By C. Merle Davidson
WARNING: SPOILERS TO FOLLOW.
Last summer the Film “Yesterday,” was released to middling success. It was intended to be a bit of a nostalgia piece centered on the Beatles’ Music only with a twist.
The film opens with Jack Malik trying to make it in as a song-writer in the pop music genre. At the very outset it is important to note that Jack Malik is a combination of perhaps the most common male English name of all time combined with a Punjab surname that means “King.” Indeed, Jack’s people hail from the sub-continent of India though Jack and his parents are all thoroughly culturally Anglicized, complete with British accents and partaking of British customs. King Jack’s family (parents) are the very embodiment of British middle class culture. The filmmakers’ contempt for Jack’s parents throughout the film makes that clear. Jack’s parents, as being emblematic of middle class Brits, are never shown in the film as anything but doofuses. It seems to me that the filmmakers are communicating two things in the way that Mr. and Mrs. Malik are portrayed in the film: first that they are just like us, even though they are Punjab, and secondly, because they are such perfect reflections of the middle class English they are to be cast in a negative light.
King Jack’s number one fan and manager is Ellie Appleton. The name “Ellie Appleton” combines the Beatles hit “Eleanor Rigby” with the record label that carried the Beatles music (Apple). Ellie is your average English white girl who carries a torch for King Jack of Punjab even though King Jack doesn’t see Ellie’s interest in him. Ellie champions Jack’s ability even though it is clear that King Jack is a total failure as a song-writer and performer.
However, a funny thing happens to King Jack as he is about to walk away from his dreams of being a famous song-writer and performer.
As the film moves forward the question is how will King Jack launch his post solar flare career. How will he get these no longer recognized Beatles songs to pole vault him into the consciousness of the West? At this point Ellie Appelton, Jack’s love interest, meets Gavin who produces Jack’s Beatles’ songs for free. Along the way Gavin falls for Ellie and Ellie reciprocates as King Jack’s fame is keeping King Jack of Punjab and Ellie apart. As it turns out Gavin is a classic version of the cucked white male. The story line portrays Gavin negatively having the only virtue of helping King Jack up the fame ladder and as being the beneficiary of King Jack from Punjab’s leftover women.
King Jack’s next big break is when Ed Sheeran (playing himself in the film) discovers Jack and asks King Jack to be the opening act for Sheeran’s concerts. King Jack takes his Afro-British friend “Rocky” (Rocky Raccoon) to be his gopher. Rocky will later accompany King Jack as Jack heads to LA to become famous. These two British non-WASPS thus begin to replace the white man’s song world.
Keep in mind that King Jack is displacing the greatest WASP band in history with the help of WASP’s at each turn. There is a pattern already being established in the film. King Jack from Punjab takes over the white man’s world with the aid of the white man and by the talent of the white man.
The next instantiation of this theme is when we are introduced to Debra Hammer. (No doubt named with “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” in mind.) Debra Hammer aggressively steals Jack from Gavin and Ellie and pushes him into stardom. Debra Hammer is like “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” — aggressive and unexpected in her ruthlessness. Hammer is the perfect modern white woman, bitchy and in love with money. If Ellie is the modern white woman as she embodies turning away from her own heritage to embrace the alien and stranger, Hammer is the modern white woman who sees all men only as a means of advancing her own wealth and well-being. Modern white women are not well portrayed in this film though they are accurately portrayed.
Ed Sheeran challenges Jack to a songwriting contest. Best song written in ten minutes wins. Jack comes out with “The Long and Winding Road” and beats the song Ed had written. Jack thus displaces the ginger Ed as songwriter premier even though King Jack of the Punjab continues to plagiarize Beatles’ music. Jack has to stand on the shoulders of perceived great white men in order to become great himself.
Towards the end of the film Jack discovers that there are two other people in the world who, along with him remember the Beatles’ music. Ironically enough these two are white People and they show up after Jack’s breakout concert in order to meet King Jack. King Jack of Punjab is convinced that these two are going to upbraid him for stealing the Beatles’ music for his own but instead these two old Hippie types end up thanking King Jack of the Punjab for resurrecting the Beatles’ music which otherwise would have been lost completely to history. They thank Punjab King Jack for replacing John, Paul, George and Ringo who originally wrote and performed the music. White people may be eclipsed but their music lives on thanks to King Jack of the Punjab.
As Jack’s popularity grows he attracts the same screaming groupie attention that the Beatles attracted when they were headliners. When Jack finally plays his first huge outdoor concert the filmmakers put him before a sea of white faces who are going gonzo nuts for Jack. It is the case that the white people are cheering for their Punjab replacement.
King Jack ends up meeting a 78 year old John Lennon. This scene is akin to the creature getting to meet his creator. King Jack is awed in the presence of Lennon. Lennon sets Punjab Jack straight by telling him he needs to tell the woman that he loves that he loves her. This sets Jack free to do what the Beatles couldn’t do in the 60’s and that is to walk away from their fortune and fame and find happiness. King Jack decides to pursue Ellie who dumps Gavin the Cuck for King Jack of the Punjab. Lennon in the film is portrayed as a lonely figure who found happiness in being obscure while being an artist who lives on the Beach. If it was the white man who made Jack famous it is the white man who makes Jack happy by giving advice to chase the white woman.
King Jack concocts a plan that embraces Lennon’s advice while at the same time demonstrating his superiority over white greed. King Jack of the Punjab decides to just give away all of the songs that he had copped from the Beatles thus depriving Debra Hammer of her millions. So, Punjab Jack plagiarizes the Beatles music but escapes the Beatles’ fate by wisely turning on the fortune and fame that would have swallowed him alive like it did the Beatles. At Jack’s mega-concert at Wembley stadium Jack confesses before the world that he pinched the songs from four chaps named John, Paul, George, and Ringo and that he is giving the music away for free, thus taking a swing at the White man’s capitalism. At this point, Punjab King Jack thus becomes a kind of noble savage demonstrating his superiority over the white man at every step of the way. King Jack’s superiority allows him to replace the Beatles, replace Gavin the cuck, replace white greed by just giving away the music, and greatest of all he replaces white generations by having children with Ellie as is put in our face in the closing scenes of the film.
There is not a single white person in the film portrayed positively. Gavin is the cuck male who is replaced by Jack “The King” Malik. Ellie is the weak female who is an enabler to Jack’s weakness when he can’t make it without the white men Beatles and then is the weak female who takes Jack back after he has left her. Debra Hammer the white female agent of Jack is a conniving white feminist bitch. John Lennon in the film is a lonely white male who has failed at life and love. Ed Sheeran plays second fiddle in ability to King Jack of the Punjab.
On the way out let me note here that the film continues and reinforces the myth that the Beatles were great songwriters. They weren’t, though they were certainly marketed and so perceived as great songwriters. Jack’s climb to the top is portrayed in the film in the same manner as the Beatles’ climbed to the top, and that is by the means of marketing and add campaigns. Both Jack and the Beatles’ were “great” because they were placed in the marketing stream.
Honestly, in many respects it is a fun movie. They play with several different character names that find their connection to Beatles’ songs or trivia. However, no one should be naive about the message that is being sent by the producers and writers of the film. White people are stupid. White people need to be replaced by the non-white majority population. White women need to give themselves to the non-white majority population. White culture can only be saved by the non-white majority population. The non-white majority population are just like white people.