Both Nathaniel West’s Day of the Locust and La La Play on themes of chasing your dreams. Both pieces frame Los Angeles as where you go to make it Hollywood, shown in Faye in "day of the locust" and both protagonists in “La La Land.” Yet, in “La La Land” both characters end up getting (for the most part) what they dreamed of, while in Day of the Locust the Characters seem to be destined to failure.
Evaluating both pieces perspectives on achieving goals and struggling, is Los Angeles a place where artists go to succeed? Is it a place for everyone to go and chase their dreams? What assumptions do people bring to Los Angeles when they come to chase their dreams? Does the success story of Sebastian in “La La Land” reveal anything about what it really takes to achieve your dreams? Are the stories of success in “La La Land” a reality or just a result of the character’s world being a La La Land?
Evaluating both pieces perspectives on achieving goals and struggling, is Los Angeles a place where artists go to succeed? Is it a place for everyone to go and chase their dreams? What assumptions do people bring to Los Angeles when they come to chase their dreams? Does the success story of Sebastian in “La La Land” reveal anything about what it really takes to achieve your dreams? Are the stories of success in “La La Land” a reality or just a result of the character’s world being a La La Land?
Los Angeles is a place that looks appealing from the outside but is not what it seemed like from the inside. LA isn't necessarily a place where artists go to succeed, but it is the opposite. As Mia could no longer the stress and heartbreak of trying to become an actor, she gave up on her dream and moved back to her hometown. Although, eventually she did "make it" in Hollywood, reality isn't like the movies and an incredibly small amount of people are able to get out of the slump that Mia found herself in. Los Angeles is no longer a place that is known from the inside as an environment to achieve dreams; rather, it has become a place to let your dreams die, Just as West portrayed LA as a place to die. It seems as though these two depictions of Los Angeles are directed towards the idea that someone's dreams make that person, that someone is nothing without their aspiration, and once that person reaches success, they go back to nothing. As you can see with the successful individuals in La La Land, their interactions have no substance. Mia and Sebastian are able to avoid this, though. Because of the connection that they were able to cultivate when they were both down on their luck and searching for something real, they found each other. When they went back to nothing, the only substance left was the connections with each other.
ReplyDeleteSebastian's success proves that in an environment like LA, support is necessary in order to achieve dreams, just as Mia required success to achieve hers.
Los Angeles is definitely a place where artists go to succeed; whether or not they actually will succeed is another story. People come from around the world to chase their dreams here, among the glamour of Hollywood, often coming with the assumption that they will have the world at their fingertips here and will immediately find the prosperity and success they so deeply desire. However, as Sebastian’s story reveals, sometimes achieving the LA dream means not achieving your own dream—he ended up playing music he did not like but nevertheless living the “dream,” going on tour and having contrived photoshoots. I think many people just get swept away with this image of the perfect life and end up giving up what they wanted (and what they originally came to LA to pursue) just for a little money and affluence to their name. The success stories of “La La Land” are a reality for only the few lucky individuals who make it big and get to do exactly what they wanted to do, which is why I think this could be a misleading movie for many.
ReplyDeleteI do think that LA is the city where people go to succeed, however it is a city that is not for the light hearted. I believe that it is a city is extremely honest and that does not offer sympathy for anybody. In that case if you come to Los Angeles and are somebody who is easily affected or deterred, it can be labeled as the city where people come to die. As displayed by Mia in the movie, she actually wants to give up on acting. When people come to La with their high dreams often times I think the mistake that is made is that as soon as people come, they will be successful when in reality this is not the case. People often never make it in the career that they came to Los Angeles for, so for people to think that they can show up and automatically be successful in their desired field is completely false. In terms of Sebastian's success, I think it take three things in order to become successful in Los Angeles. 1. a burning desire for whatever it is that you are desiring to become, 2. Extreme patiance 3. A little bit of luck. In Sebastian's case I believe that he was able to become so successful because he displayed all of these qualities. However in terms of the story, I believe that there are successful people in Los Angeles but not very many stories that resemble the ones depicted in La La Land. No matter how good the movie is, it is important to understand that it is a movie and that events in real life typically do not turn out the way they do in movies.
ReplyDeleteLos Angeles is definitely a place where artists come to succeed, but I don't know how often they actually do. What Lala Land did a good job of was capturing the non-linear trajectory towards success. Mia first working as a barista and then no one showing up to her play; Sebastian losing gigs and getting fired. Los Angeles has a lot of resources and stepping stones towards fame, but not everyone has the connections to even get passed level one. Even if you do move up, you can't follow and achieve your LA dream without sacrifice. In order to follow her dream as an actress in Los Angeles, Mia had to sacrifice her dignity and pride. While people ordered sandwiches and talked over her, she cried, sang and continuously reshaped her image to appeal to the eyes of others. Sebastian had to sacrifice his music. In order to make it "big", he joined the band and created music he didn't believe to be accurate or pleasing. Yes, he initially joined as a stepping stone to achieving his true dream- opening his own jazz club. But he even put that on hold and somewhat forgot what he had truly originally wanted. Upon achieving success, both Mia and Sebastian sacrificed love. They gave each other up to follow their dreams, but was anything truly fulfilled if they lost each other? Some may find success, but no one will find it without losing something.
