Sunset Boulevard: Diva as Demon

Unconscious fantasies elicited by the film are explored. The viewer´s gaze follows Joe Gillis telling the story leading to his death, thus staging Norma Desmond as a demon: Joe Gillis shows how possessed he was of the archaic mother image she represents, warning of dangerous regressive fascinations. But the film imagery also pleasingly evokes these fascinations. Overall, it mirrors the viewers’ ambivalence. The historic context is discussed as a determinant of this staging of femininity. The depiction of beauty-norm-induced self-destructive female behavior is also investigated.