Can Creative People Have it All?

Can you have it all?
 
I wrote this last night as I just finished watching the movie, La La Land.
 
As I began to watch it, I didn't particularly care for the first scene, which made me nervous for the rest of the film.

However, I understand how that first scene sets up Los Angeles as a central character of sorts. L.A. is the backdrop. The place many aspiring performers gravitate toward to make it big.

I was grateful as the story moved forward and emerged with more depth. By the end, the arc of the story seemed so simple, but emotionally complex.
 
It was about love and dreams and while that may seem pretty straightforward, love and dreams are often complicated.

Often times there are conflicting forces at play that leave one with a sense of incompleteness even when it appears s/he has reached success. Like, "if I had gone  a different direction in the past when I came to that fork in the road, would I have reached a different kind of success that felt more complete?"
 
Near the middle of the film, and more so in the end, there were some great scenes of dialog between the main characters related to their relationship that captured in candid eloquence the struggle between their passionate love for one another and the passionate pursuit of their individual dreams. 
 
The film attempts to showcase an answer to the questions: Can you passionately pursue and obtain/achieve/win both reciprocal love for someone else and your dreams? Or, do you end up sacrificing one over the other? 
 
If the answer is the latter, how do you know if you're truly happy when a time comes where you are reminded of the thing you sacrificed?

​When you're reminded of what could have been? You don't have the benefit of going down both paths, winning in both directions and then deciding which is/was/would be the better route to take.
 
Are you grateful for the moments you had/have? Do you push to have it all, is that even possible?
 
As part of our human condition I think we will always struggle with the pursuit of love and dreams. There will always be a sense of longing for completeness. To be whole. A feeling we likely won't know until we've passed on into more enlightenment. When we go home.
 
My wife and I are both creative individuals with creative dreams and pursuits, so this film really resonated with us, but for us, we’re not giving up on our love or our dreams. This is no easy feat with young kids, but our passion for each other and our passion for our artistic pursuits are too great to sacrifice one over the other. In fact, at this point, I don’t know if one can exist without the other.
 
I do recommend watching the film for yourself. The story was good, the music was good and the visuals are colorful and stunning.

​Posted by: Nick Venturella

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