Abstract
Abstract When La La Land premiered in 2016, critics praised the film for “mak[ing] musicals matter again” and predicted it would usher in a resurgence of the genre. It is a love letter to the art form, paying nostalgic homage to such classics as Singin’ in the Rain, West Side Story, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, and the Astaire-Rogers films of the 1930s. In interviews, director Damien Chazelle and composer Justin Hurwitz have pointed out the many references in La La Land’s music, narrative, sets, costumes, and cinematic style to specific Hollywood films from the “Golden Age” of the 1930s to 1950s. Yet, there is something fundamentally different about the musical numbers in these films from those in the earlier films that they attempt to emulate, particularly regarding the films’ audiovisual syntax and their relationship between technology and performing onscreen bodies. This essay interrogates the aesthetic and cultural implications of the contemporary film musical’s audiovisual style, which began in 2001 with the release of Moulin Rouge! and crystallized in the second decade of the twenty-first century.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
