Popcorn Perspectives

City of stars, are you shining just for me? The 2016 Oscar-winning film La La Land, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Emma Stone as Mia and Ryan Gosling as Sebastian has become a cult classic film.

Jumping back to the golden age of Hollywood where musical narratives sparkled on 35mm film and audiences fell in love with the glitz and glamour of entertainment industry. Where the air was filled with dreams and anyone could be a star.

Chazelle takes audiences where many dream of going. Peeling back the curtain on the entertainment industry and showcasing the authentic journey of chasing your dreams. Where many films choose to explore the motivational and inspiring plot, Chazelle showcases the real hardships and ups and downs of chasing your dreams. He doesn’t hide away from showing the struggles, lose of self and self doubt.

Rejection:

When we first meet Mia, she is working as a barista at the cafe on the Warner Brothers lot and dreams of being a star. She is struggling in all aspects of her life, her work is sloppy, she lives with a million roommates and is facing what seems like an impossible chance of becoming a famous actress.

Chazelle follows Mia through a debilitating audition. Mia had worked hard building her skills and creating an authentic character to bring to the audition she had hoped would propel her ahead of the rest of the actresses’ auditions. Right as she’s getting to the climax of her audition, a member of the executive team walks away and completely derails the audition. Pulling the focus of the casting agents from Mia onto the next tasks.

Mia is left standing awkwardly, attempting to find her footing. Before she gives up hope and leaves the audition. As she’s leaving, she walks past many women with a similar look with slightly varying features. Showcasing Mia, blending into the sea of ginger actresses. Reflecting Mia’s growing concern over finding a way to break away from the crowd and land her leading role.

When we’re introduced to Sebastian, he’s a struggling musician. He had just recently fallen victim to a scam, where he went unpaid at a jazz club. He is way behind on bills and at risk of losing his apartment.

He is dead set on changing the face of jazz and opening a jazz club call Chicken Sticks. He wants to create meaningful music and not play main stream song like the sellouts of the industry.

To work towards his dreams (and to support himself) Sebastian gets a job at the Light House restaurant as a piano player. It isn’t quite what he expects, as the role requires him to play mainstream songs. After a couple of shifts, boredom gets the best of him and he goes rogue playing his original songs. Leading him to be let go and forced to reconsider his career, his passion and his dreams.

Loss of Identity:

Although Los Angles is often referred to La La Land, it’s not for the faint of hearts. Many flock to LA to chase their dreams of stardom, risking it all for the chance to shine among the stars.

Mia, like many others, followed her passions and moved to LA to risk it all to become an actress. Working at studio cafe in-between auditions and parties mingling for her chance to meet that someone in the crowd.

After years of failed auditions and a singular callback, Mia loses her spark. Running low on funds and spirts she turns to her final hope, creating her own one woman show. Which ultimately fails, even Seb who promised he’d be there misses the show.

With nothing to show for and no one to support her, Mia decides to give up on her dream and head home to her parents home in Nevada.

Seb grew up in the bustling LA music scene, dreaming of opening his own jazz club where he could show the world his creations. An old soul, he values a classic jazz style and hates the idea of going mainstream and creating mindless music for the purpose of sales.

However, its expense to live in LA and with jazz music being a dying art for job opportunities being far and few in between. He’s forced to take any jobs that come his way to make ends meet and save what little is left over to fund his dream.

When the opportunity arises to join an established band led by his friend Keith, Seb is quick to hope on. Leaving his passion for traditional jazz to join the mainstream band. He promised a more stable life of record recordings, tours and decent income.

Joining the band, Seb is forced to conform to the group’s look and sound, becoming exactly what he despised.

Loss of Faith:

Seb joins the band thinking its whats best for him, as everyone has been telling him for years to settle down and get a real job that he’ll be able to support himself. For once he feels like he is been seen for his talents and is able to bring his talents to the world.

When he tells Mia the news she is quick to express her concern over him giving up his dream of opening a jazz club. He reveals to her that he doesn’t believe his club would ever work.

He’s spent years hustling and grinding his craft to get no where. Chasing his dream led him to play the senior dinner rush at an array of restaurants. He finally has a stable job that appears to be similar to everything he’s ever wants. His able to play music for a living and support himself and provide the life he always dreamed of with Mia.

However, he hates the music the band plays. He feels uncomfortable with the character he has to play being in the band. He dreads the life he will be living if he counties his path, but feels like his dream are beyond his reach.

After leaving Hollywood behind, Mia is trying to come to terms with what she wants to do with her life when Seb comes to tell her about a call he received from a cast agent wanting her for a project.

She’s been beaten down by the industry for years, the idea of going back to Hollywood terrifies her. As she been repeatedly beaten out for roles by people she believes are prettier and more talented than her. Believing if she were to go back to the world of Hollywood, she wouldn’t be able to handle another rejection as she was already as low as she could go.

Choosing Between Your Dreams and Love:

In the case of La La Land, Mia and Seb chose to put themselves first and chase their dreams. The pair has spent their lives working towards their respective goals. Both risking everything for the chance of achieving their dream.

For Seb, after walking away from Mia he continued to pursue his career in jazz. Flashing forward, we see he did in fact achieve his dream of owning his own jazz club! Well is isn’t name his iconic Chicken Sticks, instead it’s simply named Seb’s with the logo Mia had created for him.

It appears to be a hit! The tables are packed and the crowd seems to love his music, and it looks like he really is putting jazz back on the map!

After walking away from Seb, Mia lands a leading role in a production at the Warner lot (the same lot she used to work at). She marries the director of the film she was cast in and moved to New York to live with him and his daughter.

She no longer urns to live in the hustle and bustle of tinsel town. The city that played home to all her dream, she no longer see in the same light. After secure her position as an actress with her big break, she can finally leave her old life behind and live the life she always dreamed about!

Much like the rest of us, both Mia and Seb wonder about what their lives would look like if they chose love over their dreams. Chazelle takes us into Mia’s fantasy, where her and Seb are married with two children. She works as a successful actress and he opened the club he always dreamed about.

In her fantasy, the pair were able to use their love to help them achieve their dreams. They were able to push each other to be the best versions of themselves and ultimately achieve their dreams. Showcasing a world where they could have it all, the life they dreamed of and the love they spent their lives searching for.

But in correlation to the real world, things don’t always pan out that way we want them to. The pair had to decided between one of them giving up on their own dream to support the other or giving up the love the created to continue chasing the dreams.

Ultimately, they both decided to focus on their own dream, and end the relationship they have built together. Reflecting the difficult tasks many people face. Where you must decide if you give up everything you’ve ever worked for, for the change to live with the love of your life or walk away from the love of your life to chase the dream you’ve always had. It’s a fine line between giving up one passion for another and is often tasked with the heavy weight of not being able to know if either path will work out.

Chazelle does an amazing job at reflecting the real world. In a way where we can relate to the trials and tribulations of Mia and Sebastian. Highlighting that we can’t always get what we want, and that in life we must make sacrifices for our dreams. And although we may we face challenges when chasing our dreams, some of which will force us to reconsider who we truly are and what we really want to get out of life, it is our dreams that guide and support us to becoming who we are meant to be.

Thank you for reading the latest post of Popcorn Perspectives! I really enjoyed writing this post and exploring one of my favourite movies in more depth! I hope you enjoy as much as I do!

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