Metalanguage
Sound that originates from a source within the film’s world.
What is diegetic sound?
Joe's independence.
What does Joe's car symbolise?
This shot sets the scene for the audience, providing context and location.
What is an establishing shot?
Gloria Swanson, Marilyn Monroe - and Norma Desmond - were all victims of this.
What is the Studio Star System?
"Madame has moments of _____."
"Madame has moments of melancholy."
An anti-hero protagonist and a manipulative femme fatale are two examples of these.
What are film noir tropes?
The decaying grandeur of old Hollywood.
What does Norma’s mansion symbolise?
A narrative that is relayed predominantly through flashbacks.
What is a circular narrative?
The colloquial name for movies with spoken dialogue instead of subtitles.
What is 'the talkies'?
"I felt _____ like the _____ in that _____ on her finger."
"I felt caught like the cigarette in that contraption on her finger."
What Sunset Boulevard, a 'Hollywood film about Hollywood', is called.
What is self-referential?
The affluence, luxury, and dangerous allure of the film industry.
What does Norma’s pool symbolise?
The use of minimal, directional light to create a deep shadows and selective illumination.
What is low-key lighting, or chiaroscuro?
A set of moral guidelines for American films imposed between 1934 - 1968.
What is the Hays Code?
"She was still sleepwalking along the ____ _____ of a ____ _____"
"She was still sleepwalking along the giddy heights of a lost career"
When the audience knows something a character does not.
What is dramatic irony?
Norma's predatory nature.
What does the leopard print motif symbolise?
These two film techniques are in use when Max is shown at the outer edge of the frame, watching Joe and Norma at the centre.
What are framing and composition?
A narrative with dark themes such as murder, suicide, and mental illness.
What is a black comedy?
"The whole place seemed to have _____ _____ with a kind of _____ _____"
"The whole place seemed to have been stricken with a kind of creeping paralysis"
The finale of a story arc, also known as its resolution.
What is denouement?
The extent of control Max has over maintaining Norma's delusion.
What does the lack of door handles on all but the front door symbolise?
A narrator whose credibility is compromised, leading the audience to question the truth of the narrative.
What is an unreliable narrator?
High emotion particularly associated with the silent movie era.
What is melodrama?
"Life, which can be _____ _____, had _____ _____ on Norma Desmond"
"Life, which can be strangely merciful, had taken pity on Norma Desmond"