How ‘CODA’ and ‘Blinded by the Light’ Tell the Same Story (and Which Tells it Slightly Better)

(This post contains SPOILERS for both films)

The night before CODA was released in theaters and on Apple TV+, I was able to watch a free online screening of the film through GoFobo and really enjoyed it. However, once it was over, I was suddenly struck by the similarities it shared with another Sundance film from two years prior, Blinded by the Light, to which, coincidentally, I also was introduced through a free screening, and I realized both of these movies essentially tell the same story, yet the later has mostly been forgotten. Here is how the plots of these films are very similar and why I think Blinded tells it slightly better, particularly from a screenwriting perspective.

Let’s start with a basic recap for both films. CODA is about Ruby, the only hearing member of a deaf family who joins her high school choir and realizes that she wants to pursue singing. In preparation for her audition for Berklee College of Music, her teacher offers her additional instruction. However, the immediate needs of her family’s fishing business threaten her dreams. Meanwhile, Blinded by the Light is about poet Javed, a college student and the son of Pakistani immigrants in Luton, England whose family disapproves of his aspirations. When a friend at school introduces him to the music of Bruce Springstein, he draws fresh inspiration. However, his family faces financial struggles when his father loses his factory job.

Both films deal with unique subject matters that have rarely been portrayed before on film, showing the child of deaf parents and Pakistan immigrants living in 1980s England. They both feature teenagers discovering an artistic passion and dreaming of getting into a specific college to pursue said art, leaving their family and hometown behind in the process. Their circumstances give them unique perspectives that help make them stand out. However, family expectations grow into demands, and their families ultimately need them for financial reasons. They each also face discrimination because of their circumstances. Each protagonist takes a class without their parents’ knowledge and is assisted by the instructor of said class. Each appears selfish in pursuing their goals and are pushed into quitting, only to later change their mind. They ultimately prove themselves on a stage where their family enters late, and the films end with them leaving for college. Both lead characters also have a love interest with whom they get together, though at one point in the film, they are separated. Both films also heavily involve music, with CODA featuring Ruby singing and Blinded, the music of Bruce Springstein.

Blinded by the Light did several things better, especially when it’s portraying the passion that drives the plot. Javed’s passion for writing is revealed a great deal, making his actions more believable. Although he wants to pursue writing instead of singing, ironically, this is the film that feels more like a musical than the one about a singer, which feels like a missed opportunity on CODA’s part. Part of this is because Javed’s inspiration is Bruce Springstein’s music, which is used in clever ways, including lyrics as graphics and a Bollywood-inspired music video-esqe scene featuring “Born to Run.” On a similar note, Javed’s moment of inspiration is portrayed in much more stark demarcation than in CODA. Both protagonists start out already interested in their art forms, but Javed’s moment of inspiration is a huge moment in the film, whereas Ruby’s decision to pursue music feels a lot more muddled.

There are a few things that CODA does do better, including showing specifically how her family needs her. But it’s interesting that in Blinded, we see Javed separated from his family and the toll it has on them, whereas how Ruby’s family copes without her is only shown once when the Coast Guard catches her family in her absence.

However, it’s interesting to note that while Blinded and CODA both have the woman forgive her love interest, because Ruby is CODA’s protagonist, it puts the pressure on her to forgive Miles, whereas in Blinded, Eliza’s forgiveness is for Javed’s decision that they should break up. Javed’s actions seem less severe and embarrassing and it’s part of his journey to make amends. Eliza’s efforts to reach out to him are more story-relevant as well because she reaches out to his family first. On a similar note, the moment that Ruby needs to forgive, while explained, is not shown in CODA. We never actually see Miles’s family and it’s instead described to us secondhand, whereas in Blinded, we do see Eliza’s family in one scene, confirming her descriptions of them. The film also brings up the question of whether or not Ruby’s teacher would actually be tutoring her, since it could be against the rules. When I was in high school orchestra, our teachers weren’t allowed to tutor us privately. Another reason Blinded works better is because I can believe Javed got into his desired college a lot more, partially because of his previous success in winning the contest, whereas I had a harder time believing that Ruby’s performance would have earned her a place in an exclusive music academy. Blinded also benefits from taking place in the past rather than the present, adding more political commentary in the process.

While I have explained all these reasons one film succeeds over the other, I have to admit a slight bias toward Blinded for several reasons, among them being a writer myself, though I do love singing as well. In many ways, Blinded echoes my life, except instead of drawing inspiration from Bruce Springstein, for me it was The Chronicles of Narnia. In fact, I first saw Blinded in the same theater that I first saw The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and seeing it inspired me to write my “transformational essay” for my graduate school application on this topic. For this essay, I was supposed to describe a transformational moment in my life, so I wrote about first seeing the movie. I had been hesitant, since I thought writing about seeing a movie might be seen as cliche, but it ultimately worked and I’m now studying at Chapman University.

CODA has received three Oscar nominations, including for Best Picture, whereas Blinded got none, despite receiving positive reviews. Blinded is also underrated and inspired by an actual true story, instead of being a work of pure fiction. I hope I convinced you to at least check out Blinded by the Light, even if it never got love from the Academy.