Roasting the Press Episode 72 for Sunday, May 25th, 2025
Sunset Boulevard & "Symbolism" Revisited as King Charles Prepares for his Canadian Closeup + What the King Needs to Know About Canada Today & the Importance of "Sounds and Frequencies"
Sunset Boulevard & “Symbolism” Revisited as King Charles Prepares for his Canadian Closeup
Have you ever watched Sunset Boulevard?
Sunset Boulevard (1950) is a classic film noir about struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden), who becomes entangled with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a faded silent film star obsessed with reclaiming her fame.
The story, narrated by the murdered Joe, explores Hollywood’s dark underbelly, fame’s fleeting nature, and delusion of grandeur, culminating in Norma’s iconic descent into madness when the police and sleazy tabloid reporters arrive to arrest her for Joe’s murder and chronicle the event.
Desmond assumes they’re fans and studio employees, anticipating her next success.
Here’s the climax of the movie, courtesy of the October 10th, 2011 Movieclips on YouTube post, “Mr. DeMille, I'm Ready for My Close-Up - Sunset Blvd. (8/8) Movie CLIP (1950) HD.”
There’s a lot of “Sunset Boulevard” wrapped around King Charles and his plans to visit Canada this week.
As outlined in the May 23rd, 2025 Heritage Canada press release, “2025 Royal Visit,” the centerpiece of the visit is expected to be his Speech from the Throne opening the 45th Parliament on Wednesday, May 27th, a rare event last done by Queen Elizabeth II in 1977.
Most Canadian and international legacy outlets, including the May 23rd, 2025 BBC News post, “King's big moment in Canada after Trump row,” are promoting the visit as a reminder to US president Donald Trump that Canada will never, ever agree to become “the 51st state.”
It’s also a reminder of past Canadian and UK glories. In essence, Charles has been trotted out in public for his close-up.
The media is promoting Charles, just like Nora Desmond was propped up by Gillis (who hoped to benefit financially from improving a screenplay she wrote) and Max von Mayerling, Desmond’s devoted but conflicted butler, who was once the world famous director responsible for Desmond’s greatest successes.
The current royal visit is being scripted by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who’s likely hoping not to die a horrible political death when his lies and political fabrications are uncovered.
Just like Gillies, who died in the movie.
The media hype for Desmond (and for Charles) is well represented in Sunset Boulevard by Mayerling, the well spoken, bald and striking, but down and out butler who was once as famous and powerful as anyone in Hollywood and still pretends to be so.
Mayerling, played by accomplished real life Austrian-American director and screenwriter Erich von Stroheim, is an excellent stand in for current legacy media.
The May 14th, 2025 Paramount Movies on YouTube post, “Sunset Boulevard Trailer | 75th Anniversary | Paramount Movies,” promotes the movie’s re-release and 75th anniversary by promising “the facts, the whole truth.”
As for our current situation…
The King’s itinerary for this first trip to Canada also includes a community event at Lansdowne Park (with a ceremonial puck drop for street hockey), a tree-planting at Rideau Hall, meetings with Prime Minister Mark Carney and Governor General Mary Simon, and a wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
This framing inflates the visit’s significance into a diplomatic showdown, ignores the ceremonial nature of the throne speech, the monarchy’s limited political power, the Kings health problems, his past problematic politics and his advanced age.
Legacy media coverage hypes the “historic” and “unprecedented” nature of the visit, downplaying the actual situation.
In reality, it’s a short, scripted event largely orchestrated by Carney’s government.
The press also glosses over public indifference to the monarchy (only 31% support it, per recent polls) and Quebec’s skepticism, focusing instead on pomp and pageantry.
To paraphrase Norma Desmond, the legacy media is still big. It’s the audience that got small.
For more on the visit, check out the May 25th, 2025 Global News on YouTube post, “King Charles’ throne speech “a strong symbol” of Canadian sovereignty.”
Try not to get too wrapped up over our government’s belief that there’s no better way to assert national sovereignty, independence and democracy than having the ceremonial head of someone else’s country open the latest session of your national parliament in Canada’s Senate, the “upper” house of parliament, where everyone is appointed.
Charles won’t be speaking in the House of Commons, officially the “lower” house of parliament. where everyone is elected. Members of the lower house will be invited to view the speech from the sidelines.
That symbolism is also important.
What the King Needs to Know About Canada Today
The May 25th, 2025 CBC News on YouTube post, “What does the King need to know about Canada today?” provides an overview of how CBC thinks Canadian believe and the King should know.
Its well funded, well edited, soft core journalism, focused on the opinions of hand picked affluent retirees and well spoken immigrants from a media outlet keen to toe the Federal government’s official party line.
The Importance of “Sound and Frequencies”
And finally tonight, here’s the May 25th, 2025 Mongo Minds on Bitchute post, “Sound and Frequencies.”
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