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This week’s installment in the “Ethical Dilemmas on Film” Series at the State Theatre is the 1950 film noir classic Sunset Boulevard. Here are some things to consider as you reflect on the film:
Many critics consider Sunset Blvd. to be the best Hollywood film about Hollywood. What does the film have to tell us about Hollywood? 
Billy Wilder was a European �migr� who knew barely any English when he arrived in the States. Is Wilder’s status as a foreigner/outsider evident in the film? 
What elements of Joe’s narration indicate that he’s a screenwriter? Can we tell how good a screenwriter he is from his narration? Does he finally write that successful script? 
Is Joe better as an actor than a writer? 
Why is Norma writing a script about Salome? 
Is it worth following up Joe’s reference to Great Expectations
What is the significance of ghost writing? 
How many plots are there in Sunset Blvd.? Who are the plotters? Who is the best plotter? 
Why does Joe stay with Norma after New Year’s Eve?
For a film of its time, Sunset Blvd. relies very little on shot/counter-shot. How does Wilder tend to construct shots instead? 
Consider the significance of these lines: 
  • “I hope you haven’t lost your sense of humor.” 
  • “I’ve got 20-20 vision.” 
  • “That’s the trouble with you readers, you know all the plots.” 

How does the film use diegetic and extra-diegetic music? 

Is Joe’s narrative morally redemptive? Does Joe need to redeem himself? 
Joe says that “life is strangely merciful” to Norma in the end – is the film?
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23 Responses to Sunset Blvd.: Questions for Reflection

  1. KAITLYN ANITA SPANGLER says:

    Sunset Boulevard is an excellent commentary on the emptiness of fame and fortune, a life fulfilled through the eyes of an audience and ratings. Norma Desmond epitomizes Hollywood as an empty, lifeless, delusional soul. She is caught in her past fame with the undying goal of getting it back. Without it, she knows nothing; she feels like nothing. Her house is overflowing with expensive things: tennis courts, swimming pools, untouched furniture, antiques. Yet, none of which actually reflect her as a person. Norma watches her old films at night with Joe because those are times when she was told who to be, how to act, and what identity to embody. As the directory of her own life, she is lost and meaningless, absolved in the physical modifications and expectations that Hollywood focuses on. When she believes she is making her big film comeback, she goes to extensive cosmetic measures to beautify herself again because that is one thing that she has full control over; her appearance and outward “character” are the perfect mask to her emotional instability that one can easily see in her company. It is as if she is the only one that does not realize her own disguise, and this disillusionment is what Hollywood was beginning to embrace. Actors and actresses, to be considered good, had to fully embrace the role of their character, to breathe life into scripted words and be somebody that they are not naturally. Essentially, actors and actresses in Hollywood spend their time perfecting lies. Norma Desmond is a sad and pathetic example of this, in which time has moved on and she has not. Joe is thrown into this emotional mess in the midst of his own personal crisis. He is trying wholeheartedly to create a script to make it big, yet he fatefully encounters Norma that stops him along his journey. Joe immediately recognizes her lack of skill, talent, and sanity, yet he is helplessly thrown into her world of constant lies and cover-ups. Without a chance to look back, he gets swept up in keeping Norma sane and at peace, as well as Max the Butler, because they just can’t bear the thought of watching her face reality. This concept could be expanded upon to insinuate that Norma Desmond’s life and encounter with Joe is an allegory of Hollywood and its community. It is nearly mindless to get swept up on the hoopla of Hollywood, the money, the fame, the glamour, the attention, yet it is rare to have a moment of solitude to stop and reflect on one’s actions. The whole incentive and driving force behind the success of Hollywood is bigger, better, more, more, and more. Improvements can always be made, and more money can always be acquired. Hollywood’s hot shots do not understand when to quit, stop, or say no, because it is a world of constant progression and sad demises. Joe’s demise is clear and obvious with his death, yet Norma’s demise has already occurred in the onset of the film and is, perhaps, more tragic to behold; it is a demise of the internal self and her purpose in life.

  2. JESSICA RAE DEITZER says:

    As a psychology major, I believe I saw this film slightly different than most. Instead of a film about Hollywood, I saw this as a film about mental illness. There are a few cases of troubled and mentally ill actresses, even the most famous, such as Marilyn Monroe. However, did Hollywood beget these mentally ill actresses or are they attracted to the stage?

