Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Directed by Billy Wilder
The film, Sunset Boulevard, directed by Billy Wilder, displays the unconventional relationship between Norma (Gloria Swanson) and Joe Gillis (William Holden). Norma is a forgotten silent-film star, who is painted as unstable, controlling and a little bit crazy. Joe Gillis, a struggling screenwriter, meets Norma and they decide to work on the screenplay together (in hopes for a reboot of Norma’s career). Although this film was made in 1950, it discusses a lot of social issues like sexism and mental health. All of these issues correlate to Norma specifically which shows how big of an impact misogyny is in this story.
The 50s were the golden age of traditionalism in relation to the patriarchal values males held. This film blatantly exposes the prejudices women face in regards to society. As discussed before, Norma is seen as very unstable and longing for more fame. When Norma found herself in love with Joe, he did not reciprocate his feelings due to the fact that he was potentially in love with someone else, Betty. Women in society are condemned for being “too emotional” or the “crazy girlfriend”. When it comes to men, there is rarely any negative attributes to their character because they have to uphold this standard of dominance or to be seen as “untouchable”. This film shows Joe as the strong, rational character in comparison to the irrational Norma. It makes Norma seem like she needs the attention of a male in her life to remain stable. More importantly, that when Joe is around, she acts sane.
The discussion of mental health is also surprisingly alarming when it comes to Norma and her actions of self harm. I was surprised to see the graphics of her condition and the discussion of attempted suicide due to the era of when this film came out. Although Norma has a lot of issues, mentally and emotionally, it portrays her as helpless. In comparison, Betty is the perfect girl as she’s young, put together and calm, everything Norma is not. These are traits that women are supposed to reflect in their lives. The two female characters could not be more different. They are shown in two very stereotypical lights, which is characteristic of the decade.
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