'La La Land' Is More Modern Than You Think

1:41 PM Amanda Prahl 0 Comments

For the first time in decades, an original film musical is the darling of Hollywood critics and awards season. Damien Chazelle's La La Land, with a score by Justin Hurwitz and Broadway duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is a well-crafted musical in the vein of the MGM musicals of old: a showbiz tale mixed with a love story. For a wide array of reasons, however, there has been a fair amount of criticism leveled at the film since its release. While it's certainly worth considering the relative social importance of La La Land when set against groundbreaking, equally well-crafted tales like Moonlight and Hidden Figures, it's also worth looking at La La Land in the context of the genre it joins and that musical language. When viewed through this lens, it becomes apparent that La La Land isn't just an old-school musical: it's a reinterpretation that pays homage to classic style and tropes while simultaneously calling them into question in the modern world.


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On Theatre, Creating Art, and a Changing World

10:14 AM Amanda Prahl 2 Comments

The day after the election, a friend of mine - a fellow artist - posted on Facebook a list of adjectives describing the art they would no longer consider acceptable. Among those adjectives were "cool," "cutting-edge," and others, but the one that bothered me was "beautiful." I saw similar sentiments repeated across my social media as much of my extended community cycled through fear, anger, confusion, and even rebellion. "Beauty," it seemed, was no longer something to strive for, no longer something worthy. As 2017 kicks off and the prospect of immense change looms, it's time to have a discussion about the role of art and its creators going forward.


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