My thoughts on La La Land (Contains Spoilers)
La La Land is an iconic musical for millennials. The film promotes chasing your dreams over chasing the person you love-as if they're two entirely different things, rather than two different things that could actually be a part of the same dream.
According to the United States Census Bureau, 109 million people in America aged 18 & older are unmarried. This group made up for 45 percent of all U.S. residents aged 18 & older. And of that group, 53% of those residents aged 18 & older are women who are unmarried. The reason I bring up this statistic is because I couldn't help but notice that most of the population in the movie were single, in their early 20s, & were working hard to create a beautiful future. Take the main characters Emma Stone (aka Mia) & Ryan Gosling (aka Sebastian). They were one of the most beautiful couples I have ever seen on screen. I was a bit glum when they parted ways, but when I realised that they did this in pursuit of their own dreams, I was a bit less glum. Sure, Mia eventually got married, but she met that man after she reached stardom. But what a powerful move to make; to choose your dreams over love, that is not something people (especially women) would do even half a century ago. And the final scene of the movie where Mia & Sebastian share a final glance at the pub sums up the movie. With their eyes, they say to each other, "Thank you, I will always remember you, and I am happy with what we have done for each other."
According to the United States Census Bureau, 109 million people in America aged 18 & older are unmarried. This group made up for 45 percent of all U.S. residents aged 18 & older. And of that group, 53% of those residents aged 18 & older are women who are unmarried. The reason I bring up this statistic is because I couldn't help but notice that most of the population in the movie were single, in their early 20s, & were working hard to create a beautiful future. Take the main characters Emma Stone (aka Mia) & Ryan Gosling (aka Sebastian). They were one of the most beautiful couples I have ever seen on screen. I was a bit glum when they parted ways, but when I realised that they did this in pursuit of their own dreams, I was a bit less glum. Sure, Mia eventually got married, but she met that man after she reached stardom. But what a powerful move to make; to choose your dreams over love, that is not something people (especially women) would do even half a century ago. And the final scene of the movie where Mia & Sebastian share a final glance at the pub sums up the movie. With their eyes, they say to each other, "Thank you, I will always remember you, and I am happy with what we have done for each other."
The movie also brings up the theme of modernisation in music. When Sebastian is questioning Keith (John Legend) on why he is adding dubstep to good, ordinary jazz music, Keith tells Sebastian that the only way people will listen to their music is if they conform with what society wants to listen to. Keith tells Sebastian that just like Duke Ellington, they'd have to be a revolutionary jazz group in order to become a world wide phenomenon.
This can also be applied to classical music. Less and less people are attending symphony or chamber concerts every year. When most people think of classical music, they probably think of Vanessa Mae, Lindsey Stirling, or Escala. Sure, those are very talented musicians, but what about the basics, like Bach, Beethoven and Brahms? Why do more people know about Mae, Stirling, and Bond? It's because these two musicians have revolutionised the way we listen to classical music. In 1997, Mae took Vivaldi's third movement of the summer violin concerto & remixed it on the electric violin. Bond became the world's first electric string quartet. Lindsey Stirling became the first person who could dance & play the electric violin. So, I guess we're already modernising a bit.
Overall, I loved the movie, I'm probably going to buy a DVD of it when I get a DVD player. The cinematography was beautiful, the soundtrack was tops. Here's to the fools who dream.
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