La La Land
WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Anyone who's known me long enough knows that I love musicals.
There's a unique kind of excitement that surges through an audience when watching characters suddenly burst into song and dance. So much so that from the 1930's to the 1950's, musicals dominated the big screen.
So when I heard that La La Land was reviving the magic and nostalgia of the classic movie musical, I was ecstatic. I mean, it's a modern and original take on a classic movie concept. What could go wrong, right?
A LOT.
I wanted to like La La Land. To be honest, my creative soul and romantic heart are at odds about this film. But ultimately, for all of its charm, the film's exposition lacks the kind of depth and heart that movie musicals are known for.
I watched in unbelief as the film regresses from an endearing love story to a narcissistic homage to chasing your dreams, no matter the cost. La La Land's controversial ending dashes any hopes of a favorable outcome for the two lead characters, and yet still seems to expect me to leave the film smiling.
But it wasn't until I left the theater and saw how the film affected my creative community that my feelings about La La Land were given direction.
You've probably heard the saying "be true to yourself" in a movie or tv show. It usually comes in a pivotal moment of a character's journey.
Another thing you may have heard is "follow your dreams". Both of these sayings are among the highest virtues in popular media, and subsequently, in our society today.
But have you ever stopped to notice how often your dreams and desires change?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. Then, I wanted to be a chef, a scientist, a sketch artist, a musician, an actor, a pastor and the list goes on.
Many of my friends have changed their majors so many times, that they wind up majoring in "General Studies". And because they've believed the lie that their desires should be the compass that guides them to their dreams, they leave college with a serious identity crisis.
It's not uncommon for our ideas of what we want to lead us astray, and this is exactly what happens to the main characters of La La Land.
Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone), are drawn together after a series of fateful chance encounters. Mia, a struggling but talented actress, meets Sebastian, a jazz pianist and staunch defender of classic jazz music, at a restaurant that Sebastian plays at, and their relationship begins shortly after.
It's here in the early moments of the film that one of the most ironic lines is delivered. While bemoaning the fact that an iconic local jazz club has been turned into a samba tapas lounge, Sebastian says, "That's L.A. They just worship everything and they value nothing."
That line serves as the perfect indictment of the entire film.
The love story between Sebastian and Mia effortlessly embodies the magic of an on-screen romance during the first half of the film. There are spontaneous musical numbers, candle-lit dinners, and a romantic rendezvous a la Rebel Without a Cause that (literally) sweeps Sebastian and Mia off their feet.
But about halfway through the film, their fairytale romance takes an uncharacteristic turn for the worse. Sebastian and Mia go from a couple who are committed to sacrificial love for one another, to two people with an almost transactional commitment to support each other's dreams.
As the film goes on, we see the disastrous results of this kind of relationship.
Sebastian and Mia now live together, but they rarely see each other for the last half of the film because they each refuse to budge on what they think is necessary to pursue their dreams. Sebastian misses the only performance of Mia's one-woman show because of a photo shoot with his band, a decision that seems so counterintuitive to the character he's been thus far. After Mia decides to go back home and rethink her career, Sebastian shows up at her home unannounced, but not to save their relationship. He's there to tell her she's got an audition with a casting agent who was at her play.
Time and time again, Sebastian and Mia make choices that reveal the sad, true nature of their hearts. They worship their dreams, and have lost the ability to value anything that doesn't serve them.
Sadly, many creative people today believe the same way.
La La Land does a great job at portraying the struggle of the creative soul. Creative people are all too familiar with the feelings of being unseen, unappreciated, and misunderstood. And the fact that creativity requires a vulnerability that is unique from any other work, just makes those feelings even stronger.
But I've also found that it makes us vulnerable to a host of lies about the pursuit of our dreams.
Countless movies and tv shows elevate a character's dreams above virtually anything else. What's worse is that some stories even go as far as to equate a person's understanding of what their dream is to their identity itself.
But your dreams are not the truest thing about you.
Yes, you are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), uniquely gifted by God (Romans 12:6), and charged with a distinct calling (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12). But the Bible is clear that those truths are only by-products of the real prize: an intimate relationship with Jesus. Losing sight of that blinds us to the true purpose that our dreams serve.
Too often, the rationale of Christian creatives says that the more popular a person gets, the more influence for Christ that person has. Believing this way leads to a sort of tunnel-vision that ignores any opportunities that don't align with that singular pursuit.
For example, I met many people in seminary school who felt the calling to be a senior pastor of a church congregation. They spent hours in their dorms, debating theology and rehearsing sermons.
But their understanding of their calling was limited to what they envisioned ministry to look like. Sure they were eager to find a pulpit in a church somewhere, but they couldn't see the needs that were directly in front of them. Some of them neglected their relationships with friends and family. Ironically, all of this was done in pursuit of a Godly calling.
The truth is that your gifts, calling, and desires are all meant to serve two purposes: To glorify God first and foremost, and to serve the body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:31, 1 Peter 4:10)
We fall into serious error when we prioritize the pursuit of God's gifts above the pursuit of God himself. Doing so, like my fellow seminary classmates learned, can even lead us to make choices that adversely affect the very people that our gifts are supposed to be serving!
Take a closer look at the lives of Sebastian and Mia. Their blind devotion to their dreams leads them to live secluded and self-serving lives. Sebastian leaves his successful and groundbreaking band in the hopes of one day opening a jazz club that plays what he deems as "real jazz". Mia, who's frustrated by her experiences while auditioning, decides to do a one-woman show, essentially guaranteeing that she achieves her dream on her own.
The scariest part about La La Land is how realistic it is. I suppose that's why so many people liked it. It's the age-old story of two people who worked their butts off to achieve their dreams. If you pursue your dreams the way that Sebastian and Mia did, there's actually a pretty good chance you'll reach them...and a pretty good chance you'll regret it.
Sebastian and Mia didn't need anyone to help them in their journey, including each other. Mia found success in a one-woman show, and Sebastian wound up getting his jazz club despite leaving his successful band.
Their dreams weren't big enough to include each other or really anyone else of significance. In the final scene of the film, we see Sebastian and Mia living out their dreams, but something is eerily different.
The scene lacks the magic and passion that was dripping from every moment that Sebastian and Mia spent together. All of that changes when Sebastian plays the song that Mia heard him play the night they met.
In an instant, the life they could have lived together flashes brilliantly before their eyes. The music swells and the dance numbers resume. They have each other. They have a family. They have their dreams.
They live happily ever after.
You may call that "La La Land", but as a person whose heart yearns for the eternal paradise promised to me by my savior, the King of all creation; I think that ending might be closer to reality than we realize.
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