Unit 26: Task 1 - Auteur theory and Genre analysis

Auteur Theory

Auteur theory is a filmmaking theory in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a film, it started in France in the 1940s. Since the director leaves their mark on it this causes dedicated film goers to see their work over and over again. People will become fans of the director and be able to identify the director’s well known overall style, specific types of camera angles or genre.

Examples of directors that can be considered auteurs: Wes Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Tim Burton.

Wes Anderson:

The majority of his films revolve around the recurring themes of fatherhood, coming-of-age and wed Anderson himself. He likes to include a slow motion shot in his films as well as stop-motion animation (Life Aquatic, Royal Tenenbaums and Fantastic Mr Fox). He is well known for having playful, elaborate sets (the townhouse in Royal Tenenbaums and the Belafonte in Life Aquatic) in addition to having costumes characters wearing uniforms. Wes Anderson has a very high attention to detail therefore the mise en scene in each shot is perfect with intentional hidden visual wit. He perfectly frames symmetrical shots consistently throughout all of his films.

Anderson’s films have an indie and eccentric reputation yet a lot of his films can be classed as heist films with characters taking part in some kind of criminal adventure, with Fantastic Mr Fox starting with a petty theft incident.

A common theme in his films is first love, it is seen in my of his films – The Grand Budapest Hotel shows narrator and protagonist Zero fall in love with a pastry chef; in Moonrise Kingdom the two lead are lonely children who run away together. The idealized visions of young love run alongside the more complicated portraits of youthful romance. Despite portraying first love as soulful Anderson understands how love complicates over time; he is a child of divorce therefore his films are filled with variations of broken families, proving that as a director he puts himself and life experiences into his films.

Typically young protagonists are paired up with older men; the two usually reflect younger/older versions of each other explaining why the two conflict with each other. Anderson portrays the complexities of aging suggesting that young and old we’re all struggling to figure things out.

Wes Anderson’s characters often wear uniforms, he believes that what people wear speak volumes about their internal life so much so that they rarely change their clothes and when they do it is obvious. It is very clear in The Royal Tenenbaums as each character models a different costume relating to boredom however in other films uniforms are used to show solidarity with the characters wearing matching clothing. In The Grand Budapest Hotel uniforms are used to show old-fashioned concierges and their role in life and how they value themselves.

Anderson tends to set his films in large multi-room buildings suggesting a theatrical set, the most famous set creation in regard to this is the Belafonte (Steve Zissou’s boat from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) which contains a research library, a laboratory, a sauna and an edited room. This could be suggestive of Zissou’s fractured brain or a visual metaphor of the film making process. The Tenenbaum House is very similar and the doll house sets means that Anderson can easily navigate from room to another with pretty cool shots and transitions.

Like other auteurs Anderson is known for using a same group of actors throughout his work, Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrian Brody and Owen Wilson are some of his most popular leading men, it is believed he uses these actors as they are performers with unconventional definitions of good looks. Anderson needs the actors to fit into the scenery the same way a lamp or table would.

Anderson uses a combination of wide angle shots and frequent close-ups, the wide angle shots are used to show the characters look like part of the scenery whereas he uses close-ups to capture intimacy with the characters.

Some people believe that Anderson’s films are slow making the less appealing and gripping as people’s interests are lost; this is mainly because of long takes and his noticeable tracking shots. Sometimes his tracking shots are done in slow motion but it has defined his style of directing. The tracking shot showcases everything he deems important (everything in the shot) to be shown as well as creating movement and energy, it makes the films seem lively even if they’re not.

Anderson likes symmetrical shots, he’s obsessed with them and they’ve become part of his signature. How he arranges props and characters in front of the camera creating symmetry turns his films into pieces of art. He uses symmetry because as humans our brains are naturally hardwired to love symmetry (humans tend to judge physical attractiveness based on facial symmetry). Symmetry creates an impactful image which humans are programmed to respond to and like. Also, it’s because it is a way of catching and driving the viewers’ eyes to main items; Anderson forces you to look at the focal point.

Colours are a very important and noticeable thing in Anderson’s films, he uses pastel tones of colours into every element of scenery allowing him compete control over the meaning and subtext of his films. In Fantastic Mr Fox he paints the countryside in autumnal tones of orange of gold not blue and green as you’d expect however in The Darjeeling Limited he uses traditional bright colours to immerse the audience into the exotic world. The hotel is painted a pastel purple colour which signifies elegance, sophistication and luxury.  

For the opening and ending credits in his films Anderson uses the font Futura, it acts as a stamp to let you know you are entering his universe and you should be prepared for what you are going to watch.

In conclusion all of these things added together make Wes Anderson films the iconic and enjoyable films we know.

Genre Theory

Genre relates to all forms of media, not just films, and is used to group media texts into categories of a similar kind or type. Genre in films relates to 3 different people – Producers: genre acts as a template for the film; Distributors/promoters: genre provides assumptions about who the audience is and how to market the film; Audiences: genre acts as a label for likes and dislikes and allows the audience to filter their tastes. Genres have allowed production to be quicker and more confident as screenwriters follow a tried and tested formulas and characters that they know were successful. Genres have set rules and conventions so the audience know what to expect, the director adds their own contribution that will ensure the film is not a copy of another in the genre.

Genres can include sub genres or hybrid genres such as rom-coms, chick flicks, supernatural, thriller etc.

Romantic Comedy - Genre Theory

Films that have a light hearted and humorous storyline centred on romantic ideals and have a happy ending.

• Typically the two lovers are young, likeable and ‘meant for each other’ but are kept apart by some complicating circumstance (e.g. class difference, parental interference, previous significant others).
• Regularly, the protagonists part ways in order to sort out their feelings and obstacles, during which time one of both realise how ideal they are for each other.
• Sometimes, the two become romantically involved at the start and then face challenges; other times they are hesitant because one may have a partner or because of social pressures or fear of rejection.
• In very few rom-coms the plotline differs where the protagonists don’t end up together (The Break-Up).
• Rom-coms sometimes include other genres – such as stoner comedies (Knocked Up) or screwball comedies.
• The basic format of rom-com can be found in Shakespeare’s plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
• In some rom coms they adopt an extreme circumstance for the characters (Warm Bodies – the protagonist is a zombie and falls for a human).
• Some rom-coms explore serious issues such as marriage, responsibility, disability (examples: Knocked Up and Silver Linings Playbook).
• Rom-coms have been around since the 1930s.

Rom-coms follow codes and conventions which work as a contact between the producer and the audience, these mean that the audience know what they expect to see and allows them to filter their preferences when it comes to choosing to watch a film. The target audience of rom-coms is young women who are watching the cliché and stereotypical idea of love and happily ever after as that is what they want to find in life, they will be passive viewers watching for escapism. Films are from the woman's point of view as the audience will relate more to them.

Almost all rom-coms follow the same story structure: two people meet, fall in love, realise they can’t be together or some conflict, break up but end up rekindling and living happily ever after. Sometimes it is not as clear cut, with one character not seeing they are in love or are in love with someone else before seeing that the other person who was there for them is the one for them; the conflict can be a range of things and this is where one rom-com is different from another, the conflict is what separates the pair before they both realise they can’t live each other and they’re better off together.

 

Normally, soft romantic and ordinary everyday music is played, rom-coms are trying to be as realistic as possible with the exception of the love part to show to viewers that it can happen to them and that what is happening is believable.The music will also be used at the conflict to influence the viewer's emotions and opinions; music is very powerful so when sad slow music is played the audience will too feel sad whereas when the music is happy and bubbly and the lives of characters are well and happy the audience will feel happy too.
In the film Bridget Jones' Diary the song 'All by myself' is used to emphasise the loneliness of the character, making is quite comical, the audience feels for the character and understands her situation and feelings.

Settings are usually urban areas, neighbourhoods and small towns or popular cities, they either attract the aspiration of viewers wanting to live in the cities or add to the 'normal' feel that viewers relate to.
The film New Year's Eve is set primarily in New York City, which is considered one of the best places to be on NYE and to watch the ball drop; the film features a range of intertwining romantic storylines of a range of characters and ages. It appeals to the wide audience age range because of the differing ages of the characters from teens to the elderly as well as showing how great NYE In NYC can be. The film is full of star quality and includes most of the big name rom-com actors.

Camera shots are made to look natural with lots of over the shoulder shots during conversations and close-ups to show the character's emotions. The use of eye level and point of view are used to show what the character is seeing so that the audience are seeing things completely from their view.

Props will normally consist of valuable items such as necklaces, earrings and rings, they will recur throughout the film and/or play a pivotal part in the storyline and it's development.
In Valentine's Day, it could be considered that the important prop involved is the flowers, they appear in almost every storyline playing a bigger part in some more than other, for example one character is buying flowers for two women and this is when we learn that he has a girlfriend and a wife, another storyline is where a little boy is buying his favourite teacher flowers because he has a crush on her.

Rom-coms are known for their awkward, corny/cheesy and cringe-worthy moments which will generate a lot of the comedy as well as things or events to do with the character as opposed to actual jokes.

On film posters and DVD covers the colours red, white and pink will be used; red because it signifies love, sexuality, romance and passion, pink also represents love and romance but also femininity and white represents innocence and purity. Typically the main picture will feature the main characters in a position or setting that indicates their relationship or situation.

Star Factor:

Sometimes actors end up finding lots of work within one genre, this is a positive and negative - positive because they are getting work and will increase their fan base and make a movie successful because the audience will be more likely to go watch a new movie with them in. It is a negative because some producers and directors will believe that actor can only do that genre therefore decreasing the range of work available for the actor. An example of this is Katherine Heigl who has been in a lot of rom coms including Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Life as We know It, Killers, New Year’s Eve, One for the Money and Jenny's Wedding. She has not done much other work, she starred in a political TV show however it was cancelled after the first season, some of the rom coms were also dramas however this is not surprising as she is still known for her role as Dr Isobel Stevens in medical drama Grey's Anatomy for which she won an Emmy for in 2007.