm stuck in Luton, one of the herd. No fun, freedom or future, 'cause Luton is a four-letter word.
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[first lines]
Young Javed: September, 1980. My best friend Matt and I have the same birthday. He got a brand new chopper bike. It's really fast and looks so cool. I got a Rubik's cube. But Matt gave me this diary that he didn't want. And I'm going to write in it every day.
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Malik: Listen to me, beta. I'm not your typical Pakistani father who says you must be a doctor. I'm saying... lawyer, accountant, estate agent. I'm giving you freedom, see?
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Eliza: Javed doesn't drink. He's a Muslim. It's against their religion, Dad.
Robert: [pausing] Well, have a little bit, see how you go. We won't tell anyone if you don't.
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Javed: Dad, I want to be a writer.
Malik: Writing isn't a job.
Javed: It can be!
Malik: Name me one Pakistani writer. Just one!
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Noor: If we don't try to fix this now we will lose our son for good. And if that happens, I will never forgive you.
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Passport Official: [Processing Javed's entry into the United States] Purpose of your visit?
Javed: I'm going to see Bruce Springsteen's hometown.
Passport Official: I can't think of a better reason to visit the United States than to see the home of the Boss!
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Javed: But the reason I connected with Springsteen is because what he sings about and champions are not only American values but are the best of human values. He talks about working hard and holding on to your dreams and not letting the hardness of the world stop you from letting the best of you slip away.
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Javed: My dad's not a typical dad. We don't have
[sniffs]
Javed: jokey chats. He's not like the dads you see on the telly. A lot of the time he seems pretty angry at the world. I think Bruce Springsteen would understand my dad, 'cause, like his father, they both came from poor backgrounds, both worked hard in factories, both had dreams that never came true, which left them angry. And they both had sons who wanted the chance to make them proud.
Blinded by the Light Quotes
Extended Reading
