Coloring Outside the Lines - Exploring Narrative Structure and Visual Dynamics and Duality in La La Land (2016)

Abstract

This masterthesis examines how the modern movie musical La La Land (Damien Chazelle, 2016) integrates traditional elements from the musical genre with innovative narrative and visual techniques. La La Land is characterized by its striking use of color and its rich references to Hollywood’s classic films and musicals, and tells the story of aspiring actress Mia and jazz musician Sebastian. The research question that was formulated for this masterthesis is: In what ways does La La Land combine traditional elements of the musical genre with innovative narrative and visual techniques to redefine the genre? Using a neoformalist approach, the devices within narrative structure and the mise-en-scène, particulary through the use of color, were examined and analyzed. The analysis reveals a dual-focus narrative that weaves themes of love and dreams in to a traditional three-act structure combined with parallels, highlighting the film’s dominant: duality. A close examination of the mise-en-scène and visual style of the film unveils how a pattern is created where color usage echoes and enhances the narrative structure. The detailed analysis of the research object reveals the film’s complexity, which unfolds through the interaction between the narrative structure and mise-en-scène and use of color, intensely engaging with the film’s dominant concept of duality. This thesis underscores the film’s contribution to the evolution of musicals, suggesting further research on contemporary musicals and audience reception to broaden understanding of the genre's progression and use of color in mise-en-scène.