The Contemporary Musical Transformed: The Influence of ‘La La Land’
When La La Land premiered in 2016, it captured the world’s imagination with vibrant color, infectious jazz, and bittersweet romance. While its nostalgia for Hollywood’s golden era was apparent, the film also made a substantial contribution to the evolution of the modern musical. Beyond aesthetic flourishes and star power, La La Land introduced bold structural, thematic, and technical innovations that impacted both filmmakers and audiences.
Bringing Back the Song-and-Dance Heritage
Musicals had gradually retreated from mainstream cinema, with few breaking through between the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. La La Land reignited public appetite for the genre by embracing classic tropes—spontaneous street performances, fantasy sequences, and ensemble numbers. The film’s opening, “Another Day of Sun,” immediately conjured memories of earlier musical spectacles with its sweeping camera movement across a Los Angeles freeway. However, director Damien Chazelle modernized the form with single-take choreography, integrating the bustle of contemporary city life rather than confining action to sound stages. This urban realism, tied intricately to the music, made song-and-dance central not merely as spectacle but as a language for character expression.
A New Kind of Musical Narrative
Instead of adhering strictly to a cheerful storyline, La La Land delves into themes of aspiration, sacrifice, and the poignant price of pursuing dreams. The plot defies conventional routes: while it offers instances of sheer happiness, the movie ends with a sequence showcasing a potential alternate reality, confronting the sorrow of unfulfilled possibilities. Through this approach, Chazelle pushed back against the neat conclusions of traditional musicals, adding layers of modern emotional depth. Both reviewers and viewers observed how songs like “City of Stars” or “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” enrich the story, integrating music with the narrative both emotionally and conceptually.
Narration through Imagery and Filmic Methods
La La Land elevated its storytelling through distinctive visual language. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren employed bold primary colors reminiscent of Technicolor films, but harnessed digital technology and innovative lighting to evoke mood and memory. The film’s use of long takes in dance sequences, practical sets on location, and homage-laden visual cues expanded the musical idiom for a new generation. For instance, the planetarium dance is both a tribute to the fantasy ballets of Vincente Minnelli and a contemporary expression of limitless aspiration. Such sequences benefit from digital effects not as spectacle, but as tools to heighten emotion.
The Role of Music and Sound in Character Development
Composer Justin Hurwitz and lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul crafted a soundscape that pays respect to jazz and traditional show tunes while incorporating contemporary music trends. The music’s diegetic and non-diegetic functions often blur: characters perform both for diegetic audiences (within the film) and for themselves, with layered implications for their psychological states. For example, Mia’s audition piece transforms from narrative exposition to personal catharsis, allowing the audience an intimate window into her internal conflict. Sebastian’s immersion in jazz reflects the tension between preservation and innovation, paralleling the film’s own genre-blending ethos.
Social and Cultural Impact
La La Land resonated with audiences beyond film enthusiasts, becoming a worldwide cultural icon. Its box office success—grossing over $440 million internationally—and its dominance in awards, winning six Academy Awards, marked a resurgence for original musicals within the mainstream. Set in the diverse city of Los Angeles, featuring a globally varied supporting cast and highlighting immigrant aspirations, it emerged as a universal narrative while portraying distinctly American dreams. In educational and community theater, the film’s impact is visible in the increasing array of modern musicals with original soundtracks, movement-focused staging, and lifelike character development.
Legacy: Inspiring a Fresh Creative Surge
Since La La Land, a series of musicals have emerged aiming for similar levels of artistry and commercial appeal, such as The Greatest Showman, Mary Poppins Returns, and In the Heights. Streaming platforms have also invested in musical content, while major awards bodies became more receptive to the genre. Scholars and critics note that the film’s willingness to blend nostalgia with reinvention set a precedent, demonstrating that musicals can be commercially successful without sacrificing artistic ambition or contemporary relevance.
A Contemplative Summary
La La Land contributed substantially to the language and legacy of the modern musical. Its technical virtuosity, emotional authenticity, and willingness to embrace both the old and the new positioned it as a benchmark for innovation in a genre long defined by tradition. Rather than merely commemorating the past, the film expanded the vocabulary of the musical for a rapidly changing media landscape—inviting both creators and audiences to rediscover the magic and meaning of stories told through song and dance.