    In Norma’s case, I think she was drawn to the stage because she needed the attention. Norma struck me as either bipolar, a disorder involving periods of highs and lows that I think people are familiar with, or as having histrionic personality disorder. Histrionic personality disorder is a disease characterized by extreme emotions and attention-seeking behaviors. People with histrionic disorder have an excessive need for approval and are typically inappropriately seductive and flirtatious. They will intensely need someone, and the next second, if their fascination has changed, move on to someone else with no care in the world. They intensely need and will stop at no lengths to get attention from whom they want it from, but can forget someone easily if they want to. And this is precisely what Norma did. Think of her butler, who we eerily find out at the end used to be her husband?! Norma has had chains of intense and destructive relationships, at times nearly ruining her own life for them, and ruining some of their lives in the process. This leads to Joe’s eventual, prophetic death.

    She is clearly unstable and mentally ill, which climaxes in her psychotic break at the end of the movie. “Life is strangely merciful” in the end to Norma, who can cope with her behaviors by living in a reality of her own, but it’s not for Joe. In my opinion, this is because he knowingly became involved with Norma. Why did Joe stay with Norma after New Year’s Eve? Because he was as weak as she was ill. Joe already knew by then that he had to get out of that dreadful house, away from Norma, back to people his own age. However, when she tries to kill herself, he feels needed, just like she wants him to. At this point, Joe could have removed himself and moved on with his life. However, he does what he believes is the best thing for Norma, and himself, which is actually far from it, as we see at the end. This tumultuous relationship can’t last, and it destroys both of them. If he opened his eyes instead of his wallet, maybe he could have seen it.

  3. MELISSA AMY says:

    Sunset Boulevard highlights Hollywood and the element of “fame.” The film attempts to answer the question of “What happens when the fifteen minutes of fame are over?”
    Norma Desmond is an actress past her prime. Her career as a star is over; she is washed up and forgotten about. She foolishly believes that she can regain her fame and audience, but the world has moved past her. She refuses to accept this fact and continues the delusional belief that she will once again be the star the world desires.
    The fickleness of “fame” that the movie explores is not a new concept, nor is it an idea no longer relevant. Every new generation brings with it it’s stars and every generation forgets a previous age’s stars. The current generation forgets such names as John Ford, John Wayne, Ginger Rogers, Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart. Household names just 50 years ago are all but forgotten. New stars have taken their place.
    What then is fame if it passes so quickly? Actors and actresses work years in order to gain fame and success and to become household names. It takes years of hard work and planning for that “fifteen minutes of fame.” What is it all worth if 50 years later, no one remembers you or your work?
    Some approach fame as all-important: the audience must love and adore you always. When fame is all that matters, one can easily lose all sense of reality as seen in the case of Norma. Her entire self-worth and self-identity is tied up in her belief that the world adores her.
    However, some approach fame as fleeting: enjoy the time the audience loves you. When self-worth is not determined by fame, one can enjoy the short period of fame, but move past the loss of fame. Joe proves an example of this later sort of approach. While he works improve his screenwriting, his self-worth is not tied up in its success (even if his pocketbook is!). He accepts when things are not going his way with his screenwriting which is why he moves in with Norma.
    As seen throughout Sunset Boulevard, one’s approach to fame determines the outcome of the loss of fame: as long as one’s self worth is not tied up in fame, one can stand the loss of fame.

  4. GWEN K FRIES says:

    Sunset Boulevard was an interesting peek into what true Hollywood life might be like. When an actor or actress is in their prime, they are 100 percent surrounded by yes-men, people whose livelihood depends on making them happy and adoring fans. Most seem to lose grip of reality. I think this was especially the case during the early days of Hollywood because international and even national fame was extraordinarily rare in the world up until that point. Your name might be known but not your face. Pictures changed all of that. The original actors and actresses became a completely new breed of human. They were the guinea pigs. I think with that rush of fame and new race of demi-gods, it was easy, and still is, to forget who you were before you started. Hollywood sucks you in and spits you out.

    “Is Joe better as an actor than a writer?” I AM SO GLAD THIS QUESTION WAS POSED! I spent the entire movie thinking that. He was acting the entire movie, from the time he lied to the men who came for his car until his demise. The moment he stopped acting is when Norma decided he needed to die.

