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Context: La La Land is unique in that it relies almost completely on homage and pastiche to present a completely niche topic to the audience – jazz culture. In blending two extremes, Chazelle allows the audience to feel a sense of familiarity and certainty when viewing this film but at the same time, the content feels new and fresh. This produces a surprising sense of harmony and allows for the audience to experience escapism at its finest. In many regards, Americans had never been as divided as they were in 2016 (the release date of La La Land). Amid a rising terror threat (both domestic and ..read more

Context: In the Summer of 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated large parts of the American ‘Deep South’ and in particular the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Whilst America’s geography lends itself to certain ‘hurricane seasons’, Katrina was a beast like no other. In truth, the effects of the tropical storm are still having an impact on many American citizens even today. Hurricane Katrina seemed to ravage New Orleans with a vengeance. Some reports suggest that up to 80% of the city was submerged under polluted water. Therefore, in the immediate aftermath of the disaster, many people sought answe ..read more

There is a lot going on in this film, most of it isn’t that good. Although I’d be the first to admit that fantasy films tie with horror films as my least favourite genre, I didn’t set out to pick apart this film in such a way that I found myself doing. There were some good elements of this film, primarily Wallis’ performance as Hushpuppy but because of a splintered narrative, I didn’t like the film’s direction. Consequently, one of the more glaring issues I had with watching the film was a struggle to follow a story. At the moment I am thinking that the narrative concerned the coming of age of ..read more

It would be fair to say that I have already expressed my dislike for expressive dance sequences in films (see https://ollystanilandsfilmstudiesblog.wordpress.com/2020/09/03/curfew-shawn-christensen-2012/). Therefore, it would also be fair to say that I had some hesitation about enjoying La La Land. This meant that I didn’t go into the film with an open mind. Incidentally, this lead to one of my favourite phenomenons when viewing a film, where my enjoyment levels increased exponentially as the action progressed. It goes without saying that I struggle to find an abundance of meaning in some of t ..read more

There are so many textured things about this film, that it is literally impossible to avoid spoilers. So, there’s your warning. Below is an explanation of the distinguishing feature of this film, which is necessary to acknowledge, before further analysis: Cuaron’s interesting approach to narrative structure certainly cements his status as an auteur. He’s gone on record to say how much he dislikes the use of exposition – so obviously the film starts in media res. However, what is interesting is how Cuaron applies this idea throughout the entire film. Whilst many filmmakers might use a shocking ..read more

In relation to film, I believe that an ideological analysis of the medium is extremely useful in contextualising it. That is to say, that by deciphering what the filmmaker is suggesting, we can gain greater insight into the thinking behind designing the film and the society that produced it. Of critical importance is acknowledging that a filmmaker decides to display everything in a formatted way. That everything inside of a film is constructed and carefully thought about. Therefore, we can presume that the entire film is a reflection of the filmmakers’ views on the world. Most of these views a ..read more

As time has progressed, our understanding of the role spectatorship plays in films has developed immeasurably. This has had a few interesting effects and most certainly has widened the variety of films that have been produced to date. Firstly, it is important to understand that in the early days of film and even up to the 1990’s, there was a very limited understanding and appreciation of the part that audiences played in films. In fact, the ‘Hypodermic Needle Model’ that was accepted during the 1940s and beyond, grouped the audience of a film into one lone category. This disregarded contextual ..read more