Sunset Boulevard: The Culture Of Hollywood Film

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The Culture of Hollywood Overview A new edition to the course lineup, this week's film classic, Sunset Boulevard. This film will focus on the culture and environment of the Hollywood studio system that produces the kind of motion pictures that the whole world recognizes as "Hollywood movies." There have been many movies from the silent era to the present that either glamorize or vilify the culture of Hollywood, typically focusing on the celebrities (both in front of and behind the camera) who populate the "dream factories" of Hollywood. But we cannot completely understand the culture of Hollywood unless we recognize that motion pictures are big business as well as entertainment, and that Hollywood necessarily includes both creative and commercial …show more content…

We had faces!” Norma Desmond (acting) Learning Outcomes After completing this lesson you should be able to: • Access online film reviews and critiques. • Recognize that the "Culture of Hollywood" is based on motion pictures as big business as well as entertainment. • Describe some ways in which business values and artistic values in Hollywood contend with one another. • Identify specific elements of a motion picture that film studios look for in a successful movie. • Use the Film Glossary to learn the meaning of cinematic terms and to use them appropriately in discussions about movies. • Analyze a film shot or scene to explain how filmmakers use cinematic techniques to tell a story, develop characters, create atmosphere, and evoke emotions. • Write the introductory paragraph for an analytical essay that includes a well-defined thesis statement. Readings • Read the online reviews and essays of Sunset Boulevard attached as MATERIALS on this session's Timeline. …show more content…

One way to do this is to mind map and then list or itemize several specific comments that Sunset Boulevard makes on Hollywood. For example: "Sunset Boulevard reveals the complexity of the movie business by dramatizing how important X, Y, and Z are to the movies that Hollywood creates." X, Y, and Z would then be developed in more depth in the body of the paper. You could also use the film technique, style and/or dialogue to talk more specifically to Wilder’s intent in storytelling. Or, balance comparisons in your explanations, sample ideas could be based on failure and success, or opportunity and

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