The auteur theory stems from the idea that a director of a series of films has complete control over the project, more so than the screenwriter of the project. Beyond simply taking control, an auteur makes his or her presence known in one way or another. Whether it is the use of the same actors, music, themes, or characteristics. Nowadays, the auteur theory is not specifically closed of to simply film, it can also be linked to television. Ryan Murphy has made a name for himself in Hollywood by writing, producing and directing numerous television shows that can somehow relate to one another. Because his personal stamp can be found in his works, Ryan Murphy could be described as a modern day auteur.
Andrew Sarris’ Notes On the Auteur Theory
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African Americans in Murphy’s shows often seem to fall into stereotypical behavior. Glee had Mercedes Jones, The New Normal had Rocky, and Scream Queens currently has Zayday. All of the previously listed are African American female characters who all share the same “sassy black girl” character trope. On one episode of Glee, “Original Song”, the glee club is instructed to write an original song that represents them. Mercedes Jones’ song is titled “Hell to the No” (19:33), which also happens to be her catchphrase throughout the show which is usually delivered with a sassy tone. One of the more recent actresses taking on this role in one of Murphy’s shows is Keke Palmer who plays Zayday on Scream Queens. Palmer’s character takes on a ghetto accent that is missing from every other character on the show. One of her first lines in the shows pilot is, “All y’all ratchet!” (29:34). Not only do most African American females on Murphy’s show share the same personality, they are also usually the only people of color on the …show more content…
Harry M. Benshoff’s America On Film noted, “Black gay and lesbian characters are almost entirely absent from the Hollywood screen, except for the stereotype of the effeminate gay male ‘snap queen’” (Benshoff; 92). This continues to be proven true with Murphy’s work which although features plenty of gay characters, the majority are white. There also seems to be a stereotype when it comes to how Murphy portrays gays in his shows, “American society of an image of what homosexuals supposedly looked and acted like: they were men that acted like women” (Benshoff; 300). During the first few seasons of Glee, Kurt Hummel, the only openly gay character on the show at the time, displayed various feminine qualities. On one episode of the show, “Vitamin D”, the glee club is told to split into a team of boys and a team of girls. Kurt, who felt like he could not relate to the boys team chose to join the girls team only to be told to go back to his place with the men by his teacher (4:10). Throughout all of Glee Kurt is mostly seen around the women of the show. Wherever there is a feminine-type homosexual male, he is bound to have a more masculine partner. Darren Criss played this role for Kurt when he took on the role of Blaine, as did Justin Bartha to Andrew Rannells character in The New Normal another one of Murphy’s sitcoms. Where Rannells character was flamboyant and feminine, Bartha’s character was more
Devin Friedman is a creative storyteller who incorporates observant details in his writings, which makes the readers feel like as if they are part of the adventure. Devin attended the University of Michigan, and he was awarded as the winner of the Hopwood Contest. This contest was hosted by the university committee who appoints experienced judges and the Ann Arbor community to select winners in different writing divisions. In his recent years, Devin wrote for numerous publications such as The Best American Crime Writing, The Best American Travel Writing, The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The New Yorker, Esquire, People's Stories, and GQ. Out of the many articles Friedman has written in the past, “The Best Night $500,000 Can Buy,” “Famous People: James Franco,” and “The Unbearable Awkwardness of Being” are the ones I have chosen to read because of the interesting subject matters and the different writing styles.
In the film industry, there are directors who merely take someone else’s vision and express it in their own way on film, then there are those who take their own visions and use any means necessary to express their visions on film. The latter of these two types of directors are called auteurs. Not only do auteurs write the scripts from elements that they know and love in life, but they direct, produce, and sometimes act in their films as well. Three prime examples of these auteurs are: Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock.
What makes a producer’s style unique? How does a producer’s style distinguish itself from others’ styles? In Tim Burton’s imaginative productions, Alice in Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one is able to identify Burton’s distinct style when peeling back the layers of his films. Summarizing these films, in Alice in Wonderland, a young woman is transported to the mystical wonderland, where she must defeat the forces of evil along with a journey of self-discovery. Next, in Edward Scissorhands, an unfinished project is discovered and integrated into the everyday lives of people in a nearby suburban town. The film shows how Edward, an unfinished man, tries to live an ordinary life and make deal with his attraction towards Kim. Finally, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a story of a boy from an impoverished family who has come upon the chance to visit Mr. Wonka’s candy factory. In these three films, Burton’s cinematic style can be depicted through his frequent use of front and back lighting and low angles to show the opposing forces between good a...
The auteur theory is a view on filmmaking that consists of three equally important premises: technical competence, interior meaning, and personal signature of the director. Auteur is a French word for author. The auteur theory was developed by Andrew Sarris, a well-known American film critic. Technical competence of the Auteur deals with how the director films the movie in their own style. Personal signature includes recurring themes that are present within the director’s line of work with characteristics of style, which serve as a signature. The third and ultimate premise of the Auteur theory is the interior meaning which is basically the main theme behind the film.
