La La Land

Hey,

Last week I visited the 'Vue' cinema in Paignton with both my grandma and cousin as she was down for a long weekend. We decided to watch'La La Land' and as I used to study Media and still have an interest in it I chose to write a blog post about it.

Don't worry if you haven't seen it, I am not going to spoil the movie by telling you the storyline or the ending, However I do recommend that you watch the film before reading this post. All I am going to say about the storyline is that it is very different to other movies and shows the duration through seasons and then surprising years later. It's a bit like having an epilogue at the end of a bit which is set years after.

This film I find is a film for everyone. It as comedy in it so you can have a laugh. However, I feel that it is an adventure of romance told through music but is also about going on adventures and following your dreams. When talking about these genres you get a picture of what would happen in this film, but you would be wrong as it is the opposite to what you expect and challenges stereotypes successfully,

When looking at stereotypes for music there are a few that are found but also challenging a musical stereotype by not including what you would expect.

The opening scene of this movie is very iconic for a Musical as it includes a lot of moving around and dancing everywhere which is very stereotypical for this genre. However, not only is it stereotypical but when looking at openings; this scene not only sets the scene via the type of cars, time period it is set in, and manages to introduce the main characters in this 5-minute sequence which is what the opening scene is stereotypically meant to do. When looking at the opening you can see how

successfully the directors have managed to set the scene and the time period of the movie; They have done this through the use of style in both the cars, as I said before, but also the actor's clothes. The period of time has also been set at the very beginning of the movie even before the opening sequence through style yet again but this time style of the writing.

In this movie, there is also a very stereotypical iconic scene for a musical which I feel has got its influence from 'Sandra Dee' in Greece as the see is of a group of girl hanging out but it is not the same as they are getting ready for a party and trying to get one of the main characters to come along. The song 'Someone in the crowd' also has a very different meaning. Thinking about this scene I would probably relate to the main character 'Mia' who doesn't really like going out to parties and doesn't see the point in them.

The scene of the song 'A lovely night' has many stereotypical moments in it which demonstrate the musical genre. There is a moment were Sebastian dances around a lamp post while singing which leads to a bench moment where both Sebastian and Mia are singing and dancing around each other. These moments are both very stereotypical to the musical genre as well as a view of looking over the city and a sunset which demonstrates the romance.

The song 'City of Stars' was playing throughout the movie and during these scenes there are many stereotypical moments to both the musical and romance genre. While this song is performed, there is a scene where Sebastian dancing along a beach pier with a hat which suggests the musical genre however it also challenges it as the hat is given away and there is not a cane like would have predicted there to be. Another scene of this song is them both sitting by a piano which obviously shows music but they are together and singing a song that has continued through their journey which clearly demonstrates romance in a stereotypical way.

The storyline is stereotypical to romance but it has a twist at the end to something you would expect however I will not discuss this to spare those who haven't seen the movie yet. This movie is different to what you would think and I guess no one knows what will happen as it feels like the film came out of nowhere and an amazing film it is. Anyway, back to my point, this film has two main characters and it shows the story from each character’s perspective before they meet one another and this is shown one after the other and then continues through to the stereotypical romance storyline which I will be talking about;

The first moment they actually see each other it is demonstrated through a spotlight moment which doesn't last long, but then they keep meeting each other like they are fated to be together. There is a funny scene where Sebastian goes out of his way for her and then asks her to the movies because obviously a first date has to be the movies, so stereotypical. However, she already has plans, that she forgot about which leads to the dramatic which guy to I choose. Then later on after time passes you have the struggle in the relationship because it wouldn't be a romantic story without it, But how it all ends you will just have to watch it to find out...

This film is very inspirational with a powerful ending which you will not expect. It challenges the stereotypical ending you think would happen even though stereotypes are used throughout the movie. What I feel the moral of this film is, is inspirational but also powerful and that is that you should follow your dreams no matter what and don't give it up for anything.

Thanks for reading,

Hope you enjoyed it,

Please comment

Amy x