Chazelle was moved by the tradition of 1920s city symphony films, such as Manhattan (1921) and Man with a Movie Camera (1929), that paid tribute to cities.
Chazelle terinspirasi oleh tradisi film-film simfoni kota 1920-an seperti Manhatta (1921) atau Man With a Movie Camera (1929) yang mengisahkan kehidupan kota.