An Analysis of Steven Spielberg

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Auteur Theory: An Analysis of Steven Spielberg May 2018 Word Count: 4000

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Table of Contents Abstract

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Introduction

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History and Definition of Auteur

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Steven Spielberg’s Style

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Steven Spielberg’s Common Themes

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Counterclaim

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Conclusion

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Works Cited

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Abstract The primary purpose of this extended essay is to analyze the Steven Spielberg’s films and determine: to what extent is Steven Spielberg an auteur and how do his films portray his own creative direction? The auteur theory is the idea that the director is essentially the author of the film and it is the director’s creativity that is ultimately displayed in the final product of the film. This essay analyzes the extent to which Steven Spielberg meets the guidelines of becoming an auteur. The first of the three guidelines is that the director must be able to make a competent film with developed characters and a plot that flows. The second guideline is that the director must have a certain stylistic approach to their films that serve as a signature. And the final guideline is that the director must have an interior meaning in each of their films that usually stems from their real lives. Through the analysis of Spielberg’s films such as, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, ​and ​Saving Private Ryan​, the conclusion can be reached that Steven Spielberg is to be considered an auteur due to his films meeting the three requirements of being an auteur. However, the auteur theory can be countered by the fact that the film is not always a product of the director’s creativity, and can instead be considered a total team effort from the entire production team.

Word Count: 238

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Introduction Steven Spielberg is a critically acclaimed director who has filmed many of the film industry’s most popular films, such as ​Jaws ​(1975), ​Jurassic Park ​(1993), and ​Saving Private Ryan ​(1998).

Spielberg has also directed many science fiction films including ​E.T. The Extra Terrestrial​ (1982), ​A.I. Artificial Intelligence​ (2001), and ​Close Encounters of the Third Kind ​(1977). The question I will be analyzing is, to what extent is Steven Spielberg considered an auteur and how do his films portray his own creative direction? Spielberg’s status as an auteur can be confirmed through his use of common themes throughout his films and his ability to communicate a story through film elements other than dialogue.

History and Definition of Auteur The auteur theory’s beginnings can be traced back to France during 1954 when a French film critic and director, François Truffaut, published an article describing his discontent with the films being created at the time and their inability to produce a “tradition of quality.” This article was titled “Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français” which translates to “A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema.”

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This article criticized directors for not creating films using their creative expressionism, but instead were

making films just to place them into film festivals. Truffaut expressed his concern that the screenwriter was becoming more of a centerpiece of films than the director, and he called for a change in direction in the way the film industry was heading.

Truffaut’s article contained the first usage of the word auteur, or author, to describe a director.

This comparison between author and director indicates a responsibility among directors that needed to be

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Truffaut, François. "Une certaine tendance du cinéma français."Cahiers du Cinéma. No. 31. 1954. Translation by Bill Nichols, Movies and Methods. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976. January 2017.

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expressed within a director’s films. Truffaut established the guidelines for an ideal director and that a director should use various techniques within their films in order to tell a story that goes beyond the dialogue of the film. This new label of a director being an auteur gave a far more accurate definition to the job a director has within their films. Before the emergence of the auteur theory, directors were labeled as “réalisateur” or “metteur en scène” with the meanings of director and stage director, respectively.2 Truffaut was also quoted saying, “There are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors.”3 This quote suggests that every film has potential, but it requires the creative expressionism in order for it to be enjoyed by the audience. This controversial quote created problems because many believed that Truffaut discredited the other positions required to make a film, such as the actors, cinematographers, producers, and composers. These positions believed that they have just as much of an impact on a film as a director does.

Truffaut’s creation of the label of a director as an auteur was popularized and expanded by André Bazin in 1957 in his article entitled, “La Politique des Auteurs.” Within this article, Bazin explains that an auteur should, “[Choose] the personal factor in artistic creation as a standard of reference.”4 This quote created the basis of the auteur theory and meant that the director is responsible for displaying his personal creativity within each of their films. Bazin also explains that in order to be considered an auteur, a director must show this creativity within a multiple number of their films. He supports this point by stating that a film is the product of a director’s creativity, which is usually affected by the director’s personal life and backstory, and therefore should contain common themes amongst many of their films.5 The requirements of becoming an auteur was outlined by a man named Andrew Sarris in his article titled, “Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962.” Within this article, he emphasizes that there are three

Pickering, Sarah. "Auteur." The Chicago School of Media Theory. Winter 2010. Accessed January 12, 2017.

3 “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français."

4 Bazin, André. "La Politique des Auteurs." ​Cahiers du Cinéma​ 70 (April 1957). Accessed January 31, 2017.

5 Ibid.

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main levels of being a director. The first is labeled as a technician and in order to be labeled as a technician, the director must have “the ability to put a film together with some clarity and coherence.”

After being labeled as a technician, a director can move up to the next level, which is a stylist, or often called a metteur en scene. In order to obtain this label, a director must “exhibit certain recurrent characteristics of style, which serve as his signature.” The final level is auteur status and requires for a director to possess the traits of the two previous levels as well as create an interior meaning within each of their films. Sarris defines interior meaning as being “extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material.” Overall, Sarris is arguing that in order to become an auteur, a director must be able to make a film successfully, have a distinct style, and create common themes amongst their films.6 Steven Spielberg has been able to meet each of these requirements and thus should be labeled an auteur.

Steven Spielberg’s Style According to Andrew Sarris, in order for a director to be labeled an auteur, he or she must contain each of the aspects of the three concentric circles. The first of these concentric circles is the technician level. As stated before, the technician must be able to make a coherent film.7 Based on Steven Spielberg’s Academy Award for Best Director in 1994 and 1999 for his films ​Saving Private Ryan ​and ​Schindler’s List​ as well as his other nominations for Best Director show that he is definitely able to make a successful film. The next level that Sarris describes is the stylist level, which requires a director to put their own personality into their films, through the use of visual elements, often referred to as their signature.8 Spielberg has proven that he is able to place his own personal mark onto each film that he directs.

One of Spielberg’s most iconic signature visual elements that he places within his films are the point of view shots. He utilizes this shot at times within his films in order to convey a strong emotional

Sarris, Andrew. "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." ​The Film Artist​: 561-64.

Ibid.

8 Ibid.

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feeling within his audience. Spielberg uses the point of view shot in order to allow the audience to gain insight on the perspective of one character. Allowing the audience to see the events happening through a specific character’s eyes can lead to a strong emotional response from the audience that can create the feelings of suspense, sympathy, etc.

Arguably one of the most well-known uses of the point of view shot occurs in Spielberg’s film, Jaws​. Within this film, a killer great white shark terrorizes the beaches of Amityville after eating multiple people.9 It is up to a team consisting of a chief of police, a marine biologist, and an old sailor to hunt down this shark and put an end to all of the attacks. Spielberg’s decision to film the shark attacks in a point of view style was not always his plan, however. Originally, Spielberg had planned to use a mechanical shark and film the shark attacking the people, but after the seeing the shark in action, Spielberg was upset with the maintenance needed and how the shark looked since it did not seem like it would be able to fool audiences. Spielberg then decided that he “had no choice but to figure out how to tell the story without the shark” and that he asked himself, “What would Hitchcock do in a situation like this?”10 This is where Spielberg borrowed Alfred Hitchcock’s idea that the most terrifying things in the world are those that we cannot see. With this ideology, Spielberg decided that he was going to have to tell this story by not using the mechanical shark, and thus the decision was made to film the shark’s attacks in a point of view style. He paired these shots from the shark’s point of view with the famous musical score from John Williams in order to create a more suspenseful feeling in the audience. This decision winded up being one of Spielberg’s best decisions in his career and created his legacy.

After creating the huge success that ​Jaws​ was, Spielberg went on to create another award-winning film in 1998 titled, ​Saving Private Ryan​. This film is a World War II film about a group of United States soldiers who go to retrieve a soldier named James Ryan from the enemy territory after learning that his

​Jaws​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Performed by Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1975. Film.

10 Green, Robson, and Charlotte Reather. ​Extreme Fishing​. London: Simon & Schuster, 2014.

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three brothers were killed in action. The group of soldiers is led by a man named Captain Miller, who is often used by Spielberg as the perspective for the point of view shots within the film.11 Similar to ​Jaws, the point of view shots used within ​Saving Private Ryan​ were used in order to create a strong emotional response from the audience. The opening scene of ​Saving Private Ryan​ shows Spielberg’s reimagination of the United States’ invasion of Normandy Beach, also known as D-Day. Much of this scene is told through the eyes of Captain Miller and the audience is able to see the horrors of war up close and personal, and since the scene is so realistic, many audience members cannot handle the graphic content displayed.12 Nevertheless, the scene led to his Academy Award for Best Director and is still regarded as one of the most emotional and realistic World War II scenes to date.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence​ also displays Spielberg’s style by including point of view shots within the film. This style of shot is used in order to gain a perspective on how a character perceives the events that are unfolding, as well as allowing the audience to connect with the film’s characters. The first instance of a point of view shot within this film is when David is drowning Marvin in the pool and we can see from David’s perspective at the bottom of the pool, looking up towards his adoptive family.13 This creative choice of shot signified David’s desire to become a part of humanity as well as his inability to ever become human. Another point of view shot used within ​A.I. Artificial Intelligence​ is when his adoptive mother, Monica, drops David off into the woods and the camera is used to show her point of view while she is driving away. Through her perspective, David is seen in the mirror, emotionally destroyed by his adoptive mother’s actions and causes a strong emotional response from the audience.14

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​Saving Private Ryan​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Produced by Steven Spielberg. By Robert Rodat.