    I thought making Norma write a script about Salome was an absolutely fantastic idea. In Oscar Wilde’s play about Salome, she develops a strange and perverse attraction to John the Baptist. When he does not accept and return her affections, she has him executed. That’s fairly parallel to what happens during the course of Sunset Boulevard. Her attraction to Joe is inappropriate, especially due to his age, and when he goes to leave her, she shoots him in the back.

    Joe’s reference to Great Expectations isn’t completely without merit. The state of the house and the lady of the house are quite reminiscent of the Dickens novel. The lady’s inability to accept life as it is is a common thread between Norma and Miss Havisham. They’re both ladies frozen in time, I suppose.

    Joe stays with Norma after New Year’s Eve in one of his rare moments of decency. While the overall reason he stayed with her was so he could have expensive clothes and a place to live, he stayed with her that night because she attempted to kill herself. Either he realized that as nutty as she was, she was still a human and therefore valuable, or he saw himself living on the street once she was gone. I prefer to see Joe in a more positive light. I want to see him staying with Norma out of concern for her as a human being.

    I completely agree with Joe that life was “strangely merciful” to Norma in the end. Even though she just committed murder, Norma still got the attention and publicity she so desperately craved. I felt really bad for her the entire time. Though there were several times I wanted to smack her and yell, “Get away from him!” she was a truly pitiful creature. Perhaps it was cruel of us as humans to give her a god-like status and then abandon her to sit with thoughts of what was and what never would be. Her life was a tragedy, and because of that, Joe’s life ended up a tragedy too.

  5. KATHERINE ELIZABETH MURT says:

    I loved this film from the very beginning, as it felt like an old-school film noir plot with LOVE, and SUSPENSE and a DRAMATIC ENDING! I had never seen it before, though I had heard the name, and was really surprised by what the film turned out to be.
    One of my favorite parts of the film is when Joe first enters Norma’s home, and you see a casket that is very small. I was freaked out immediately, expecting to see a child, but soon we see it is a monkey. I thought this was both hilarious and disturbing, and immediately set the tone for the “lifestyles of the rich and the famous” feeling that is synonymous with Norma. This scene really solidifies her out-of-this-world sensibility of what is normal…to her, owning and then lavishly burying a pet chimpanzee is average. To most of us, it’s strange and extravagant. This really sets the film’s tone.
    I really enjoy the idea of Norma as an original diva, and seeing her modern-day foils crop up in TV and film today is awesome. Jenna Maroney from 30 Rock is a modern-day Norma to a T. She is demanding and obsessive and unhinged, pulling crazy stunts and self-harming for attention. The people around Jenna coddle her and have contingency plans in place, based around her different moods and actions (which have all occurred frequently enough to warrant a contingency plan). This is so much like Norma, who receives her coddling through fake fan mail and delusions perpetuated by Joe and her ex-husband.
    This really says something about the power of celebrity and how it can warp a mind into doing almost anything, just to stay relevant. The truth of the matter is that, no matter how big you are, one day you will no longer be important, and no one will care. And that’s something that drives famous people who are addicted to celebrity insane, and elicits crazy behavior to keep the attention of the masses. In a way, our culture’s obsession with a celebrity of the second is unethical, because we perpetuate the idea that there is no greater object than fame itself, and to attain such a wonderful status, one should stop at nothing. So Norma is not only a commentary on the idea of an overblown has-been celebrity, but on the fan-culture who allows this to continue. In idolizing imperfect humans, we destroy them, and then greedily mock their broken personas as we devour the next big thing, simultaneously.

  6. JAKE ANTHONY PELINI says:

    Where can the line between acting and reality be drawn? Billy Wilder’s film Sunset Boulevard explores this through the eyes of a tortured soul. Actress Norma Desmond once had the life of a teenage dreamer: fame, fortune, and beauty. However, as her youth waned, so too did her household popularity. When she met Joe, she was a washed-up and dried-out Hollywood wannabe. As the plot unfolds, it becomes increasingly and painfully clear that Norma’s unwillingness to forsake the past has pushed her to some sort of insanity.

    Now is the part of the story where we tell ourselves, “That will never happen to us.” But insanity (of a milder form, of course) may not be far off. How many people are stuck in the past, and enjoy the good times to the extent where the future is unwelcome? Change is scary, and transitions are not easy. Take the move to college, for example. Dropping all the friends we see daily, moving to a new place, and re-establishing ourselves as people seems daunting. But if we are unwilling to push our limits, when will we achieve progress?

