Mac the Younger Paramount Guard makes a brief appearance in Sunset Boulevard, the 1950 Hollywood-set film that describes the rise and fall of fame of a former silent film star, Norma Desmond. In this film, Mac is equivalent with what Christian Keathley identifies as “forms of ephemera” (80) as seen in Will Straw’s “Small Parts, Smaller Players” in a special issue of Screen. Mac works at Paramount studios and is a younger guard. Norma Desmond returns to Paramount studios as a former silent film star and demands to be allowed in. Norma did not have an appointment therefore, Mac refused her entry even after Norma stated who she was. Throughout Norma’s exchange with the younger guard, we see the fantasy world Norma views herself in because of the harms of Hollywood and fame. Mac adds a sense of reality to the scene through his small part and minimal lines. Norma allowed her fame to consume her and Mac helps to bring a new sense of insight to Norma’s delusion. Straw discusses the work of Keathley in a special issue of Screen and points out that secondary performances help to redistribute “in the film viewing experience, away from the star face and towards the extremities of bodies” (80) in that we see the synonym of Mac. Mac is used as a device to redistribute attention from the “sharp-edged personalities” (Straw 80) of the main character Norma Desmond. Straw outlines Keathley’s idea that minor characters help to take the action off of the main character and create a view from the outside world looking in at Norma Desmond. Although Mac is limited to lines and camera time his presence helps to shape Norma’s life and her characteristics. Norma’s personality can seem too large and overbearing in Sunset Boulevard. Mac helps to draw the attention away from Norma’s loud personality that can become overbearing and helps to bring the viewer back to reality.
Works Cited
Straw, Will. “The Small Parts, Small Players Dossier Introduction.” SCREEN, vol. 52, no. 1, Mar. 2011, pp. 78–81.
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
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