Aging And Stereotypes In The Film Sunset Boulevard

The film Sunset Boulevard, made in 1950 is a black and white film. The film is about Norma Desmond an old actor, who has issues accepting that she is becoming old. Gloria Swanson, the main character is Norma Desmond, suffers accepting that she is aging. Desmond has issues in her life regarding her age and does not accept that Hollywood does not want her anymore. Next, character Joe Gillis is William Holden, has financial problems and turns himself into a gigolo. The dilemma is Joe became a gigolo and does not want Betty to know that because he knows that it will cause problems. Thirdly, Betty Schaffer is Nancy Olsen, the woman who falls in love with Gillis despite being engaged to his friend. Lastly, Max is Vow Strohem, which is Desmond’s servant that has served her for years. Max will make Desmond believe she still has fans that admire her. Max’s dilemma in the film is keeping Desmond away from the truth of the evils of aging. Furthermore, these characters existences in the film make the film good because it all

The costumes represent the rank in society for these characters. An example is Desmond, who wears extravagant clothing showing she has money. Mostly, throughout the film, she wears black clothing, which represented her sadness, and anger of accepting her time in Hollywood that ended many years back. Another example, Gillis, who in the beginning wears lower class clothes because he cannot afford anything else. Eventually, he becomes a gigolo and ends up wearing expensive suits that many people cannot afford. For the setting, Desmond’s mansion looks creepy and old. Desmond’s mansion is torn down and looks scary which explains Desmond issues in changing. In addition, inside her house, she has many pictures of herself when she was young and famous. The setting inside her house explains she cannot move on and keeps believing that she will be young for