    At a THON organization meeting this past weekend, one of our leaders spoke of one of his recent readings. He talked of how life is like a graph, with time on the x-axis and some means of assessing success on the y-axis. If we are materially success, we can draw a line with a constant positive curve on the graph. But often, as time plods on, we lose a sense of our original purpose and excitement, resulting in a second, fading curve. Essentially, why we do what we do becomes foggy or even obsolete.

    Our lives can assume the shape of this second curve when we get stuck in the “glory days.” Always remembering “how great life used to be” or how “times were different back then” is not only regressive, it is unhealthy, as Norma discovers. Only when we have a constant purpose and passion to do what defines us will we make progress and push with strength and purpose into the future.

  7. MIKAILA JEANINE RODGERS says:

    I believe that the overall message of the film was a reflection of the entertainment industry’s effect on individuals. Norma was obviously very effected by her rejection from the industry and continuously tried to regain her fame, as do a lot of “child stars” today. This can be exemplified in her attempt at writing a script entitled, “Salome”, with Joe. As far as Joe goes, I believe he was being very greedy. He worsened Norma’s situation by leading her on to believe that he loved her. He also helped her write a movie script instead of suggesting that she simply give up. One might even say that he deserved what he got. He made an informed decision to stay with Norma. In contrast, he was sort of forced into Norma’s house against his will but he ultimately made a decision to stay because he wanted to keep the money and he may have developed feelings for her. This can be seen in the scene when he leaves the New Year’s party to see about her well-being. This also supported the fact that he is better as an actor than as a writer. His movies were never very popular, yet when his and Norma’s relationship was portrayed, he performed adequately in convincing her that he was interested in her and her career.

  8. PHILIP BURCH ZONA says:

    For me, the most interesting part of Sunset Boulevard was its depiction of fame as an endless cycle of codependency. I think Norma was a great representative of burned out celebrities, but what really contributed the most to her character was the refusal of others to let her return to the life of a “normal” person. Obviously Norma thought herself still to be a star, but even the depth of her belief wouldn’t be able to support such an illusion without the help of everyone else in her life.

    Joe is one of the most complicit in feeding Norma’s false hopes. By living with her and allowing her to buy his love, he’s treating her as if she’s still at the peak of the Hollywood hierarchy. The fact that he lets Norma keep playing the part of a celebrity makes it impossible for her to realize that she’s just another rich woman now, rather than a movie star. In essence, Joe is preventing Norma from developing a real sense of identity.

    Max is another obvious confederate in Norma’s suspended fantasy world. By writing letters from supposed adoring fans, he builds up a false sense of personal worth that would cripple any reasonable human being if it were ever found out. Because of Norma’s histrionic personality and taste for fame, she seems to derive all sense of value for herself from the letters she gets. Max is therefore one of the guiltiest in perpetuating Norma’s delusion.

    The idea of fame in Sunset Boulevard is more like a harmful addiction than merely the quality of being well known and well liked. There is a certain amount of responsibility that has to fall on Norma herself for her unrealistic career visions, but ultimately no one is famous unless others agree that they are. By misrepresenting the perceptions of the public, characters like Max and Joe basically deprived Norma of any chance at having a normal life. It can be hard enough for a person to admit when their time in the spotlight is over, but when everyone in their life is trying to convince them otherwise, it would be nearly impossible. Through their actions, Joe and Max not only fed a lie that ruined Norma’s sense of identity and self-esteem, they took away her very grip on reality. What a couple of jerks.

    • AUGUST B SANCHEZ says:

      Are they really jerks? Norma’s identity is not non-existent, its merely outdated. Hes is obviously of being an actress, yet by your reasoning, Norma would not be in her current state of misguided fame without both Joe and Max. It is reasonable that she would have the same claim to grandeur without Joe? Without Max as well? Her life is based on attention, and when the letters stopped she would have been in a depressed state, as she was prone to, but with Max aiding her, isn’t she at least happy? Her sense of fame would not have changed, her constant statements of her fame and ability show that is a reasonable statement, therefore both Max and Joe are left with perpetuating a lie, for the happiness of another, or not, and allowing the differences of reality, and perception to continue, to the greater determent of Norma. I do not believe that they are jerks, but instead kind, especially Max, where is actions are driven by his own guilt,as opposed to Joe, who does some things out of kindness, and others for the money.

