ISP Week 2: La La Land passive/active spectator Exam Question
Q-‘How far does La La Land demonstrate a constant shift between passive and active spectatorship? Refer in detail to at least one sequence.’ (40 marks)
La La Land could be viewed both passively and actively by a spectator depending on many aspects such as their musical interests, background culture and gender which would indicate whether or not they personally connect with the different scenes throughout the film.
My first example of where a spectator may actively engage is in the opening sequence. The opening sequence, set in the middle of an LA traffic jam, is a clear representation of Denzelle’s fantasy inspired by Vincente Minnelli’s ‘bold technicolour experience’ that describes the reality of being rejected as an actor and getting up and trying again, whilst being immersed in a colourful and upbeat musical number. A spectator may passively watch this scene focusing only the positive lyrics ‘another day of sun’ and clapping along with the atmospheric sounds of the crowds cheering and singing. This opening number could influence the spectator with ‘the look’ as it appears vibrate with pleasing aesthetic visuals, deliberately focusing on colour. This therefore means appearing apolitical by creating a sense of escapism from the politics and division of our everyday lives and celebrates creativity instead. This shows how the spectator is passive as they could simply enjoy the score of the film and neglect to read into any significant ideologies from this opening sequence. Although this does have the potential to shift to an active viewer as many musical theatre fans may actively seek to relate the opening to similar musical references and compare it traditional musicals like ‘The Young Girls of Rochefort’ (1967), thus actively notice these Hollywood golden age inspirations. This however could be seen to contribute to the desired feeling of escapism, giving the spectator a way to leave the constant negative cycle of American life as it highlights the sacrifice to follow your dreams and aspirations in Hollywood, in order to present a new glossy, optimistic response to the reality of life. Another reason for this passive view on the opening sequence is due to the idea of ‘hegemony’, linking to the theory that the controversial lack of diversity that disappears in LA after the opening sequence is seen as normal and a dominant ideology to the spectator, thus not engaging to question the lack of political representation. This re-enforces typical mainstream American values that LA is dominated by white middle class Americans, which also happens to be La La Land’s main demographic, therefore over-powering other social/ cultural groups and neglecting to see this.
On the other hand, the opening sequence of La La Land may be actively viewed by a spectator by questioning the socio-political views of LA during the time instead of passively accepting an unrealistic version of LA. The spectator could be seen to oppose the lack of political engagement and see an opposing view to the representation of culture. In the opening sequence we initially see the different genres of dance, age and culture all expressing to have one thing in common that’s presented to us as exciting and beautiful. For example, we see a young hip-hop dancer, an older Latin dancer and a young ‘Krumper’ dancer. However, controversial to this belief, the film itself glosses over the dark side of LA’s history and ignores relevant black community issues. An active viewer may engage with this in a negative way, acknowledging the fact that Jazz (a traditional black art form) came from oppression and neglects to show the significant racial conflict in its initial representation of LA. In terms of socio-political contexts, the film fails to mention the LA 1992 Rodney King riots over police brutality against the black community, as well as the 1940’s ‘Zoot Suit’ riots where black Jazz fans were attacked. Another example where this is seen in the film is seen as Seb is portrayed as a white savoir to Jazz, obsessed with nostalgia yet never mentioning LA’s turbulent history. We could also consider how that the character of Keith is marginalised, being the only black character to have a speaking role and suggested to be a sell-out to commercialism in a heavily music-based film that celebrates the traditional music of Jazz.
Another way in which La La Land demonstrates a constant shift between passive and active spectatorship is between Mia and Seb in ‘The Messengers’ Gig scene. One way in which the spectator may passively view this scene is by interpreting Mia to be supporting Seb as his spectator, thus not recognising the unfair balance between Mia and Seb’s career. This view could be influenced by gender spectatorship, meaning that a female spectator may be more inclined to sympathise Mia’s position as a spectator, where a male perspective could possibly be more aligned with Seb celebrating his success and career. An example of this is as Mia gets pushed away by the crowd as Seb begins his piano solo. In terms of cinematography during this scene Mia is engulfed in a low-key blue and red light, emphasising the significance of the primary colours and how they are prominently shown to be overwhelming and bright, highlighting the shift between Mia and Seb and acing as a symbol for the separation. This is in contrast to the ‘a lovely night’ in which the primary colours are mixed to create a purple shade, emphasising when they are at their closest and to show togetherness. This highlights the shift from passive to active viewer. An active spectator will recognise the inequality between Mia and Seb and sympathise more with Mia’s representation as simply just another audience member, having to share Seb’s time with his career. This would provoke the spectator to contemplate whether Mia and Seb’s relationship is seen as fair between genders. On the other hand, another way in which this could be actively viewed is that the film generally celebrates being a spectator as Mia then uses this as motivation to pursue her own career. This in fact suggests how being an audience member is actually an active role, in this sequence focusing mainly on Mia’s reaction to seb instead of Seb’s performance. Similarly, throughout the film we are positioned with Mia, actively seeing the world through her eyes attending auditions and appears more of a character in the story’s narrative, compared to Seb who could be recognised, by an active viewer, for acting as a mouthpiece for Chazelle’s ideology.
Emma Coe Film Studies 