ReplyDeleteI think artists most definitely come to Los Angeles to “succeed”. Even though LA may not have the resources and tools to help that individual reach their goal, Los Angeles comes with an assumption or expectation that it will give you a chance; something we talked about in class. I think La La Land definitely portrayed some realities about chasing dreams in Los Angeles but also portrayed some unrealistic circumstances. The fact that when Mia decided to give up she magically received a call back just isn’t realistic because the reality is when actors realize that they aren’t getting anywhere, they do give up and they do have to change their dreams. There is a very minuscule percentage of people who actually make it as actors, musicians, artists etc. and the fact that they both made it “big” seems very unrealistic. However, I think an important thing that the movie stressed was that in order to chase your dreams, you may have to give up other important things in life that may be relationships, love, family, and much more. I think it did a good job of showing that if you’re committed to your one and only goal you have to be focused on only that and how sacrifice is also a key to success.
ReplyDeleteLa La Land shows some reality as to what happens when you are chasing your LA dream. sebastian had to settle for something that he did not necessarily like- and give up his immense passion for jazz. Mia performed for an empty theatre- and essentially failed in her attempt for fame. But with time (keeping in mind that they had been trying for years prior as ell) they reached their dream. That CAN happen but it does not happen often. I think the movie tries to make Mia and Sebatstians life a movie. They are found in dance sequences and overlooking romanic lookouts and imagining life together. In this sense I think the movie made it seem like they were living in their own little dream worlds, until they weren't. When they realized that their lives were not how they imagined them to be things got messy, mimicking the people who come to LA to die. The difference is they ended up actually continuing to pursue their dreams and were two of the lucky few to get stardom. In short, there are some truths to their climb to fame and some exaggerations. I think those who watch this movie from outside of LA will further their beliefs that LA is a place where stars are on every corner and life is glamorous all the time. But analyzing it as someone who lives here, I can see the subtle jokes making fun of LA and the things said that illuminate the struggle of chasing dreams in LA.
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ReplyDeleteI think that Los Angeles has a pre-conceived reputation of a place where people “make it big” and become successful and famous. However, I do not think that Los Angeles is a place for everyone to chase their dreams. The entertainment industry and the music industry are both ruthless in Los Angeles and being successful is extremely difficult. Due to Los Angeles’s popularity there is a lot of competition for the same goal. I think that the success stories of both Sebastian and Mia reveal that you can’t have EVERYTHING in Los Angeles; sacrifices have to be made. In La La Land the sacrifice was each other, as they both went to pursue their dreams instead of having a future together (so sad). I think that Los Angeles is a very uncertain environment. You’re path in Los Angeles is never set in stone and one audition can change one’s life forever or in Mia’s case her one woman show. I think that La La Land is an exaggerated reality of many people’s journey in Los Angeles. It is a constant battle to achieve one’s dream yet stay true to one’s self and what they really want in life.
ReplyDeleteIn La La Land, characters do find success in the arts after struggling, but in order for dreams to "come true," those characters must continue to dream. The movie admits to the struggle that aspiring artists go through in L.A.When Sebastian lands the job with the band, he and Mia remind us that making money in that form is not his real dream. Mia, too, does not reach her dreams with her one-woman play because it is not a success. Where the movie differs from Day of the Locust, however, is in the outcome. Day of the Locust says that dreams go unfulfilled. La La Land tries to show that Mia and Sebastian do reach their dreams-- of a film star and a jazz night club. But the 20 minute-long ending suggests that there's a catch to dreams "coming true." The flip back and forth between reality-- Mia with new husband, a nanny watching her baby-- and dreams-- seemingly endless dancing, singing, scenery of stars, Griffith Observatory, the Colorado Bridge, Angels Flight, the Walk of Fame, even Paris, with Sebastian-- suggest that L.A. is, at its core, a fantasyland. The only reason Mia smiles at the end is because she, like Faye, can make up any story in her head. She doesn't get tired of the sunshine and oranges because she doesn't even notice them. She is constantly dreaming and reimagining her fairytale.
ReplyDeleteMia and Sebastian never resolved their great pains-- their insecurities, the threat of competition, the feeling of "not being good enough." They tucked those under the rug and went on with their "successes," distancing themselves from each other because they knew that if they stayed together, the pain would resurface. The song they sing every 5 minutes has the line "it's love-- that's all we're looking for." But I'm not sure that love is what they're looking for. After all, Mia and Sebastian are not together. Mia might love her current husband, but her eyes don't glimmer for him in the way they do for Sebastian. She also seems to prioritize her life, her job, her financial success, over her baby girl. Maybe Mia can only fall in love with her dreams.