  9. TAYLOR MARIE MCCARTY says:

    Although Sunset Boulevard was released over fifty years ago, it is still relevant to today’s culture. Whether it’s the legendary quotes or the big names in cinema, this film truly stands the test of time. The main character, Norma Desmond, struggles with many issues that stars deal with today, like the process of aging and struggling to realize when a career has run its course. Norma cannot accept the fact that the career is finished, and that that has been the case for a number of years when we are first introduced to her. We discussed as a class whether or not we should feel pity for Norma or not, and whether you feel that way or not, she simply seems pathetic- an aging woman so desperate for attention that she will slit her wrists and keep her only visitor hostage, forcing him to finish writing a screenplay that will never be picked up by a director. One scene that I find particularly sad is when Norma begins her intense and bizarre beauty regimens to prepare for her next film, completely unaware that the day would never come. This parallels to the torture that today’s celebrities endure in a last-ditch effort to appear young: botox, liposuction, breast augmentations et cetera. The cost of beauty may be different now, but the issue is still the same. In the end, whether we pity Norma or not, it is apparent that she is not mentally stable. The relevant plot, eclectic characters and well written dialogue make Sunset Boulevard a true classic.

    • AUGUST B SANCHEZ says:

      I enjoy your use of the phrase et cetera in its proper form. Thank you from a classicist. Continuing, the first bit of your statement, and the movie for that matter, of her desire and obsession for Joe, and the means that she uses to keep him here can be seen to this day. She is indeed a saddening character, but would we feel as sad for her if it a 16 year old girl, never seen fame, but merely is desperate for love? What if it was a 25 year old man, wanting nothing else than to be loved? would we feel as bad, or would we feel nothing? OR more?

  10. NATHANIEL JAMES HOLLISTER says:

    I am going to have to be honest. I disagree with my peers in saying that this is a classic film in the world of cinema. To me, the film was mediocre at best. I was not all that impressed with the plot, the characters, or (actually, especially) the end of the film. I almost felt like the entire story could have been told in 30 minutes rather than a full 105.

    That said, I guess that I should still discuss what I think that the film is trying to say, or at least some take-away message that it was trying to get at. Like most of my peers on this blog have pointed out, Sunset Boulevard had some pretty great implications about the idea of fame. As we see with Norma Desmond’s character, the pursuit of fame can quite literally drive a person crazy. In this character, the pursuit and maintenance of fame lead to an obsession with herself in the industry and an alienation from the rest of society. Her whole world revolved around being a star on screen and when that came crashing down, so did her life.

    I think that this is pretty revealing for society today. We live in a world where we equate fame with success. In a more real-world context, we see this happening with the variety of talent search television shows today. And while they may or may not have their merits, they do lead to this pursuit of being in the spotlight all the time. I think that this is where we need to be careful of this cultural phenomenon. While I am not saying that this is necessarily negative, we must be able to separate the idea of fame from the idea of success because both being one in the same is just unrealistic.

    As for the quote “life is strangely merciful” that is said at the end of the film by Joe, I think that it reflects the idea that the film is pretty merciful. Playing out the “what happens next” game, I think that Norma would find herself back in the public’s eye. Under the idea that “bad press is still press”, I think that she would have been famous yet again, even if it were for the wrong reasons. And let’s face it, after that closing scene, how could anyone could deny an insanity plea? As for Joe, I think that the film gave him a merciful end as well. I think that death was really the only way out of the situation that he found himself in with Norma. Clearly, she was willing to do whatever it took to make sure that Joe did not leave her, as seen in the scenes where she called Betty, where she threatened her own life, and even where she killed Joe. All of these scenes were attempts on her part to ensure that Joe would not leave her side under any circumstances. Much like her pursuit of fame, her pursuit of control in her life was “insanely” strong.

