La La Land (musical written and directed by Damien Chazelle) fever has swept the nation. With a record-breaking seven Golden Globe wins, it is expected to sweep other high-profile award shows including the likes of the BAFTAs and the Academy Awards. It follows the story of Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling)—two struggling artists trying to catch a break in Los Angeles. While the premise is rather standard and influenced by a slew of other Hollywood musicals (the film makes a reference to its own nostalgic feel in one scene), La La Land is able to hold its own and touch everyone who has the opportunity to watch it. The music is beautiful. The editing and cinematography are seamless. The acting is inspiring. But the film, despite its numerous attributes, has ignited much controversy.
A main criticism La La Land has faced is its lack of diversity. Critics point out that the dearth of queer characters is rather odd seeing as the film takes place in Los Angeles, a city with a prominent queer community. Another major qualm associated with the film is its supposed "white savior complex." Sebastian, a Caucasian jazz pianist, feels like it is up to him to save the dying music genre. A genre created by Black people. While no one has argued that a white person cannot listen to or play jazz music, it has been ardently expressed that Sebastian should have been played by a Black actor. People continue to pose this question: why does the guy who "saves" jazz have to be white?
Hollywood is no stranger to painting white males as unproblematic heroes. The institutionalized racism that prevails in the Hollywood system has created this toxic notion that certain aspects of minorities' cultures are only deemed relevant and worthy of respect when they are validated by white individuals. People felt this movie was no exception. All of a sudden a white boy is super into jazz and he was able to single-handedly make it cool again. His love for jazz gave the genre validity - not the love of the Black jazz enthusiasts.
Black subjectivity is an anomaly in the media. So when a movie like La La Land comes out, it angers many within the community. Here's a story about an art form created by Blacks, but neither of the protagonists are Black. In fact, the only major Black character, Keith (John Legend) is against traditional jazz music and has developed a more inauthentic sound. The truth of the matter is that there have probably been a plethora of films idolizing jazz that were created by Black people, but they were overlooked. To Hollywood, it seems as if Blacks celebrating their own culture will result in no revenue or target audience. But put that culture in the hands of a white person and you've got a box office hit.
While the lack of diversity in this film did get to me at first, I have since realized that I feel many people are going about it the wrong way. Racism and discrimination prevails in our country. Hollywood whitewashing is merely a symptom. Solving this symptom of the problem will not solve the true problem. There are films that are far more oppressive and prejudiced than people claim La La Land to be. They have always existed and unfortunately, they will continue to exist at least in the near future. Attacking this film will lead to nothing and ultimately, it doesn't deserve it. I think we all need to take a step back, analyze the situation, and work towards bettering America as a whole so that every aspect of American society can be strengthened.
