Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder in 1950 is based on how Norma Desmond, a major Hollywood star, deals with her fall from fame. The film explores the fantasy world in which Norma lives and the complex relationship between her and the little writer Joe Gillis, which leads to her death. Sunset Boulevard is seen as a way to lift the "face" of the Hollywood Studio System to reveal the truth behind the organization. During the time that film was released in theaters in the 1950s and 1960s, audiences began to see the end of Hollywood as cinema began to decline and the fierce competition from television proved almost too much for the now established system. In this essay I will discuss how Sunset Boulevard represents the Hollywood Studio System, as well as explore post-war literature explaining the reasons why the system began to crumble. I will begin my essay by looking closely at the narrative of Sunset Boulevard to see where and how the film represents the Hollywood Studio System. At the beginning of the film the audience is introduced to Joe Gillis, a screenwriter who struggles to pay the rent because he can't sell his screenplays to the Hollywood "majors". The film follows Joe at "Paramount Pictures", one of the major Hollywood studios, which the film makes a big reference to as the producers of Sunset Boulevard and representative of the studio system. An example in the film that highlights the end of the studio system is when Joe pitches a screenplay idea to a producer at Paramount. Joe is quick to say that the film needs only one main character, has many outdoor locations and can be made "for less than a million dollars" (Joe Gillis, Sunset Boulevard, 1950), which underlines the idea of ​​saving money on a movie. ... in the middle of the paper ... about why the studio system collapsed and how Hollywood tried to keep it from happening. The Hollywood we see today is a reformed version of the old studio system, but is still seen as the most dominant film industry in the world, despite its previous collapse. Works Cited Richard Maltby (1995), Hollywood Cinema David A. Cook (2004), A History of Narrative Film 4th EditionDavid Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (2009), History of Film: An Introduction 3rd EditionBilly Wilder (1950), Sunset BoulevardBritannia Encyclopedia , 'The decline of the Hollywood studios' http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/ topic/394161/history-of-the-motion-picture/52153/The-Hollywood-studio-system [Accessed 02.12.09] Tino Balio (1990), Digital E-Book Hollywood in the Age of Television http://www .scribd.com/doc/19289622/014-Ch-14-Hollywood-in-the-Age-of-Television [Access 03.12.09]