In film studies, the term New Hollywood is used in non-conclusive and heterogeneous ways. The discourse does not make explicit what the real New was. However, there appears to be a general consensus as to the actual time frame in which a bigger change happened in Hollywood that stirred up the system – starting in 1967. Scholars have been trying to explain the proclaimed change of the Classical Hollywood Cinema from different perspectives, which, depending on author and release date, point out economical, production-related, societal, or creative-aesthetic revolutions as responsible factors.
Coming from the film critic‘s angle towards New Hollywood, the most important factor in the process was the development and success of the American auteur. The auteur theory has been appointed as such by film critic Andrew Sarris, who based his assumptions mainly on the theoretical conclusions drawn by the writers of the French Cahiers du Cinema. Taking the auteur approach to explain aspects of the New Hollywood, some scholars pinpoint the era down to the years of 1967-1976. This national cinematography is hardly discussed consensually within its own historiographical discourse or the boundaries of text analysis. I want to specifically trace the role of the idea of an auteur cinema within the Hollywood industry during this change, and thereby further disentangle the complex relationship of commerce and authorship.
My first chapter will therefore be employed with the theoretical background and the discourse around authorship in general, film in particular. Eventually this will lead to a clear idea about the specifics and limitations of the auteur theory discourse. The second chapter will then be occupied with the historical change of the Hollywood system in the sixties and seventies of the twentieth century, and will aim to define the contributing factors for this change within and outside the industry. In terms of terminology, a historiographical approach will determine the rather different meanings of New Hollywood and Hollywood Renaissance. Chapter three will tie up the loose ends of both previous chapters, striving to identify what kind of influence on film production the auteurs of New Hollywood had in terms of the reinvigorated success of the American film industry or if they were auteurs at all for that matter. What room is there in a system which is based on its own myths of star power etc. for the serious artistic vision of the individual?
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The concept of authorship and the auteur theory
1.1 The discourse of authorship in texts
1.2. Authorship in film
1.3. Auteur theory
2 The Hollywood system – collapse and reinvention
2.1 Classic Hollywood
2.2 Changes within and outside the Hollywood system
2.3 Economy and aesthetic – what is the New Hollywood?
3 Authorship and the Hollywood Renaissance
3.1 Auteur theory applied to the Hollywood Renaissance
3.2 Authorship and industrial success
Research Objectives and Key Themes
This thesis examines the role of the auteur theory during the transformation of the American film industry, specifically tracing how the concept of the "auteur" influenced film production and industrial structures during the "New Hollywood" era (1967–1976). It seeks to determine whether this period represented a genuine rise of director-driven artistic control or if the "auteur" label served primarily as a marketing mechanism within a corporate system.
- The historical discourse and theoretical evolution of authorship in literature and film.
- Structural transformations of the Hollywood studio system during the 1950s and 1960s.
- The emergence and characteristics of the "Hollywood Renaissance" and the "film school generation".
- The complex relationship between commercial interests and artistic vision in American cinema.
- The function of the "auteur brand" as a tool for organizing audience reception and marketing.
Excerpts from the Book
1.1 The discourse of authorship in texts
Authorship in varying degrees can be found in the author, the text itself, and/or its reception by audience and/or critics. The concept of authorship of artistic work emerged in near unison with the age of enlightenment. The Kantian “emancipation of human consciousness” shaped the individuality of the author as the single responsible, creative force behind a piece of art away from pure imitation of life. John Caughie describes the shift towards this romantic ideal of the author as such:
Through most of the eighteenth century, the poet's invention and imagination were made thoroughly dependent for their materials – their ideas and ‘images’ – on the external universe and the literary models the poet had to imitate; while the persistent stress laid on his need for judgment and art – the mental surrogates, in effect, of the requirements of a cultivated audience – held the poet strictly responsible to the audience for whose pleasure he exerted his creative ability. Gradually, however, the stress was shifted more and more to the poet's natural genius, creative imagination, and emotional spontaneity, at the expense of the opposing attributes of judgment, learning, and artful restraints. As a result the audience gradually receded into the background, giving place to the poet himself, and his own mental powers and emotional needs, as the predominant cause and even the end and test of art.
Summary of Chapters
Introduction: Outlines the non-conclusive usage of the term "New Hollywood" and introduces the goal of tracing the role of the "auteur" during this industrial shift.
1. The concept of authorship and the auteur theory: Provides a theoretical background on authorship in texts and film, establishing the foundation of the auteur theory and its key proponents.
2 The Hollywood system – collapse and reinvention: Analyzes the historical industrial changes in the 1950s and 1960s, including the end of vertical integration and the impact of the blockbuster and youth market.
3 Authorship and the Hollywood Renaissance: Explores the practical application of auteur theory to the film school generation, evaluating whether their artistic influence was truly independent or absorbed by commercial imperatives.
Keywords
New Hollywood, Hollywood Renaissance, auteur theory, film school generation, studio system, authorship, film criticism, commercialism, narrative economy, director's signature, blockbuster, Andrew Sarris, Cahiers du Cinéma, film history, industrial transformation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work investigates the role and influence of the auteur theory during the shift towards "New Hollywood," analyzing the tension between director-driven creative vision and the commercial constraints of the American film industry.
What are the primary themes discussed?
The primary themes include the definition of the author in film, the decline and reinvention of the Hollywood studio system, the emergence of the "Hollywood Renaissance," and the commodification of the auteur director as a brand.
What is the central research question?
The thesis asks whether the auteur theory provided a framework for meaningful artistic independence in the Hollywood system, or if it merely facilitated a new marketing tool ("the auteur brand") during a time of industrial change.
What methodology does the author use?
The author employs a historiographical approach, analyzing existing academic discourses, film theories, and industry records to define the relationship between cinematic aesthetics and economic structures.
What content is covered in the main section of the book?
The main section covers the history of authorship, the collapse of the studio model in the 1960s, the rise of the "film school generation," and case studies of filmmakers attempting to work outside or within the established Hollywood system.
Which keywords best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as auteur theory, New Hollywood, Hollywood Renaissance, industrial transformation, and director-centered film analysis.
How does the author define the "Hollywood Renaissance"?
The author defines it as an era of artistic rejuvenation between 1967 and 1976, driven by a new generation of educated, visionary filmmakers who challenged the conventions of the classical studio era.
What is the "auteur brand" according to this study?
The "auteur brand" refers to the transformation of the filmmaker into a recognizable commercial figure, used by studios to market products and organize audience reception, regardless of the individual filmmaker's degree of actual creative control.
What is the conclusion regarding Francis Ford Coppola's experience?
Coppola serves as a prime example of a director who sought to transform the system from within, yet ultimately faced the limitations of the industry's capital-intensive nature, remaining a minor player compared to the overwhelming power of the blockbuster model.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Andreas Schwarz (Autor:in), 2011, The Role of Authorship during the Shift towards a New Hollywood, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/184934