  11. ANNA PRINCE says:

    “Sunset Boulevard” is not only an excellent film of its time, but it also very accurately portrays some of the negatives of being involved in the movie industry. Most prominent of these negatives is expressed through Norma’s character who ends up going completely mad by the end of the film. Even today, it is true that some people cannot handle the spotlight. The power the spotlight holds often becomes embedded within the stars and changes their lives forever. All the time we hear about famous child stars “falling off the deep end” whether it be drugs, alcohol, weight gain, or never really accepting the fact that their career is over. This is Norma’s problem. It’s the classic case of post fame insanity taken to a whole new level. Constantly, throughout the movie we notice Norma’s frequent comments on how much her fans love her and how great her movies are. She has pictures of herself all over her house and is constantly watching old videos of her performances. The problem is, Norma never leaves her house because deep down she knows that things have changed and within her isolated mansion, she is able to freeze time and continue to live her dream of stardom. When Joe comes along, an opportunity to express her fame to the outside world arrives as well. That is why she becomes so attached to Joe, because he represents the outside world and she believes that if she is a star to him, it means that she is a star to everyone else as well. It’s clear from the start that Joe is not interested, which makes it so puzzling that he would continue to stay for so long. At first, he didn’t really have a choice. He had nowhere to go and no money to support himself. But then, he gets sucked into her little world because of all that she buys him. Joe becomes the younger version of Max. The difference between Joe and Max is that Joe never falls deep into Norma’s alter reality. He is somehow able to keep his sanity throughout the entire film even though he does not leave. The reason he comes back after New Year’s Eve is because he does not fully know how to deal with Norma’s insanity. Like any other compassionate human being, Joe does not want to be the cause of a suicide, so when he hears that Norma has cut herself, he knows he must return before she does any other harm to herself. At the end of the film when Norma kills Joe for trying to get away, the severity of what Hollywood does to people is expressed. A definite statement is being made about the industry and the film serves as a warning to people trying to enter into it.

  12. KYLIE KATHLEEN CORCORAN says:

    “Sunset Blvd” is one of the greatest classics of the cinema world. It made a huge impact on films stylistically, with its grand sets and cynical screenplay, but more importantly, it brought to light an issue with which Hollywood had not yet addressed: the plight of actors and actresses whose brand becomes obsolete, or who grow too ‘old’ to star in films, and found themselves rejected from stardom. These idols, who once had millions of fans throwing themselves at their feet, have become yesterday’s news, and are kicked to the curb. Hollywood, up until this point, had seemed to ignore their stars of yesteryear, and let their names phase out of the films and papers until they were just a nostalgic memory. Billy Wilder’s film is perhaps Hollywood’s first glimpse into the tragic plight of these celebrities, some of whom are unable to cope with the loss of their status. It is so distressing to see that hard-working actors and actresses were basically put out of work because they were too old and/or unable to get a break in a changing business.
    The same holds true for actors and actresses today. How many TV and film stars have found success with one part and then failed to get work afterwards? How many thousands of child actors are now leading normal lives after being rejected from the limelight?
    In this sense, I believe one of the film’s biggest themes is the theme of rejection. Every character must deal with rejection at some point in the film: Norma obviously faces the rejection of her public, but also Paramount Studios and DeMille reject her film, and Joe rejects her romantic advancements, Joe faces rejection with his writing, Max faces romantic rejection from Norma, and Betty faces rejection as an actress and romantic rejection from Joe at the end of the film. The difference is the way the characters handle these problems. Max and Norma, who had achieved success and lost it, were unwilling to let go and remained in a state of self-delusion, while Joe and Betty saw their failings and decided to move on.

    • JAKE ANTHONY PELINI says:

      Kylie, I think your comment is both insightful and relevant. That so many contemporary actors/actresses/singers (whatever type of celebrity they are) is a testament to the dangers of fame. Hollywood literally mass produces child stars on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and fun lower-budget movies, tells them they will be in the ranks of Denzel Washington one day, and then never has another use for them. Not only is it destructive to their self-confidence, but it also leaves them with a childhood wasted on what is essentially business. Look at the amount of stars whose painful struggles have been in the news lately: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and Vannessa Hudgens, among others. Where does it end? When do we draw the line between looking at people as money or as human dollar signs?

    • JAKE ANTHONY PELINI says:

      Kylie, I think your comment is both insightful and relevant. That so many contemporary actors/actresses/singers (whatever type of celebrity they are) is a testament to the dangers of fame. Hollywood literally mass produces child stars on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and fun lower-budget movies, tells them they will be in the ranks of Denzel Washington one day, and then never has another use for them. Not only is it destructive to their self-confidence, but it also leaves them with a childhood wasted on what is essentially business. Look at the amount of stars whose painful struggles have been in the news lately: Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, and Vannessa Hudgens, among others. Where does it end? When do we draw the line between looking at people as money or as human dollar signs?

