his movies are just about the importance of being famous
Whiplash, La La Land, Babylon, and even First Man (to an extent) are all basically just about how having fame can make one's problems go away and be happy. They all deceivingly pose the question of "But at what cost?" but in the end, all his characters get what they want and life is ultimately better for it.
Even Whiplash, for as abusive and violent as Fletcher gets at times, ends with a shot of him smiling. It basically implies that despite how nasty and cruel of a person he is, Neiman finally wins him over in the end and we can assume that they remain teacher and student by the time the credits come.
This ultimately paints all his works as shallow. It seems like the underlying philosophy expressed in his films is that despite the sacrifices that may come, being famous is ultimately a far more fulfilling existence than life as a regular person. They may miss out a little bit in their ruthless quest for fame, but in the end, they'll get everything they want.
How fucking empty. This guy sucks.