I watched the movie Blinded by the Light last night, the inspired-by-life story of a Pakistani Muslim growing up in England in the 80s who becomes obsessed with Springsteen. There is a similarly-themed memoir by Safraz Manzoor titled Greetings from Bury Park, which I haven't yet read, but will. I saw a segment on CBS This Morning last week featuring Manzoor, talking about the movie and his love of Springsteen. I was incredibly moved by the segment and eager to see the movie. But, man. Yes, the movie was entertaining -- but it was a lot more broadway-y than the gritty, but ultimately sweet, memoir I think I was hoping for. I'm interested to read the memoir to see if it's more like that. So -- here's the strange admonition I was left with after watching the movie -- don't over edit my WIP. I feel like some of the more heartfelt and most moving elements -- even if gritty and uncomfortable -- might have been edited out of the movie to make it more crowd-pleasing. I might be wrong. But for me, someone who can't stop editing, I think it's a powerful takeaway.
