"Sunset Boulevard" is a self referential film that critiques Hollywood's star system. This 1950's film uses many former Hollywood stars who more or less play themselves and in doing so sheds light on the dark aspects of the star system. It also takes the viewer inside the studios and depicts studio executives and studio pawns. It is a look at the writer and the game of writing and filmmaking in Hollywood. It depicts a lack of respect for the art of writing, and the lack of humanity in the Hollywood system.
"Sunset Boulevard" is a movie made in Hollywood that is about making movies in Hollywood, in that, it is self referential. The main female character of the film plays a washed up actress from the silent age of Hollywood. And the actress who plays that role is in fact a famous silent film actress who had very few roles in speaking films other than this one.
Hollywood!
Hollywood Studios 1922
English: Nestor Studios, the first film studio in ...In this main female character the movie exposes a sad picture of the dark side of the star system. The star system exploits an artist's skill by creating a constrictive persona for an actor or actress. The Hollywood system, the image makers, the press and the studios would construct a person's persona as they saw fit. When that actor or actress became obsolete, or lost their appeal to the public, the system would cut them free. In this movie the main female character had become obsolete as talkies became the norm. The viewer gets the impression that she had a dependence on being in the limelight and that the Hollywood system provided her with a certain stability. Now that that was gone she went mad trying to uphold that life for herself. She became more and more...