How valuable has ideological analysis been in developing your understanding of the themes of your chosen films? [20]

An ideological analysis of the feminism ideology has been important in developing and understanding the theme of independence in La La Land. For example, during the messengers sequence, Emma Stone’s performance highlights her strong reaction to the situation. When she hears the Messenger’s music, it’s clear that she understands that Seb is performing music he doesn’t like and is living a dream that isn’t his. This is evident on her face which we see through mid-shots focused on her, and the use of change in coloured lighting from orange to blue suggests a lack of passion once she hears the song representing how Seb has a lack of passion for this band which an active spectator would pick up on whereas a passive spectator would just pick up on his performance of playing with one hand in his pocket. Mia feels strongly about this, and quickly tells Sebastian that she believes he’s not where he wants to be or should be. This reaction shows that she doesn’t spectate passively, which goes against the feminist critique that Mia is portrayed as a spectator and she only spectates passively. This is also proven wrong earlier in the film when she picks up on the jazz music in the restaurant and has a strong reaction to it and therefore leaves. Her having her own opinion and strong reaction to art and Seb’s performances shows that she is independent, therefore linking onto the theme of independence, and by doing this the film explores feminism in a way that proves the feminist critique wrong as Mia is a self-reliant and independent woman. The theme of independence is started during the opening, when the woman is singing about leaving her old life and close ones behind to achieve her dreams which is reflective of Mia later on in the film. However, this does link into the representation of LA because the woman in singing a song in major key in a yellow dress (which has happy connotations) yet they’re in a traffic jam which could be a visual metaphor for how it’s actually hard to make it in LA. Moreover, Mia is represented to spectators as an independent and passionate performer, such as during the audition scene. The spotlight motif that is reminiscent of Seb’s spotlight is used to focus in on her, conveying to active viewers that she is lost in her art and passionate, therefore emphasising her independence as a performer and as a woman as well as he ability to perform brilliantly just like Seb.

Another ideology that is explored is traditionalism which links in with the binary opposition of traditionalism and progression. This binary opposition and theme are largely explored through Mia and Sebastian; she represents the future and he the past. For example, when we first meet them, Sebastian is rewinding tapes to old music and Mia is learning new lines. An passive or active viewer would consider how this is why during the messengers scene it’s made so clear that Sebastian is not where he should be. The spotlight that shines on him at the start is reminiscent of the spotlight from the restaurant, but after all the music kicks in it disappears and ‘in you face’ bright lights flood the screen. This reflects how Sebastian is no longer lost in his art because this isn’t the art he wants to perform, before he was sticking to traditional music and now, he’s performing modern music. Passive viewers are aligned with Mia because she isn’t happy with it either, and there’s more film form elements that tell the spectator to be unhappy with it too like the ridiculous dancers or the painful to listen to diegetic synth. This links to the ideology of traditionalism because the messenegers music is all about progression which contrasts against Seb’s tradionalists beliefs. Some people have pegged this moment with a feminist critique saying that Mia is always the spectator and Seb the performer. In many ways this can be proved wrong, but one way is to link it to the ideology of traditionalism and the binary opposition of traditionalism and progression. If Mia represents progression, it’s normal for future art to take influence from the traditional art, whereas, traditional art is less likely/never going to do so. Therefore, it’s not about gender, but rather the binary opposition of progression and traditionalism, which therefore links into the ideology of traditionalism.