Unified Uncertainty and the Auteur Theory
There are no rules and regulations when it comes to creativity. The imagination of the artist and the creator determine what guidelines to follow, but that freedom consequently creates controversy when the piece needs to be evaluated for its true value. When French film director Francois Truffaut advocated the Auteur theory in 1954, it greatly influenced film criticism. The Auteur theory states that the director of a motion picture is the primary author of the film and that all elements reflect their personal creative vision. Theorists John Caughie and Andrew Sarris both express their concerns about the specifications of what makes a director an “auteur”, believing it to be an undefined and obscure theory.
For many artists and creators, they are only as successful as their latest piece of work. John Caughie states that "It is tempting to present the principles of the politique as a set of rules: the late work of an auteur is necessarily more interesting than the earlier work, the worst work of an auteur is necessarily worth more than the best work of a metteur en scene, etc.; but such a schematization, though it has a substantial foundation, avoids the seductiveness of Cahiers' auteurist practice..." (Caughie 38). Caughie believes that the principles of the policy of auteurism are criticized differently than any other art form, including romantic criticism, which creates confusion as to whether the criticism deserves legitimacy or not. Caughie comments on the idea that the quality and the type of feedback on films is relative to the popular and socially acceptable styles of interpretation, "It is this diversity of stimuli, rather than a singular philosophical source, which seems to a...
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...fully understandable, according to film theorists John Caughie and Andrew Sarris. Caughie explains that the foundations that critics base their reviews off of are from too many diverse sources, which makes their findings not precise. Sarris is a firm believer that a true auteur has great technical competence, distinguishable personality, and interior meaning. The auteur theory itself is commonly regarded as correct but is still subject to conjecture, giving the viewers and critics the power to establish their own verification of the admirable auteur.
Works Cited
"Auteur Theory." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 05 July 2014.Web. 08 May 2014.
Caughie, John. "The Theory in Practice." - California State University, Long Beach. Web. 08
May 2014.
Sarris, Andrew. "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." – California State University, Long
Beach. Web. 08 May 2014.
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