"Here's to the fools who dream": La La Land as a Reinterpretation of the Classical Musical Genre.

Escudero Serrano, Isabel
Azcona Montoliu, María del Mar (dir.)

Universidad de Zaragoza, FFYL, 2019

Graduado en Estudios Ingleses

Abstract: This dissertation explores the influence of the classical American film musical on the film La La Land (2016) and the way the film both follows and challenges the conventions of the genre. This essay starts with a brief introduction to the main characteristics of the classical musicals as defined by Rick Altman in The American Film Musical, the primary critical source. First, the essay will focus on the film as a tribute to the classical period of Hollywood, analysing the conventions of classical musicals that are referenced throughout the movie, such as the formation of the couple. Secondly, it will explore the way the film adapts to a contemporary socio-historical moment by subverting the expectations brought about by the genre by means of the introduction of the concept of “confluent love,” which results in the eventual separation of the couple. As this essay will argue, La La Land is both a classical and a modern musical, given that it manages to blend the main elements of classical musicals into the context of our modern society. RESUMEN

Tipo de Trabajo Académico: Trabajo Fin de Grado