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Narrative Elements of Sunset Boulevard Elements of Sunset Boulevard
Narrative Elements of Sunset Boulevard Elements of Sunset Boulevard
adding
to
the
eerie
event,
but
Max
turns
out
to
be
the
one
playing
the
organ,
making
it
diegetic.
Another
example
is
when
the
title
is
shown
at
the
beginning
of
the
movie.
The
title
is
shown
as
a
street
name
on
a
curb
(of
Normas
street),
which
is
in
the
story,
so
it
is
technically
diegetic,
but
it
also
acts
as
a
non-diegetic
element
because
it
is
displaying
the
title
of
the
movie.
These
elements,
which
are
almost
indistinguishable
from
being
within
the
story
or
outside
the
story,
disorient
the
viewer
and
immerse
the
viewer
in
the
film
noir
experience.
Setting
The
movie
takes
place
in
1950s
Hollywood
(Los
Angeles,
California),
a
time
when
talkies
were
dominating
the
theaters.
Silent
movies
were
a
thing
of
the
past
and
so
were
most
of
the
people
who
had
anything
to
do
with
silent
films
because
they
could
not
make
the
transition
to
talking
movies.
Norma
Desmond
is
an
example
of
one
of
the
silent
film
stars
that
was
left
behind
after
the
silent
film
era
was
over.
Her
mansion
is
extremely
large,
and
the
inside
is
full
of
expensive
draperies,
woodwork,
furniture,
and
the
like,
implying
that
she
belongs
to
a
very
high
social
class.
Upon
closer
inspection
of
the
style
of
these
items,
it
becomes
apparent
that
most
of
these
accessories
would
be
considered
antiques
in
the
1950s.
The
fact
that
her
house
is
full
of
antiquities
tells
the
viewer
that
she
probably
found
her
fortune
several
years
ago
and
that
she
is
reluctant
to
let
go
of
the
past.
The
numerous
frames
populating
Normas
house
only
contain
pictures
of
Norma
when
she
was
a
star.
This
emphasizes
that
she
has
not
let
go
of
her
days
of
fame.
The
pictures
and
the
high
ceilings
of
the
mansion
combined
with
the
lack
of
any
residents
other
than
Max,
the
butler,
implicate
that
she
has
a
very
large
ego
and
she
yearns
to
be
the
center
of
attention.
The
arrangement
of
her
New
Years
Eve
party
reinforces
these
concepts.
A
three-person
band,
highly
dressed
for
the
occasion,
is
playing
in
the
background,
an
extravagant
cake
and
selection
of
champagne
are
on
a
long
rectangular
table,
candles
are
lit,
and
Joe
is
the
only
guest.
We
see
a
party
in
a
drastically
different
setting
when
Joe
goes
to
Arties
New
Years
Eve
party.
At
Arties
party,
the
rooms
are
packed
full
of
guests,
the
walls
are
covered
in
pictures
of
different
people,
and
there
is
a
modestly
sized
punch
bowl
on
a
small
round
table
for
the
whole
party
to
share.
The
guests
at
Arties
party
are
the
entertainment
of
the
party,
indicating
that
they
belong
to
a
lower
social
class;
whereas,
Norma
had
paid
services
as
entertainment
and
only
one
guest
to
keep
the
attention
focused
on
her.
Characters
Norma
is
a
round
character
because
she
has
complexity.
She
was
a
movie
star
previously,
which
greatly
influences
her
current
state
of
being.
She
seems
to
be
very
self-centered
and
manipulative,
but
she
also
shows
a
human
side,
which
is
trying
to
cope
with
her
abrupt
loss
of
stardom.
Her
main
goal
is
to
get
her
script
turned
into
a
movie
so
that
she
can
star
in
it,
which,
in
the
end,
boils
down
to
becoming
famous
again
at
any
cost.
She
also
has
a
secondary
goal
to
find
a
significant
other
that
will
love
her,
but
she
seems
to
be
completely
indiscriminant
about
who
it
is,
just
as
long
as
she
has
control
over
him.
In
the
end
of
the
movie,
she
has
the
exact
same
characteristics
as
when
the
movie
started,
making
her
a
static
character.
