Abstract
Critics have extensively explored filmmaker Douglas Sirk's personal involvement in numerous aspects of his cinema, especially in his mise-en-scene. Sirk's architectural vision however, is quite underrated among his scholars. This thesis is a research- oriented, as well as an analytical study on Douglas Sirk's architectural semiotics, and the intricate layers of narrative meaning that it adds to his cinematic oeuvre. As case studies, I select four of his 1950s Hollywood films that refer to a contemporaneous disappointment towards the aggressively advertised postwar notion of a suburban dream house, and its small town precedents. Looking at the expressiveness of context, building type, layout, and interior decoration of the dream house in each film, I investigate how Sirk criticizes its materialistic aspects in light of ephemeral cinematic architectures.