![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As André Bazin wrote as a corrective to the excesses of auteur theory, "The individual transcends society, but society is also and above all within him."6 New theories were called for that locate directors within their historical and social contexts. While few would deny that the will and talent of the artist play a role in the creation of a work of art, it is true as well that the artist's products are also determined by historical and social forces that act upon him or her. Claims for the artist as an individual genius, they argued, failed to take into account the effect of society on the artist's work. The Romantic conception of the artist was also undercut by sociological critics. Interestingly, in this regard, until Alfred Hitchcock was confronted with his obsessive preoccupations with guilt and voyeurism in his films by the French auteur theorists, he was largely unaware of them. Although the artist may intend a certain message or theme, the psychoanalytic critic can read beneath the surface of the text to reveal other themes and preoccupations of which the artist may be entirely unaware. This view was seen as hopelessly naïve by psychoanalytic critics, who understand the artist not just as a conscious producer of messages but as someone prone to unconscious impulses as well. The idea of the auteur as visionary genius assumes that the artist is a unified subject, who consciously inscribes a profound meaning upon his or her works. ![]() This Romantic conception of the artist was criticized from a number of perspectives. Auteur theorists, it was argued, had simply revived the nineteenth-century Romantic tradition of viewing the artist as a creative genius who stood apart from society and enriched the world with his unique, often liberating vision.5 Nevertheless, auteur criticism came under attack in the late 1960s and early 1970s by academic critics who pointed out its limitations. This book is itself a testament to the ongoing popularity and influence of auteur theory in academia, because its chapters are organized to highlight the stylistic innovations of individual directors. General audiences and film specialists alike have strong feelings about certain favorite directors and continue to think about what makes a particular director's work individual and distinct. The public and many academic critics embraced auteur theory for the simple reason that this approach to understanding and categorizing films was and still is so compelling. ![]()
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