S.B quotes and ideas - bleak perspective on hollywood

Question 1

Hollywood hiding it’s bleakness behind this glamorous facade
& Opening with wilder’s view that Hollywood is grimy

Answer 1

Opening the film with the juxtaposition of “Sunset boulevard” this famous Los Angeles street known for it’s glitz and glamour Hollywood inhabitants stencilled on a curbstone that’s surrounded by a gutter filled dead leaves, scraps of paper, burnt matches and cigarette butts

Later in the film (approximately 10 minutes) the audience is shown the sunset boulevard street sign which is more so glamorous than a curbstone highlighting the importance of wilders opening scene

Question 2

Hollywood’s a cruel machine, leaves people high and dry, the delusion/false hope Hollywood provides, the deceptive nature of hollywood:

Answer 2

“the price turned out to be a little high”
“Funny how gentle people are with you once you’re dead

Question 3

Hollywood built on fanciful lies, especially through the media to fit their narrative, whatever sells narrative:

Answer 3

“Before you hear it all distorted and blown out of proportion”

”maybe you’d like to hear the facts the whole truth”

Question 4

Hollywood is a money scheme, people value money over important quality’s such as integrity:

Answer 4

“waiting, waiting for the gravy train”

> situation in which someone can make a lot of money for very little effort

You can have anything you want if you’ll only stay.
What is it you want – money?

Question 5

Audience doesn’t know the truth about Hollywood:

Answer 5

Look at this street. All cardboard, all hollow, all phoney. All done with mirrors. I like it better than any street in the world.

“There’s nothing else - just us and the cameras and those wonderful people out there in the dark.”

Norma’s animalistic hand motion where she breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience symbolises that we might be Hollywood’s prey

Question 6

Delusion belief that she is still as young and beautiful as she was at the prime of her career:

Resulting from Hollywood’s unattainable expectations that to remain relevant you must still fit into unattainable beauty standards:

Answer 6

“And you’ll play Salome?”
“Who else ?”

“There’s nothing tragic about being fifty - not unless you try to be twenty-five.”

“How could she breathe in that house, crowded with Norma
Desmonds?”

“More Norma Desmond and still more Norma Desmond.”
> joes repetition highlighting just how severely self-obsessed Norma is

Question 7

betty not good enough for hollywood

Answer 7

only they didnt like my acting