The Influence Of The Auteur Theory In America

Before the introduction of the auteur theory to filmmaking, directors were not given the importance they deserved. They were not seen as critical or imperative to the creation and process of filmmaking. Additionally, they were not famous or well-known. Obviously, the actors stole the show. They were forced to follow certain rules of filmmaking in order to create films and not be blacklisted by the filmmaking industry. Essentially, they were not given the credit or freedom they deserved. However, with the introduction of "auteurism," directors began to establish themselves as the authors of their work. They were not just the background anymore. The director began to gain just as much importance as the actor. Directors such as D.W. Griffith,

The auteur theory was originally "an invention of French critics who maintained that directors are to movies what poets are to poems" ("Knockin' on Heaven's Door"). As expected, the auteur theory also made its way to America and had begun its influence on Hollywood. A key person in the influence of the auteur theory in America, Andrew Sarris, expanded upon the ideology as a "novel idea that the director is the sole author of his work, regardless of whatever contribution the writers, producers, or actors may make" ("Knockin' on Heaven's Door"). This ideology, more or less, then began to be subconsciously adopted by both the public and industry. People began ranking directors in hierarchies, differentiating them, analyzing them, and coming to realize each director's distinctive touch. Specifically, people began to do this by seeking out an auteur's "common stylistic traits, formal permutations, and thematic constructs" (Gomery and Pafort-Overduin 182). At the time, though, Hollywood directors still had to stay loyal to the Classical Hollywood Narrative Style, otherwise, they would "be forced out of the system altogether" (182). At the end of the day, however, directors were still able to "thrive within the rigid constraints of the Hollywood studio system, regularly turning out intense, moving films"

Micheaux became well known in the 1910s for his first book, The Conquest: The Story of a Negro Homesteader, which details his life from a "former slave... [to] running a shoeshine stand and serving as a Pullman train porter on the railroads... to rural South Dakota where he became a homesteader" (Race and Racist Films). Micheaux then received an opportunity to film an adaptation of his book and seized the opportunity. Indeed, Micheaux's book and its cinematic adaptation both became a success. However, what is so unique about Micheaux's auteurism is that Micheaux was quite literally an author before he was a filmmaker. So, when he adapted his book into a film, he constructed a work of art not only based on his book but his first-hand experiences. As a result, Micheaux's film carried and expressed his "prairie roots, querulous personality, and curious racial theories" (Race and Racist