Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
Sunset Boulevard: A haunting look at spiritual emptiness
Sunset Boulevard: A haunting look at spiritual emptiness
Jul 13, 2025 12:58 AM

In the classic 1950 film Sunset Boulevard, the character of film star Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson, declares, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.” I watched Sunset Boulevard for the first time last night, thanks to the mendation from a friend in Virginia. As a fan of classic films, I had high hopes for this film, which was directed by Billy Wilder. Wilder also directed one of my favorite classics films, Stalag 17.

William Holden starred in the film, playing a Hollywood script-writer named Joe Gillis. It is evident Gillis is an out of work and down on his luck kind of guy. Gillis meets Desmond when he is trying to flee the men attempting to repossess his automobile. He has a blowout and parks in the garage of what appears to be an abandoned mansion, which is owned and inhabited by Desmond and her butler. The dark, sinister, and shady side of Hollywood takes off from there. Desmond is a former silent movie super star, now washed up and forgotten. She hires Gillis, in the belief he can help launch her “return” to Hollywood glory by editing her movie script. If you are interested in an overview of the entire plot, check out this film site.

Sunset Boulevard masterfully portrays the emptiness of self love and selfishness gone mad. It is equally a haunting look at spiritual emptiness and decay. I was drawn in by the dramatic acting of Gloria Swanson, who turns into a warped and pathetically sad individual as she continually plots her return, which is in reality only in her mind. The dramatic scene at the end is a captivating portrayal of this madness at its pinnacle. The film was obviously controversial, because it exposed such a negative and dreary portrayal of Hollywood in its heyday.

The film is packed with powerful imagery and symbolism. In addition, the powerful use of black and white was phenomenal, which was made all the more haunting when coupled with the musical score. What is also powerful, is that the film is so relevant for today’s audiences. One look at Hollywood gossip shows, Hollywood worship television shows, and the self love, narcissistic culture, makes this clearly evident.

As a Christian, the film scores big as a reminder of the decay and shallowness of a life that pursues vanity, greed, and narcissism. It also reminds us that sin has consequences. Many of us are aware of people who are locked in the prison of their shallow, self-loving world. The probing question being, are we munity that seeks to be saved, and sacrifice for others, or a society seeking instant gratification? The vexing question has even found its way into the Church, in the form of prosperity gospel theology. But those who know the power and truth of real freedom, know Christ. We are made whole plete in the sacrifice, suffering, and resurrection of Christ. The Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might e rich.” Paul also notes in Romans , “We share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
American higher education: Where free speech goes to die
You’ve heard of that mythical place where elephants go to die? Apparently, these giants “know” they are going to die, and they head off to a place known only to them. Free speech in the United States goes off to die as well, but there is no myth surrounding this. Free speech dies in our colleges and universities. Just ask American Enterprise Institute’s Christina Sommers. Sommers is a former philosophy professor and AEI scholar who recently spoke at Oberlin College....
Kishore Jayabalan: Pope Francis, The Economy And Missing The Mark
Kishore Jayabalan, Director of Istituto Acton in Rome, evaluates a new book on Pope Francis and the economy. The book, Papa Francesco: Questa Economia Uccide [Pope Francis: This Economy Kills], is written by two Italian journalists known for skirting the ethical standards for Vatican journalists. For that alone, Jayabalan does not hold their work in high esteem. Writing at Crisis Magazine, Jayabalan is curious as to the motives of authors Andrea Tornielli and o Galeazzi: As I started reading Papa...
Finding A Way Out of Poverty in American Cities
“For too many of the poor in today’s America, life is essentially that of a client,”says Elise Hilton in this week’s Acton Commentary. “The government cares for their needs: housing, food, education. Spending one’s life as client creates an entitlement mentality: ‘I am here to receive. I am owed something. I depend on others for my needs and desires.’” A place is where people are invested. They create homes, send their kids to school and dance lessons, own businesses, shop...
L’Engle and the Church
This week the University Bookman published an essay in which I reflect on some of the lessons we can learn from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, especially related to the recent discovery of an excised section. L’Engle, I argue, is part of a longer tradition of classical conservative thought running, in the modern era, from Burke to Kirk. Although L’Engle’s narrative vision is drenched in Christianity, she is often thought of holding to a rather liberal, rather than traditional...
Athenians and Visigoths: Neil Postman’s Graduation Speech
While it could be argued that youth is wasted on the young, it is indisputable mencement addresses are wasted on young graduates. Sitting in a stuffy auditorium waiting to receive a parchment that marks the beginning of one’s student loan repayments is not the most conducive atmosphere for soaking up wisdom. Insight, which can otherwise seep through the thickest of skulls, cannot pierce mortarboard. Most colleges and universities recognize this fact and schedule the graduation speeches accordingly. Schools regularly choose...
Why Religious Organizations Are Preemptively Exempt from Taxation
Chief Justice John Marshalwrote, in the Supreme Court ruling in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), “That the power to tax involves the power to destroy; that the power to destroy may defeat and render useless the power to create . . . are propositions not to be denied.” Yet for the last 196 years, people have repeatedly tried to deny those propositions. The latest example involves the Supreme Court’s pending ruling on the same-sex marriage issue will affect the non-profit status...
7 Figures: Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population
The Christian share of the U.S. population is declining, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing, according to an a new survey by the Pew Research Center pares the religious landscape of 2015 to 2007. Here are seven figures you should know from the report. 1. Between 2007 and 2014, the share of the U.S. population that identifies as Christian fell from 78.4 percent to 70.6 percent, driven primarily by declines...
Do Government Welfare Programs ‘Subsidize’ Low Wage Employers?
As Elise pointed out earlier today, economist Donald pletely eviscerates former Labor Secretary Robert Reich’s call to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. As Boudreaux says, “Reich’s video is infected, from start to finish, with too many other errors to count.” But Boudreaux also wrote a letter to Reich countering the economically ignorant (though increasingly popular!) claim that “we subsidize low wage employers” like Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, and almost every mom-and-pop business in America through government welfare programs...
Radio Free Acton: George Weigel on Pope Francis
On this edition of Radio Free Acton, we’re joined in studio by eminent Catholic scholar George Weigel of the Ethics and Public Policy Center to discuss the pontificate of Pope Francis, his coverage by the global media, and his ing trip to the United States. Weigel is joined in studio by Acton’s President and Co-Founder Rev. Robert A. Sirico, and the discussion is moderated by Acton Director of Research Samuel Gregg. Listen via the audio player below. ...
Sex Trafficking CAN Be Eliminated
There are few things more horrifying than the sexual exploitation of a child. Perhaps it is made even worse to think that those who are meant to protect the child (parents, police, court officials) plicit in the harm of that child. No place on Earth was worse than Cambodia. But that has changed. According to International Justice Mission (IJM), Cambodian officials have said, “No more,” and they meant it. In the early 2000s, the Cambodian government estimated that 30 percent...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved