Ninth Assignment - The Auteur Theory

             Auteurnship is the idea of a director having his or her own repetitive style in a movie. There are many opinions on whether auteurnship exists. There are directors that actually have a unique style and type of cinematography they use. While we recognize directors for their style we don’t actually know whether the director came up with the style or if it was referenced from old directors. There are people who realize that a good director can hide his/her references and therefore auteurnship doesn’t exist.

            After watching movies by Wes Anderson I noticed some elements that repeat in each of his movies. When I think of these things I realize that Wes likes to direct certain types/genres of film. This could just be a preference or theme based on his life. It is not that Wes Anderson has invented the types of movies he directs but in terms of auteurnship he is recognized because he only follows these themes and styles.

Wes Anderson has become very well known for his distinct style as a director. His movies tend to be comedies with some aspects of seriousness. These themes are often about dysfunctional families, abandonment, and rivalry. In terms of cinematography, Wes Anderson’s visual style often uses flat camera pans and symmetrical compositions. He also uses slow motion a lot for drama. After watching Fantastic Mr. Fox, Darjeeling Limited, and Moonrise Kingdom I was able to compare the films and find similarities that create the auteurship of Wes Anderson.

            Wes Anderson’s themes of abandonment and dysfunction are created through his character development. In Darjeeling Limited the three brothers rival each other and try to avoid being together. Throughout their spiritual journey they become more connected and lose sight of the dysfunction. In Fantastic Mr. Fox, Mr. Fox is a thief that creates dysfunction between his wife and son. After things don’t fall into place, as he seemed, he realizes his problems and makes a change. The two movies show dysfunction and abandonment between the characters but in the end they make changes and problems are relieved.

            The themes and use of cinematography by Wes Anderson has definitively been recognized as his style but that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen it anywhere else. It is not often that we see good work that is completely unique to one artist or director. Although Wes Anderson is known for his style there must be other directors that have done things similar and maybe haven’t been recognized using the style. I know for sure that there are tons of movies about dysfunction and abandonment. There are also plenty of movies that like to pan and use symmetry. When it comes down to it there are plenty of other sources and movies that use these techniques and styles. In terms of auteurnship, Wes Anderson has been the one to claim the style as his own. Auteurnship doesn’t necessarily mean the director invented the style but it is known that the director has claimed it or has been known for using it consistently.