Hollywood is, like, totally fake. It's full of fake people doing fake things with fake expressions on their fake faces. According to Sunset Boulevard, the folks who drive the glitzy streets of La La Land are all completely nuts, and Hollywood really does have a madness about appearances. Just think of Norma. In her case, we find someone totally enslaved to her looks. All that she really believes in are the appearances she made in her old movies and in the P.R. from her salad days. She clings to these images desperately. Why? Because the fact that she's a washed-up has-been with no fans left is just too terrible to face.
Questions about Appearances
- Is Joe deluded by appearances? Or has he gotten past that?
- To what extent does Norma believe in her own celebrity image? Does she have doubts? How does her level of belief in those appearances change between the beginning and the end of the movie?
- What's Betty's attitude toward Hollywood's emphasis on appearances? Is she deluded by them at all, or not?
- What about Max? Does he still believe in Norma's celebrity image to any extent?
Chew on This
Hollywood isn't the problem. It's that Norma Desmond just didn't know when to quit.
Norma keeps up her appearance as a way to cling to her happy past and avoid facing the truth: She's old.