By the time Sunset Boulevard was produced, Sound had obviously already had it’s rise to stardom (as that is one of the main conflicts within the plot of the movie)and the Studio System of producing movies had already been eliminated. Television was also on the rise at the time, lowering the ticket sales of motion pictures, but sunset Boulevard none the less was quite successful in the box office ($1.75 million in production and $5 million in the box office alone).
During this time, WWII had recently come to a close and had left the United States in a depression when the film was produced. The creative personnel within the making of this film then took this social trial into the making of the plotline to make it more appealing to the masses, for they would be able to relate to the economic struggle of the common man during this time. this relates to how film noir theme taken within this film, for the depression of the economy and people themselves allowed for films to explore darker sides of reality with more cynical and sarcastic views.
Film noir is said to have come to a close within the time that Sunset Boulevard came to be, a closing of a time period of the dark and cynical and the opening to more sympathetically characterized plots.
Relating this movie to film history, it portrays that negative side effects that fame, fortune and the Hollywood-dream has on the individual, mainly through Norma Desmond and her delusions on reality and ability to accept that her career has come to an end, as well as Joe Gillis and his willingness to stoop to mooching and basically becoming another one of Norma’s puppets in order to live comfortably (well, more extravagantly than comfortably).
The themes of this film are portraying ideals such that fame and wealth are not answers to life. It shows the instability of Norma as a result of obtaining such things, and how they can turn you into someone that is not ideal in the ways they perform and function in general. It is a complete satire of Hollywood and the effects it has on all that are involved within its confines.
This film is obviously set in the La/Hollywood area and the ever changing culture and expectations that derive from such a demanding city, such as wealth, fame, and beauty, the constant strive for perfection and success, and depicts how these stipulations effect those within this culture. Sunset Boulevard also gives a perspective of what happens to those stars who fall out of the spotlight in times of transition, such as from silent films to talkies.
The film shows us the underbelly of Hollywood and the way it conducts itself, satirizing the entire structure in a cynical and sarcastic manner. This way it is able to amuse the viewers while also giving them an outlook on the effects Hollywood has on people involved within its infrastructure.
The genre of Sunset Boulevard would have to be a classical film noir, for it is a cynical satirization of hollywood’s entire society.
This film was made after WWII and the public was much more keep toward darker, realistic films than lighthearted plots and romanticized happy endings, they were not searching for fairytales any longer.
As a culture and having just witnessed the horrors of WWII, the darker films were welcomed, for they were seen as realistic to the times, but there are many hints of comedy throughout as a staple of entertainment to the American culture.
This film depicts the demanding and crushing society Hollywood holds itself to, as people try to graple their way toward fame and wealth and very few make it. The rest of them have their dreams crushed before their eyes. Those who are lucky enough to make it, are crushed by it as well as they attempt to cling to their beauty and strive for perfection, and how it is impossible to keept up with the times and defeat time yourself.
This film is targeted toward a more mature audience that understand reality and how not everything is prettily put together and wrapped in a bow. This audience would understand that fame and wealth isn’t all there is, and that the world is a cruel place, and it can very much tear you apart from the inside out if you let it.
I believe that this film was created to shed light on that it is difficult to make a name for yourself out there in a place where everyone dreams of making it, and realize that Hollywood really is a brutal and unforgiving place in the manner in which the film satirizes it.
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