How much does a long-term collaborative process between composer and director influence the establishment of the former as an author? Give examples as appropriate.
British playwright W. Somerset Maugham agrees that there are no set standards to writing, and it is up to the author to find which creative elements help them portray their idea in the way they find most effective. With authors Brian Doyle and Anne Carson, both take unconventional approaches to writing to create an effect unable to be explored with a classically styled narrative. In Joyas Voladoras, Doyle uses extended metaphors and seemingly randomly inserted facts to draw importance to certain parts of the essay. Meanwhile Carson uses perspective as a tool to find the meaning of her seemingly random short stories from Short Talks.
This show lacks diversity. The majority of characters are heterosexual, white, and middle class. The only exception is Fez, an immigrant and the only coloured person on the show. Throughout the show, Fez is depicted as stupid, and as something to laugh at; the backing track laughs after almost everything he says. As far as I could tell, there are no queer characters, or any mention of queer issues, in these episodes.
Scream Queens (FOX) – The latest creation from Glee/American Horror Story executive producer, Ryan Murphy. Revolving around a snooty sorority and a homicidal maniac along with a series of murders, what's not to like? Featuring an impressive cast – Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Lea Michele (Glee), Keke Palmer, Nick Jonas, Abigail Breslin, Ariana Grande, and the scream queen herself, Jamie Lee Curtis. Scream Queens airs Tuesday nights on FOX.
...s the idea that these characters are more than the stereotype associated with them, as the audience learns more about them as the episode and show continues. The text challenges our society’s ideas about gender norms because the heterosexual main male character challenges these roles by joining Glee Club. He does this regardless of the social consequences that followed. This episode should stand as a guide for future television shows to better society and break down our harmful ideologies causing barriers between sexualities and individuals. Finally, do not let the “herd take care of it” (Glee).
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
The 1990s saw surge of gay characters in both television and movies. From Ellen Degeneres and her character Ellen Morgan coming out under much scrutiny on the TV show ‘Ellen,’ to Julia Roberts and Rupert Everett comedically playing off each other in the motion picture ‘My Best Friend’s Wedding.’ Sure, gays and lesbians have been around forever, especially in Hollywood. But never has there been a time to be more out. With the popularity of shows like Will and Grace, which feature leading gay characters, as well as Dawson’s Creek and it’s supporting character of teenager Jack McPhee, we are slowly seeing gay and lesbian characters creeping into the mainstream media.
Director Tim Burton has directed many films. He started out working at Disney, but shortly after he decided to make his own films. He split away from Disney because they wouldn’t let him add the scariness and darkness he has in his films. After he left he created many great films and also developed his own style. He uses many cinematic techniques in his films for example he uses close-up camera angles on symbolic items, he uses music to show foreshadowing, and he uses lighting and color to show mood
A crew includes a screenwriter, whose job it is to provide the written blueprint version of the entire film. This is basically the starting point for any movie. Next there is the producer. There are many types of producers; executive producers, co-producers, assistant producers and line producers. They all do very different things. Some are the producers are responsible for raising the funds for the movie while others are responsible for the production that goes on during the filming of the movie and still other producers are in charge of what physically goes on the set. Then it is time for the director. The director is in charge of the actors. The director works with the actors to visually bring to life what was written on the screenplay (Fortunato, Who Does What on a Film). Now the idea needs to come together. The idea of writing, “what you know” is not always true and writing, “what you come to know” is in fact a more accurate way to write. Other good ways to formulate ideas are to use existing plays, novels, short stories, life stories, new articles, or even past TV shows and film. When using existing work a person needs to make sure that one secures the copyrights before starting write. Securing the copyrights does not mean one is finished yet. Now a person needs...
In the anime, Attack on Titan, the director is able to create and blend different master plots: vengeance by visual editing that places flashbacks at important moments inside the story and camera angles; hero’s quest by visual cuts and transitions from different character points of view; underdog by changing camera angles. Finally, but not least temptation through the use of sound editing with actions scenery and coloring. Narrative elements used by the director inside a film can change the master plot at any critical moment inside a story, elaborating a different story that can vary depending on our way of interpreting and analyzing the world around us. The director may have a general message that he wants to convey through narrative elements as it was previously stated, but we as the audience have the last word in what the film represents even though we obtain the main idea through the manipulation of the narrative elements used by the director.
Perhaps Fox's Glee major success is due to its ability for its audiences to relate to the show. It brings to life the social complication that high school kids deal with. It storyline consists of social outcast (that is common among the high school kids in America) and is primarily focuses on the characters dealing with and challenging prevailing social norms of relationships, family and sexuality that features a cast rich in diversity of race, sexuality and personality. Glee storyline centered on the quirky members of high school Glee club, portraying that it is good to be divergent. As what is being shown in the show, it is a place for weird kids, where the differences of Glee's characters are highlight, preserving stereotypes about those differences, yet the creators, Ryan Murphy reveals his desires to show that diversities are worth celebrating and to critique familiar representations of difference.