Is Love Meant To Be or Can It Form Artificially?
We all experience love differently, whether it be familial love, with friends, or with our significant other. Love is a complicated subject because of the different perspectives and forms it can take. Nowadays, perhaps we take love for granted, sometimes attaching the label to a circumstance that we might think is love in that moment, when in reality it could be far from it. Who is to decide what qualifies as love? Through such processes, we taint the image and meaning of love. But that shouldn’t stop us from seeking those feelings in a healthy way: in our work, everyday lives, the lives of those around us, and most importantly, in ourselves. Some of us may seek to feel love through art or literature. Books, films, painting, and other creative mediums provide various expressions for different articulations of love - they make love so enchanting you can’t look away. In La La Land, directed by Damien Chazelle, and Her, by Spike Jonze, we are shown perspectives of love through the lens of fantasy and a broken heart.
La La Land
In my perspective, the story in La La Land was not supposed to feel realistic at all and I think this could open the possibility of criticism for the storytellers. However, not all love stories are intended to be attainable but instead, to encourage us to dream. This may lead to disappointment, because we build a certain image and expect all the pieces to fit together perfectly. But love isn’t perfect, and should not be limited, or confined to a certain structure. In the end, love is often unexplainable, complicated, charming and many other things.
In La La Land, we are witnesses of Mia and Sebastian’s love story. Brought together by fate, their story is filled with the whimsical fun, effortless connection, and constant support for one another - things that we all seek in our fantasies. Mia strives to be an A-list actress while Sebastian dreams of opening his own Jazz place. We are swept along with their turbulent journey of highs and lows, but also how they fall in love is important; through the music around them and through hope of the people they dream of becoming in the future.
In this story, a fantasy unravels before us, and we as the audience become attracted to this fantasy Mia and Sebastian were building with one another. Yet whilst having me completely wrapped around their finger, any trace of the dream they painted on the screen for me to indulge in was, in the end, ripped away. Just when I thought this might have all been a dream within a dream, I watch as the two characters poorly attempt to piece my heart back together, signified with a nod shared between Mia and Sebastian. This nod signified that even though they have gone their separate ways, they still love each other and they are okay with not being together in the way that the audience might have wished for. That subtle gesture is what broke me to pieces, because I wanted to entertain the fantasy as it could play out. But this story must follow its love formula and leave its audience with a feeling of longing.
Her
Her takes place in a world similar to that which we might find in Blackmirror - not to the same mind boggling extent, but those who are familiar with the way stories are told in Blackmirror could see Her as the tip of the iceberg. Theodore is a sensitive and intriguing character who writes letters for other couples or friends for a living. He is known for his impressive letters and his ability to capture intense emotions with his words. Theodore is in the middle of a process filing for divorce with Catherine, whom he thought to be the love of his life. He lives an ironic lifestyle, surrounding himself with ‘love’ which he has failed at it in his personal life. Theodore becomes fascinated by his new operating system, named Samantha, because of its playful personality and how intuitive it is. Samantha communicates with Theodore with her voice. This film feels unique for me because it tells a love story with just one of the five senses - hearing.
As the film progresses, Samantha starts to encounter new feelings and emotions, which confuses her. She later expresses that she feels happy when she’s with Theodore and sometimes imagines having a real body and actually holding Theodore’s hand. Theodore reciprocates these feelings and they soon fall in love. Theodore’s feelings may be influenced by his past relationship and his deep longing for someone to fill the void inside of him, but he truly believes he loves Samantha and conceives of the possibility of having a future with her. They fall in love with each other because of their communication, their ways of thinking, and simply how they express themselves. Here love is not physical; they didn’t need to physically see each other to fall in love because it was at its core, a mental process. They fell in love with one another's mind. Sadly though, their relationship eventually comes to an end and Theodore finds himself alone once again. Although this time, he is not truly alone - he acknowledges that he has a friend that will be there for him.
There is only so much I can write about these films and how they made me feel through their ways of storytelling. There are so many other films that communicate love in such unique ways. I will always be enchanted by the love story in La La Land, and Her will constantly have me question the different possibilities of how love is developed.