Joe
is
a
round
character;
he
carries
out
various
schemes
to
pursue
the
outcome
that
he
desires,
causing
several
changes
in
events
throughout
the
story.
In
the
beginning
of
the
story,
Joes
goal
is
to
keep
his
car.
In
the
pursuit
of
his
goal,
he
ends
up
at
Normas
house,
where
he
attempts
to
use
Norma
to
pay
off
his
car.
When
this
does
not
work,
he
finds
himself
sticking
around
Normas
house
to
enjoy
the
luxuries
that
come
with
it.
Later
on,
upon
a
change
of
heart,
he
secretly
entertains
a
romance
between
him
and
Betty.
These
different
positions
that
he
takes
make
him
a
dynamic
character.
Artie
is
a
flat
character
because
he
has
very
little
complexity
and
does
not
have
a
significant
impact
on
the
course
of
the
story.
He
is
Joes
friend,
and
he
hosts
a
party
where
Joe
runs
into
Betty
again.
Artie
is
engaged
to
Betty,
but
later
on
Betty
does
not
want
to
go
through
with
it.
Other
than
that,
Artie
does
not
play
a
significant
role
in
the
story.
Narration
When
Joe
spends
his
first
night
at
Normas
mansion,
the
story
is
told
through
restricted
narration.
Voice-over
first-person
narration
is
used
in
the
beginning
of
the
scene
so
that
we
know
what
Joe
was
thinking
at
the
time
while
we
also
see
his
expressions
and
what
he
is
saying
out
loud
to
Max.
The
result
is
a
rich
experience
for
the
viewer
because
Joe
does
not
show
what
he
is
thinking
through
what
he
is
saying
and
doing
in
front
of
Max.
After
Max
leaves
the
room,
the
visual
narration
reinforces
his
voice-over
narration
when
he
says
that
the
whole
place
was
crumbling
apart
and
we
are
shown
the
view
through
the
window,
which
shows
an
abandoned
tennis
court
with
a
worn
out
net
and
an
empty
swimming
pool
overgrown
with
weeds
and
infested
with
rats.
He
gives
outlandish
descriptions
of
what
he
sees,
which
also
add
to
the
viewing
experience.
When
we
see
him
waking
up,
we
are
given
a
recollection
of
the
strange
dream
that
he
had
through
voice-over
narration.
He
narrates
his
concerned
thoughts
as
we
visually
see
that
his
luggage
has
been
moved
into
his
room.
This
is
all
restricted
narration
because
we
only
see,
hear,
and
know
what
Joe
sees,
hears,
and
knows
at
that
time.
Suspense
There
are
several
pivotal
moments
throughout
the
movie
that
cause
suspense,
the
most
prominent
being
at
the
beginning
of
the
movie
when
we
see
Joe
dead,
floating
in
a
swimming
pool
at
Normas
mansion.
We
are
given
a
wretched
feeling
in
the
pit
of
our
stomachs
because
Joe
is
the
main
character
and
we
know
that
he
will
end
up
dead
in
a
swimming
pool,
but
we
do
not
know
how
he
will
end
up
there.
This
keeps
the
viewer
engaged
in
the
plot
to
find
out
how
it
happens.
Another
important
scene
that
adds
to
this
dreadful
suspense
is
the
one
where
Norma
cuts
her
wrists
after
Joe
leaves
the
party.
At
this
point
in
the
movie,
we
know
that
Joe
will
die
in
Normas
swimming
pool,
but
now
we
have
to
worry
about
what
the
fate
of
Norma
and
Max
will
be.
Knowing
that
Norma
can
be
suicidal
sometimes
opens
up
the
door
for
Norma
killing
herself
and
possibly
others.
To
add
even
more
suspense,
Betty
falls
in
love
with
Joe,
and
Joe
starts
regularly
meeting
with
Betty
unbeknownst
to
Norma.
Betty
does
not
know
that
Joe
is
living
with
Norma,
so
there
is
suspense
of
how
Betty
will
find
out
that
Joe
had
been
two-timing
her.
There
is
also
great
suspense
because
one
can
easily
hypothesize
the
soon-coming
disaster
that
will
occur
when
Norma
finds
out
that
Joe
has
been
seeing
Betty.