Sunset Boulevard Flashcards
Questions the authenticity/superficiality of the message of films and their purpose within a culture – are they are purely for entertainment or should they…
“I just think pictures should say a little something”
Joe expressing his frustration with audiences’ lack of awareness concerning the filmmaking process and how they continually undervalue the pivotal role of the screenwriter - who provides the blueprint for every film. He previously dreamed of achieving fame with his career, but this is unattainable as a screenwriter, who remain anonymous shadows subservient to the real “faces” of the film: the actors
Audiences don’t know somebody sits down and writes the picture; they think the actors make it up as they go along.”
The omniscient narrator - Joe from beyond the grave narrating - cynical and wry tone - “fish-eye” shot eliciting empathy as we see the dead man’s face
“The poor dope. He always wanted a pool. Well, in the end he got himself a pool - only the price turned out to be a little high”
Flashback - creating the non-linear, circular narrative - slow dissolve
“Let’s go back about six months and find the day when it all started.”
Final line of the film - cements Norma’s full engrossment in a delusional state of mind and final descent into insanity - literally reverts back to the mindset from the glory days of her past, even mistaking Max for the director Cecil B. DeMille.
“All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
Norma’s dramatic declaration when she first meets Joe and it is emblematic of her entire persona. It hints at her own delusion: still viewing herself as a star, she doesn’t blame her age or herself for her career stagnation, but rather the contemporary film industry, which she views as unworthy of her stardom. Illuminated how contemporary film destroyed the careers of many one-beloved silent actors. Projects her resentment onto the new technology of the changing medium.
“I am big, it’s the pictures that got small.”
Hog-eye shines the spotlight on Norma and a crowd forms, but DeMille commands it stop. Encapsulates Norma’s star status and her attempt to reprise her fame, which is ultimately doomed at the hands of the misogynistic film industry. He gets to decide where the light “belongs” - who deserves to be a star
“Hog-eye turn that light back where it belongs.”
Feeding her illusions and forging fanmail, Max views himself as Norma’s protector, a preserver of her lost fame. However, while he goes to fierce lengths to keep Norma blissfully unaware of the truth to avoid her chances of suicide, his lies provoke her evolution into insanity. This quote points to the contradictory nature of Max: his motivations are purely out of love and devotion for Norma, but they end up worsening her condition and endangering herself and Joe.
“This is my job. It has been for a long time. You must understand I discovered her when she was eighteen. I made her a star. I cannot let her be destroyed.”
This quote indicates Norma’s growing infatuation with Joe, but it also foreshadows his death, which creates a dismal dramatic irony. The audience knows the refilled pool is where Joe’s corpse will float once the police and press arrive to investigate his murder, but Joe is obviously unaware of his future at this point. Norma declares her intentions to further lavish him with luxurious items and vacations with a keen enthusiasm, but little does she or Joe know that the refilled pool will become the quintessential image of Joe’s tragic death.
“I’ll fill up the pool for you!”
Norma’s refusal to grow up
“Norma, you’re a woman of 50, now grow up. There’s nothing tragic about being 50, not unless you try to be 25.”
Betty acknowledges the artifice of Hollywood and understands how the industry pressures aspiring stars to change themselves, but she nonetheless embraces it. Betty’s self-awareness and optimism allow her to remain one of the few uncorrupted and spared characters in the film.
“Look at this street. All cardboard, all hollow, all phony. All done with mirrors. I like it better than any street in the world.”
not needed
“Maybe what you need is another agent.”
However, it is important to not accept Joe’s story as an objective reality. He is an unreliable narrator: his own subjective perspective dominates the film, and counter-narratives or different points of view rarely become offered. It is entirely possible Joe hides certain truths and embellishes the story to make Norma appear a villain, and him a victim. After all, Joe is a screenwriter simply crafting a story in a similar vein to the films of his own time. He controls the pacing of the story and manipulates our emotional responses to the events, further distancing us from the true knowability and dispositions of characters like Norma and Max.
Nonetheless, through his narrative and recount of the events leading up to his death, Joe does characterize himself as a deeply flawed person and often depicts himself in an unflattering light. He is unabashedly broke and about to lose his car, and his pursuit of quick cash is so pathetic, we nearly pity him. However, Joe may be defeated but he is still astutely self-aware. He feels shame about his dilemma—this becomes particularly evident when he abruptly asks Sheldrake for a personal loan—but he does not go about crying and sulking. Instead, he maintains a self-deprecating humor and attempts to sensibly confront his problems until he considers moving back to Ohio.
“But before you hear it all distorted and blown out of proportion, before those Hollywood columnists get their hands on it, maybe you’d like to hear the facts, the whole truth.”
Norma instigates Joe’s doomed fate. This may not be explicitly evident in these scenes, as Joe is convinced he outsmarted Norma and finessed himself in a high-paying job. Though Joe believes he found a quick way to earn some cash and get his life back on track, these scenes foreshadow his impending dependence on Norma, as well as his eventual death.
“I feel kind of pleased with the way I handled the situation. I dropped the hook and she snapped at it.”
First, there is Norma’s dead chimp, Norma’s closest companion besides Max. When Joe observes the chimp’s elaborate, somber funeral—one of the symbols of Norma’s excess of wealth, alongside her luxurious vintage car—he pities its utmost seriousness. In other words, Joe believes that Norma’s seeking of companionship from a monkey reveals the fundamental emptiness of her existence. She does not yearn for authentic human relationships, but rather something she can train to provide some entertainment in her life.
[it was “as if she were laying to rest an only child. Was her life really as empty as that?” “It was all very queer, but queerer things were yet to come.”
Norma hatred for contemporary cinema - hatred for Joel’s profession
“You’ve made a rope of words and strangled this business! But there is a microphone right there to catch the gurgles, and Technicolor to photograph the red, swollen tongue!”
Joe shares this outward resentment toward the film industry. However, his disdain arises from his failure to meet the demands of the industry and the formulaic hackwork of the job
“The last one I wrote was about Okies in the Dust Bowl. You’d never know because, when it reached the screen, the whole thing played out in a torpedo boat.”
