Functions of the Auteur for Contemporary Hollywood and its Audiences

Student’s Name
Course
Instructor
Date
Functions of the Auteur for Contemporary Hollywood and its Audiences
For a very long time in the film, the director has always been considered as the most important person. This view is credited to the fact that the audience tends to acknowledge the person who produces the final product of artistic work and who in this case is the director.
In most cases, films are perceived to represent the director’s personal view of the world since he/she plays a big role in developing the final product. Even though this is the case, there are those who still do not believe in this concept known as auterism. Therefore, this explains why there is an increased interest in theauteur in Hollywood and why it is necessary to look into the functions of the same both commercially and culturally. Generally, auterism has played a big role in redefining the movie industry especially Hollywood based on the type of movies produced and the significance placed on these films. Various changes in the industry, technological advancements and opportunities, and even marketing strategies have all played a role in bringing up this auterism. In effect, auteurs carry out different functions including maintaining control over audiences by making films accessible to all, making room for personalized narratives and helping address the needs of diverse audiences. Furthermore, technology is used by auteurs in the form of DVDs to bring about change in the film industry while giving audiences a chance to enjoy quality work through the competition by directors to be given the auteur status. These are only some of the roles of an auteur, and this paper will, therefore, largely focus on the functions of auteurs as far as the Hollywood industry and audiences are concerned.
In contemporary Hollywood, the auteur is used as a marketing tool for the industry. AsElsaesser(pg.283) points out that, in the modern age, “auteurs are notable less for a signature style than for a signature product.” By stating this, it shows that the Hollywood industry is more concerned about the auteurs’ ability to produce good work that is equally marketable than for those kinds of directors who identify with a certain style that is not so outstanding. Inarguably, the industry is interested in the type of directors that can give excellent work because that way, development is possible on the part of the industry. Lucas (famous for directing the Star Wars series), James Scott and Spielberg are good examples of directors whose works have largely impacted the industry. Considering the technological advancements and the rise of other competing industries, there has been an increased need for these auteurs to help in marketing Hollywood. Examples of these include technologies such as the emergence of YouTube videos and media platforms plus other movie industries like Bollywood that all present very strong competition for Hollywood. In this regard, having influential auteurs, therefore, helps to maintain the reputation of the industry because they market it through their exemplary works.
Closely related to being a marketing tool to promote the Hollywood industry, an auteur is the means by which the industry makes money. This is a very important function in the industry since according to Lewis (pg 62), “a film is reported to be successful because it makes money.” Notably, recent years have seen Hollywood become obsessed with the box office performance of its films. Since having large numbers indicate the success of a film, the industry has invested heavily in ensuring that the work given out is great. To achieve this, the works of various auteurs come in handy. Besides, unlike the olden days when people cared about film, in modern times great significance is placed on other issues such as an individual’s financial status, endorsement revenues, and any other money-making ventures. This explains why a celebrity is considered important based on his or her ability to use her status to make good films and money. Just like in the previous case, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg are perfect examples of this whereby their movies scored highly in the box office, thus generating a lot of money for the industry in a way that made them unrivaled for a very long time.
Through auteurs, Hollywood can maintain control over the cinematic world. In this case, there is the industry’s control over both the audience and its auteurs. Concerning this, Grant (pg102) notes that the control is achieved by the “deliberate placement of auteurist cues in a film.” An example is Wes Anderson’s (known for Fantastic Mr. Fox) characterization. His films are famously known to include “hand-controlled puppet characters” (Grant). By continuously including this feature in most of his works, the audience can identify with it and thus he can maintain control over them. This is a classic example of how Hollywood uses auteurs to control its audience by making them the standards for what is accepted or not. Inarguably, whatever is produced by these auteurs circulates without any restrictions through adverts, trailers, reviews and many other forms as a way of reminding the audience about what is accepted and considered appropriate.
Regarding the auteurs, the Hollywood industry demands that only those producers with numerous outstanding works are to be acknowledged as auteurs. This implies that many financial investments have to go into the works for one to earn and maintain the auteur status. Ideally, this is degrading to the auteurs who are then only viewed as being part of Hollywood’s financial machine. Apart from being used to generate finances, the auteurs are controlled by being denied the opportunity to work on the movies they would love to and instead, only going with what the industry demands. Concerning this, the auteur Coppola laments that even though many auteurs including him, had done so much for the industry, they are yet to be given a chance to choose what they see fit to work on. Instead, they still have to go to the industry to be given way forward.
The auteur theory functions in making it possible for film authorship to be associated with a single entity. In other words, auteurs make it easier to review a movie by associating it with the ones making the final product (Miguel and Mainar, 32). This is especially important for those wishing to critique given film. In this regard, Tregde (pg7) notes that when criticizing a film it is important “to give credit to the creator of the emotional and psychological impact of a film.” Usually, it is the film director who creates this impact on the audience by creating the perfect sequences, scenes and moments by using the available talents, visual effects, and editing. In the end, by doing this, it is the story that is in the director’s head that is told, and thus the film ends up being more personal. Ideally, such a film with a more personal feel is bound to make an impact on the audience, therefore justifying why the director is seen more like an author. In addition to the mentioned function, auteurism makes it possible to know how to interact with different audiences using ...