La La Land does not present the narrative that "anyone" can go to chase their dreams. Almost every character in the show is white or black. The world is not just white and black.
I believe that Los Angeles is portrayed as absolutely not a place where one goes to succeed in DOTL, but it is a place where people go to succeed after facing adversity in La La Land. Lets be honest, Los Angeles is the film capital of the world. It is most definitely where people come in order to or once succeeding. I believe that DOTL does a rather poor job of bringing both the success and hardships of trying to succeed in LA while LLL represents it perfectly. I do believe LA is a place for people to come achieve their dreams more than anywhere else, but dreams are very unlikely to happen- that why they're dreams and not a reality- and anywhere, LA included, it is very difficult to actually accomplish your dreams. I believe that people bring the assumptions that they will be able to achieve their dreams when coming to LA because they have seen so many success stories in the papers, on social media, etc, but never seen any of the many many failure stories. This is what results in people naively coming here to achieve their dreams, but then falling in a deep deep pit of failure. I believe Seabass is a great representation of the difficulty of making your dream a reality in LA, but there are some parts that really show that even Seabass' success story isn't entirely from hard work, but rather quite a bit of luck.
ReplyDeleteLA definitely a place where people go to succeed. They go to LA to achieve and accomplish their dreams, and that is what La La Land is, not only is does it mean Los Angeles of Hollywood, but it also means a dreamworld. A dreamworld is where people are going so that they can succeed and have a job in what they love doing. People come to LA because of Hollywood and because it is an easier social climb than New York is. I feel as if the stories in La La Land is just that, a story in La La Land.
ReplyDeleteLA is definitely a place to chase your dreams. You're not getting big in the middle of Horse-ville Montana. The Coast's of America are the only way to go. So there's New York. You make it big there in the Theatre industry, Fashion Industry, and Office work. There's a stigma there. But LA, you make it big there in Movies, Songs, Pop Culture, Youtube, Technology, a stupid Indie-gogo campaign. Both of these coasts provide a different avenue for fame, fortune or glory.
ReplyDeleteI think its stupid to say LA is not a home for dreams, success, goals and aspirations, because it is. Hollywood is the only avenue for getting into the movie industry, (unless you speak Chinese, but even they hire Hollywood actors for roles: case in point the wall with that one white guy). No where else on the world (except again China) is an actor ever going to have the same likelihood of making it big. Now of course that doesn't mean everyone is going to make it big. Most people aren't Ryan Reynolds or Anna Kendrick (is that the girls name?). Most people are like my dad, who works from one gig to the next, work being sporadic.
LaLa Land depicts a really typical Hollywood story. While most don't make it as big as either Sebastian or Mia, how they got where they are is typical of many workers in the biz. Sebass got his gig, through friends that he knew ( that one friend from college that idk the name too). A lot of the times Hollywood is a game of who you know and in that way its luck. You have to be lucky for a door appear. For Sebass it was the fact that he knew his college friend, for Mia it was that she had some high exec appear in her crowd. That is luck and that is the first decider in someone's career. Luck. Then it's skill. Now once you've found the door, you've got to be skillful enough to open it. Take advantage of it. For Mia that was wowing the execs with her song and for Sebass it was the fact that he was good enough to play in his college friends band. So the next qualifier is skill but after that, its all luck. Luck that the door doesn't crash down on you while you're walking through it. Luck that the people on the other side of the door like you and want you to walk through more. Luck that you didn't trip and fall whilst climbing through the door.
So yes, I think LaLa Land depicts a good image of how living a dream in LA works. Of course is it perfectly accurate? No of course not. Nothing produced by Hollywood is or ever will be, cause we are all a sucker for happy endings.
When people come to Los Angeles they come here to stay. Who does not want to live in almost constant seventy degree whether almost all year. I think there are many reasons to move to Los Angeles and the media represents LA as the place for actors. This stereotype definitely holds some truth however not to the extent that anyone who doesn't live in Los Angeles understands. Living in Los Angeles is no different than living in any other big city when it comes to finding a job and paying rent. It is even more expensive here than most places. The idea that one can come to LA and easily establish a career is a myth, however, it does happen to .1% of people. Somehow that .1% of success stories makes thousands flock in hoping to be the few. This is an unrealistic dream and La La Land does nothing but promote this idea.
ReplyDeleteLike people who photoshop their facebook pictures, Los Angeles creates an illusion of possibility and hope for struggling artists to come and potentially become successful. In reality, Los Angeles is where people go to die.
ReplyDeleteSuccess stories like Mia and Seabass are exceptions to the rule, not the norm.
There is an immense amount of people who come to Los Angeles to chase after their dreams because Los Angeles is portrayed as a conduit for people to become successful.
Even if they do achieve their dreams, their dreams have been transformed into something else entirely.
Seabass wanted to save Jazz and retain the eclectic mix of personality and conflict in Jazz, but he had to sell out in order to pay for his bills.