Episode 2: La La Land (2016)
How much insight do people have about their romantic preferences? What does effective support look like? Does career devotion require tradeoffs in our relationships? Paul and Eli discuss the science behind the acclaimed musical throwback: La La Land.
Subscribe at Apple, Spotify. or Episodes.fm
Hosted, produced, and edited by Paul Eastwick and Eli Finkel.
Intro
1:00: (Eli) Who are the characters and couples?
2:25: (Paul) 1-minute plot recap
3:50: What is our relationship to this movie?
What the movie gets right
5:40: (Eli) Romantic partners offer critical support for each other’s ambitions and goals
Thriving through relationships review by Dr. Feeney
Capitalizing on good news review by Dr. Gable
9:40 (Paul) What we say we want may not match what we actually want
Top dealbreakers don’t actually matter study by Dr. Sparks
14:55: (Eli) We expect our relationships to push us toward our authentic selves
The all-or-nothing marriage book by Eli
20:45: (Paul) Ambition is an aphrodisiac for men and women
Men and women like ambitious partners equally review by Paul
Men aren’t intimidated by high earning/educated partners anymore review by Dr. Van Bavel
24:50: (Paul) Couples try to restrain themselves when fighting
Inhibition during conflict review by Eli
26:40: (Eli) Familiarity breeds liking
Familiarity promotes attraction study by Dr. Reis
Misconceptions in the movie
27:35: (Paul) The meet-cute(s) with no social connections
29:10: (Eli) New husband would surely notice Mia’s eye-lock with Seb
“Are we ok with this?”
31:40: (Paul & Eli) Is there a white savior component here?
Relationship Quotes!
33:45: (Eli) Sebastian’s “we need to pursue our dreams” speech
35:30: (Paul) Sebastian seeing Mia as a prodigy playwright
What do we wish we knew?
38:15: (Paul) Could a relationship “do-over” lead to a different outcome?
Relationships and chaos theory review by Dr. Weigel
41:20: (Eli) How do moment-to-moment reminders of our relationships affect us?
43:10: (Eli) We don’t have a great sense of how teasing and flirting go together
Stars (1–5): Both hosts rate the quality of the movie
Rusbults (1–5): Both hosts rate the accuracy of the movie’s ideas about relationships
Music by Andrew Fraker and Sons
Artwork by Katie Keil