Why is “La La Land” so popular among Mormons?
The New York Times (here) has maps (chloropleths, if you want to show off your vocabulary) showing the popularity of the nominees for best picture. The maps look like different countries. “Fences,” for example, did best in the Southern swath from Louisiana to North Carolina but nowhere else except for Allegheny County, PA (it was filmed in Pittsburgh, where the story is set). In those same areas, “Arrival” and “Manchester by the Sea” basically don’t exist. The maps of “Fences” and “Arrival” look like direct opposites.
The map that puzzled me was “La La Land.” It’s big in LA, of course (like “Fences” in Pittsburgh). But its other strongholds are counties with a high proportion of Mormons: Utah plus Mormonic counties in neighboring states – Idaho, Wyoming, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada.
The maps match even for distant counties in Missouri and Virginia, where those dark spots on the map might indicate only 5-10% of the population. Most counties in the US are below 3%.
How to explain the “La La Land” – Latter Day Saints connection? The movie is rated PG-13, but so are “Fences,” “Arrival,” and “Lion.” And “Hidden Figures” is PG. But then, the cast of “La La Land” has very few non-Whites and zero aliens. That might have something to do with it.
Or maybe it’s just because Ryan Gosling grew up with seriously Mormon parents. He is no longer a Mormon and says he never really identified as one. He has long since left the church. He is neither a singer nor a dancer but has to sing and dance in this film. His character is supposed to be a jazz purist, but the music he plays is what you might call Utah jazz (one of the great oxymorons of our time). But those minor quibbles mean little compared with the fact the for the first years of his life, he was raised as a Mormon.
Jay Livingston is the chair of the Sociology Department at Montclair State University. You can follow him at Montclair SocioBlog or on Twitter.
Comments 6
Why So Red? — March 1, 2017
Honestly, I doubt it has very much to do with Ryan's upbringing. As a Mormon who attended university in Utah (but from the Midwest), I can tell you why: Mormons have a deep abiding love for musicals. Music is a fundamental aspect of worship and being able to play piano or carry a tune is a community standard. Being unable to do either is strange for Mormons whose families have been in the faith for generations. This translated to loving musicals and Disney movies (which have tunes and are family friendly). Don't expect them to love musicals like Hairspray or Avenue Q though...
C Current — March 2, 2017
There is a long history of Mormon engagement in theater and music. According to Matthew Bowman in The Mormon People, "Unlike many separatist religious groups in the early nineteenth century America, the Mormons did not spurn dancing, secular music, or the theater; indeed the Mormons today have a reputation for musical ability and interest in the theater" (p. 71).
SeanM62 — March 2, 2017
La, La Land is popular among Mormons? Doesn't the title say it all?? Utah is La, La Land incarnate.
Malia — March 2, 2017
Actually, we just really like musicals. Also, have you seen Ryan Gosling? Yes, please.
Jym Dyer — March 5, 2017
☀ It is not a movie with very few non-whites. Certainly the Emma Stone character represents something very white, she's from the suburbs, the only jazz she knows is Kenny G., and suffers from a Jacques Demy form of nostalgia. The Ryan Gosling character, however, has interracial family and friends, and his form of nostalgia is for a very African-American form of jazz. The other principal in the film is the John Legend character, the Gosling character's friend from childhood, who wants to advance his music beyond where the Gosling character is stuck.
Gosling's character is a skilled musician, but he's clearly no Charlie Parker, no matter how stubborn and purist he is about the whole thing. I've read some objections that the Gosling character is a "white savior of jazz" and the Legend character is a "villain," but really what he does is break his friend out of his stuck place.