Exemplar essays

Disappointment is a dangerous emotion. Does Sunset Boulevard show this to be true?

Fabulous introduction:

Disappointment is a lingering emotion that stems from dissatisfaction with one's circumstances, that further incites dangerous behaviours and feelings. This remains a key component explored in Billy Wilder's dark and twisted tale of Hollywood stardom in the 1950’s,‘Sunset Boulevard’. Wilder explores disappointment in response to one's circumstances to be a dangerous emotion, in depicting the intrinsic ability of humans to seek to change their circumstances and create their own fate. Wilder also demonstrates the effects of disappointment in one's reality to be subconsciously internalised into romantic relationships, further eliciting disappointment. However, Wilder also opposes the implications of the emotion, while portraying the true culprit of destructive behaviour to be delusion and a distinct reluctance to accept reality. In this way, Wilder utilises his film as a message to viewers, warning his audience of the destructive implications involved in dismissing inevitably unfortunate circumstances. Wilder demonstrates, through the Los Angeles film industry as symbolic of true society, for his audience to remain content with their surroundings and circumstances to prevent deluded tendencies. 

Wilder demonstrates shallow and superficial relationships to further incite disappointment, leading to unfavourable outcomes. Wilder depicts the implications of an unfulfilling relationship as a message to his audience, including a direct link to the symbolic death of Joe. Wilder demonstrates Joe and Norma’s unprecedented relationship to be solely based on the manipulative nature of Norma, in which she gains his affection by taking the “razor from [his] room and slitt[ing] her wrists”. Wilder's depiction of Joe's disappointment in his relationship, which he refers to as a “contract with no options”, is reflective of his disappointment in his current position, which ultimately leads to the destructive nature of his death. Wilder further demonstrates the superficiality in relationships through Norma’s manipulation of Joe specifically in her reluctance to pay for Joe’s car. This manipulation allows for Joe to remain with Norma, as losing his car is “like having [his] legs cut off”. This, along with the car's colour, symbolises the freedom Joe once had been stripped away from him. Wilder demonstrates this to further create disappointment in Joe’s shallow and empty relationship with an “older woman who's well to do”, as saving his car was his primary ambition when meeting Norma. Wilder depicts these events to directly lead to his treacherous death, as it is Joe's realisation of what his disappointment has caused that ultimately leads to Norma shooting him “twice in the back”. Wilder demonstrates Joe's death as symbolic of the mental agony associated with a lack of acceptance of one's reality. Wilder further reinstates this in Joe’s persistent desire for more, reflected in Wilder’s motif of a pool, as a symbol of wealth. Wilder demonstrates Joe to have “always wanted a pool”, yet be found dead in a pool. Wilder utilises this as a message to readers, that greed can ultimately be an individual's downfall, specifically when they are at a stage of discontent with their current status and possessions. In this way, Wilder reiterates the importance of accepting one's circumstances, by showing the implications of disappointment in shallow and superficial relationships. 

Another introduction - 

How does Wilder use his film to criticise modern social foibles? 

Social foibles remain valued in modern-day society by self-motivated individuals. Billy Wilder’s 1950 film noir ‘Sunset Boulevard’ is a dark and twisted tale of stardom, in which he explores the social foibles and eccentricness within individuals who remain a part of the industry. Wilder utilises his film to convey that valuing high amounts of wealth can precipitate a detachment from reality, while also exploring an individualistic society that stems from manipulation and dishonesty. Throughout his film, Wilder remains critical of individuals' ability to be self-centred through the implications he presents. In this way, Wilder warns his audience of the disastrous impacts brought about by social foibles and cautions his viewers of the potential consequences that occur when these characteristics are value.

Wilder utilises his film to comment on the foible of greed and arrogance, embodied through his characterisation of Norma Desmond, who he presents as his femme fatale. Wilder depicts Norma as having been cast aside by the Hollywood film industry with an inability to accept her reality given her past success. Wilder criticises the social foible of wealth through Norma's declaration that she is “richer than all [the] new Hollywood trash”. Wilder's depiction of this is through a midshot, with Norma nonchalantly lying on the couch. In this way, Wilder implies the implications of an assumption that love can be represented tangibly through purchasable items, along with the casualty and natural acceptance of this. Wilder’s criticism of this mentality is represented in Norma purchasing Joe's items, in which he is encouraged by a sales associate to choose a more expensive option if the “lady is paying”, followed by pensive and inquisitive music. Wilder, in this way, cautions his viewers of bolstering success, in that of those ability to take the opportunity in taking advantage. Wilder further instils this in his audience with the accompanying music, as it represents the ability for individuals to wonder the extent to which they can take advantage of an individual. The sales associate, who in a close-up shot whispers to Joe, is representative of the temptation that individuals face when wealth is flaunted around them. Ultimately, Wilder presents his film as a criticism of individuals' weakness in flaunting or bolstering wealth and fortune, as he demonstrates the ease of succumbing to pressures from others, and the affluent themselves. Wilder's final comment on the misuse of wealth is embodied in Joe's action of returning all the items gifted to him from Norma. In this criticism, Wilder demonstrates that an individual's love cannot be tangibly bought, encouraging his viewers to remain pensive about such treatment from others, preventing themselves from taking advantage of others.