Oral Presenation Part 1: Genre and Audience

Question
1. What tradition or genre is it in?
The film "Sunset Boulevard (1950)," falls under the "Noir" genre.

2. What are the features determining genre or elements that tell us what type of film this is?
The dialogue and the mysteriousness within the plot makes it a Noir film. The lighting is big in Noir films which consists of a lot of hard lighting or textured lighting. It is a post-World War II film which makes it come from the time period of the birth of the Noir film genre.

3. What other work might it be connected to?
This film could be connected to any film that falls under the "Noir" genre. It was the one of the first of it's kind. An earlier film of Wilder's called "Double Indemnity (1944)," was closely related to this one because it also was a Noir film.

4. Who made this? Why?
Billy Wilder made this film. Around when the movie was made, the year was 1950 and there was a lot of tension between other countries because of this being post-World War II, which sparked a new genre of drama called "Noir." The conventions of this type of genre were dark and cynical, often exploring a fatalistic life. The "femme fatale," character was used in this film to create a new type of antagonist. This character also could be the antagonist but in more modern, "Neo-Noir" films.

5. What can we tell about its’ creators?
We can tell that its' creators had a comedic side to contradict the serious storyline, therefore creating a satirical element to the film. Its' creators wanted to implement an advancement in film in order to push the boundaries of Drama films, therefore creating a new sub genre of Drama.

6. How does it fit within the director’s other work?
Wilder was known for his work being "cynical yet humorous." The use of satire was common throughout his films and became almost a conventions within his films. The film Double Indemnity (1944), also by Wilder, was often compared to Sunset Boulevard (150.)

a. Does it share significant narrative or thematic concerns?

Yes, it explores the character of the "femme fatale" along with the the hopeless life leading to desperate times storyline for the main character. This was a common use in Noir films.

b. Does it share particular visual or technical elements?
He often used low lights. This was exemplified often in many scenes of Sunset Boulevard (1950). The are a lot of close ups and sequence shots. The camera movements are slow. The introduction seems more advanced than of the time. Wilder also uses first person narration to make the audience follow the storyline from the desperate and lonely mindset of John Gillis. 

7. What is the film’s theme?

The films theme is Femme Fatale or Desperate times call for desperate measures.

8. What is the target audience? How does it address its audience?
The target audience is a mature teen to adult audience. It addresses it's audience with a gripping hook that leads into a mysterious storyline. The audience answers the rhetorical questions from the narrator by continuing to watch. It was a fairly modern storyline for it's time through a different approach of drama.