  13. ANDREW JOSEPH BELLWOAR says:

    Sunset Boulevard was, in my opinion, an absolutely fantastic film as a standalone, but as a critique of Hollywood, it was one of if not the best out there. The film represented the dangers of and the negative effects that “the business,” perhaps the most glamorous and taxing businesses there is, can have on people if they don’t remove themselves from it a bit. Since Billy Wilder was an outsider, someone who didn’t necessarily grow up with the austerity towards Hollywood that so many Americans grow up with, I think he was in a bit more of a position of authority to comment on Hollywood, to give a bit more of an unbiased view than a Demille might have. He was able to show how becoming a larger than life star, something that really wasn’t uncommon back in those days, could wreak havoc on a person, completely changing them. Norma, a woman who was described by Mr. Demille as a peppy, talented, and lovely young woman when she started in the business, was nothing even close to that when we meet her in the movie. Instead, she is a neurotic mess, a melodramatic, lonely, and controlling woman who is an absolute pain to work with. Similarly, Joe goes through an extremely rapid change, one that changes his character from a likeable, if sarcastic writer to an entitled, patronizing, yet dependent arm candy for Norma, and he even passes up the opportunity to escape that through Betty. In the end, Norma’s career ends up being over and Joe ends up dead with basically nothing to his name, things both of them worked the entire movie to avoid. It goes to show the destructive power that too much money, fame, and the spotlight can have on a person.
    One of the bits of the film that I thought was interesting that displayed the dangers of Hollywood actually involved Betty. She was, throughout the film, a foil for Norma. Young, beautiful, talented in the revitalized industry, and sensible, she was the complete opposite of Norma’s embodiment of an era gone by. Interestingly enough, Betty was seemingly very close to going down the same path as Norma, something that became apparent when she talked about her nose. She spent $300 dollars on a nose job, a decent amount of money in those days, in order to try and become a successful actress. Luckily she didn’t quite have the acting talent and instead moved to the behind the scenes work, but this information was revealed to the viewers at basically the same time that Norma was going through the ridiculous preparatory measures for her return to the big screen. The contrast and possible glimpse into what could have been Betty’s future was eerie. It was also nice to see that it is possible for people to escape the clutches of Hollywood, to become successful without the absolute change of person. More people, though, need to follow Betty’s footsteps and not Norma’s.

  14. COLLEEN ANNE BOYLE says:

    Sunset Boulevard is a true comment on the effects of fame on those whose lives are taken over by its glory. The demise of Norma Desmond seems to suggest the strangling hold of intense fame. It struck me as interesting that Norma did not have any other hobbies or interests other than her work in the theater – or rather memories of her past work. Her swimming pool sat empty, her tennis court was deteriorating, and the only movies that she and Joe watched were her own. Only once Joe came into her life, did she direct her attention toward something other than her obsession with herself and her films, and her obsessive nature caused her to see Joe as a necessary part of her life. I wonder if Norma’s refusal to direct her attention toward anything other than her obsession with herself speaks to the enveloping nature of fame. Her life is her image, and we see that her scripted-sounding lines suggest that she views her life as a performance. Is the appeal of fame so strong that she cannot focus on anything else, yet so toxic that she eventually goes mad? The other female character in the movie, Betty, never made it in the film business, yet the movie ends with her unscathed, save for a failed romance. It seems that she is better off for having not been involved in the “fame” of Hollywood.
    Although Norma Desmond’s Hollywood has shifted yet again to produce our modern version, we can still observe Americans’ obsession with fame and the glory and money that come with it. The advent of the reality television show is an interesting progression in modern media, and we see Americans from all walks of life displaying their lives and often airing their dirty laundry on national television. From the game shows like the Real World and Survivor, where people can display their skill to shows that follow interesting lives, such as Keeping up with the Kardashians and Swamp People, reality television spans a wide range of topics. However, despite how many times people are embarrassed on these shows or criticized for their actions on the show, people are still attracted to the prospect of being the center of attention on the television, much in the same way that Norma Desmond longed for the attention of her fans. I think that people’s desire for attention causes this quest for fame, and as long as there are outlets for this fame hunting, the Norma Desmonds will continue to resent every moment that they are not on the screen.

  15. BENJAMIN FRANCIS PURTELL says:

    Sunset Boulevard was a very complex film that was well directed and comes full circle at the very end. Joe is put in several situation were he has to make some tough decisions, and it seems that some decisions are made for him. The decision to live with Norma certainly seemed to be made for him, when Max moved all his things in, but some decisions he made for himself, such as returning to the house on New Years after he found that Norma had cut herself. He could have lived with his friend and left Norma to get on with her life. But no, he choose to return. The thing that this movie got me thinking about the most was the concept of what if. How the smallest of choices that Joe made changed his life in such a big way. If Joe had never had lied about the car, he would have never met Norma, he would have most likely went through a time of struggle but probably still written a successful script with Betty, he probably would have had no objections to Betty falling in love with him, those two probably would have been married and thing would have been a complete 180 from him being found floating in Norma’s pool. The movie just really seemed to show how the smallest seemingly insignificant decisions can completely change our lives for better or for worse. The quote at the end where Joe says “life is strangely merciful to Norma” is true, but the film s not merciful to her at all. It shows just how fame can get to a person, we see this by the fact that she surrounds herself with pictures of herself, and thinks of herself as still relevant to the film industry, meanwhile she is misled the whole time and the film seems to paint her as an oblivious has been. I don’t know about this being the best Hollywood film about Hollywood, I haven’t seemed many movies of this sort, but this movie didn’t seem to be anything all that special to me and it seems like there has to be a better movie of such out there somewhere.

    • ELIZABETH ALIEH MASGARHA says:

      Ben, I really like that you bring up the possible range of choices each character had in this movie. While it is true that each of these characters had the option to pursue an entirely different path than the one the film chose to portray, I don’t think it is as clear-cut as we might assume. This movie utilizes an extremely broad range of character types and formulates their interactions with one another based on a single commonality; they are all obsessed with Hollywood.

      Sunset Blvd exposes the toxic nature embedded in the film industry and how this monster preys on its victims by propagating the existence of a utopia located in the hills of California. Wilder portrays the allure of Hollywood to be so irresistible, that every character in the film becomes enveloped with the delusion of “making it big.” Betty’s desire to be in movies has stayed with her since she was a young girl, even pushing her to the extreme of using plastic surgery as a tool to enhance her acting career. Although becoming an actress wasn’t in the playing cards, Betty still longed to be apart of the production and became a reader instead. Joe’s failed attempts as a screenwriter, pushes him into a situation where he is left to entertain a neurotic and controlling actress, as a last resort towards achieving his dream of fame in Hollywood. However that opportunity is quickly squandered because Joe is viewed more as a trophy to Norma, instead of an equal counterpart in their relationship. Although Betty and Joe are both gripped by Hollywood’s chokehold, they have not been suffocated to the extent of Max or Norma, as the personalities of these characters are more multi-dimensional. We know very little about Max’s character until Wilder unveils that he was Norma’s first husband. This new information is critical because, it allows the audience to fully grasp the depth of his adoration for Ms. Desmond and signals that he too is unable to ignore the siren call of Hollywood. Max has been protecting Norma since she was 16, despite the fact that in doing so, he was forced to: sacrifice the success he achieved during his career as a director, reduce himself to being treated as Norma’s servant, and watch her pursue male companionship after their divorce. However rather than let her go and start his life anew, Max has continued to make protecting Norma his responsibility. He is addicted to the “high” associated with possessing renowned fame and fortune that only a small group of people had access to during this time. Norma was his discovery, inferring that perhaps he views her accomplishments as if they were his own. Finally, the character of Norma Desmond is unchanging and completely one-dimensional throughout the entire movie. Unable to cope with the changes of the film industry, Norma was trapped inside the delusion of her former glory, which was further perpetuated by those around her. I think that Wilder wanted to make it very poignant to his audience how the Hollywood culture has a way of entrapping people, even when they realize they want out. Betty’s character was the closest one to having any semblance of a “normal” life. She was young, beautiful, intelligent, and engaged to the man she loved. However this Hollywood plot twist was all too familiar as Betty fell in love with her fiancé’s best friend. When Joe realized that he was through with his own act, Hollywood couldn’t let him go either and as he tried to walk towards freedom, Norma put two in his back. By the end of the movie, Norma is in complete disillusion as she walks herself to the police car and Max is forced to create the aura of a film set, protecting his most prized possession as she falls from grace for the last time.

      Tying back the comment made by Ben; I think that the characters in Sunset Blvd had the choice to either go to Hollywood or not to go at all, but once they arrived, they were stuck there for good.

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