Performed by Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, and Tom Sizemore. United States of America: Dreamworks, 1998. Film

Ibid. ​A.I.: Artificial Intelligence​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. By Brian Aldiss. Screenplay by Ian Watson.

Performed by Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, and Frances O'Connor. United States of America: Warner Bros., 2001. Film.

14 Ibid.

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This creates a feeling of sympathy for David, and the audience begins to hope that David can earn his humanity and win back the love of his adoptive mother.

Steven Spielberg’s Common Themes Steven Spielberg can be considered an auteur due to the common themes that he presents within many of his films. Included among these common themes are the themes of extraterrestrial life, being lost, and searching for home. These common themes can be attributed to Spielberg’s childhood and his fascination with space and extraterrestrial life when he was a child. This interest in extraterrestrials began as a result of his father’s shared interest in space and science. Spielberg recalls a night where he and his father watched a meteor shower together, which Spielberg says had a large impact on his interests later on in life.15 Spielberg’s sympathy for extraterrestrial life within his films can be attributed to the fact that he felt like an alien back in his childhood due to his religion. Raised as an Orthodox Jew, Spielberg was constantly bullied at school because of his religion, and felt out of place in society as a result of being bullied.16 The common themes among Spielberg’s films of extraterrestrial life and feeling lost can be attributed to these events in Spielberg’s childhood.

These common themes of extraterrestrial life and feeling lost are evident within Spielberg’s science fiction film, ​A.I. Artificial Intelligence​, a film about an android boy named David who embarks on a journey in order to win back the love of his adoptive mother.17 After David attempts to drown his adoptive parents real son, Marvin, his mother drives David out into the woods and abandons him. At this point, David’s mission is to find the Blue Fairy, who is said to have the ability to make anyone a real person, in order to have his mother love him again. Along his journey, David is helped by another android

McBride, Joseph. Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. Print.

Ibid.

17 ​A.I.: Artificial Intelligence​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. By Brian Aldiss. Screenplay by Ian Watson.

Performed by Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, and Frances O'Connor. United States of America: Warner Bros., 2001. Film.

15 16

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named Gigolo Joe, and his robotic teddy bear named Teddy. At the end of the film, David is able to rejoin a regenerated image of his mother in the far future, where he finally hears his mother tell him that she loves him.18 Although ​A.I. Artificial Intelligence​ does not contain any extraterrestrial life, the androids within the film serve the same purpose as aliens do in Spielberg’s other films. This purpose is to express the feeling of being an outsider within society, which Spielberg can identify with due to his memories of being bullied as a child. Within this film, Spielberg creates a future where androids are created and have the ability to act almost exactly as a human would. However, these androids are being discriminated against due to the fact that humans feel like they are being replaced by artificial beings, which upsets the humans and even leads them to creating flesh fairs. The main event at these fairs are the public executions of these androids, which shows the humans deep hate for the androids. This film answers the question of whether or not a non-human being as the ability to love, and instead focuses on the question as to whether or not humans are able to love non-humans, which creates a strong emotional response from the audience who hopes for David to be loved by the end of the film.19 Another film that contains extraterrestrial life and the common theme of feeling lost is ​E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial​. This film focuses on a young boy named Elliot, who discovers an alien, named E.T., has landed his spaceship in his backyard. The two form a bond in which they help out one another, Elliot helps E.T. contact his home planet, and E.T. helps Elliot develop as a person.20 The theme of being lost and extraterrestrial life are both combined into E.T.’s character, and Elliot also displays the theme of being lost. Spielberg creates a strong emotional response from the audience by sympathizing with E.T. and establishing E.T.’s need to phone home.21 Elliot displays the theme of being lost by the lack of true

Ibid.

Ibid.

20 ​E.T., the extra-terrestrial​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1982. Film.

21 Ibid.

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friends he has, much like Spielberg’s own childhood where he recalls feeling like an outsider. Elliot is able to overcome his challenges and help E.T. return to his home planet by the end of the film. This evolution of Elliot from an outsider to a hero is a projection of Spielberg’s own self, who feels as if he overcame his obstacles and is now accepted by many.22 Within many of Spielberg’s films, he presents a character who is either an absent or neglecting father. This common theme can be attributed to his childhood and his parent’s divorce. Steven Spielberg recalls that his father, Arnold Spielberg, kept on getting promotions and as a result the Spielberg’s were constantly moving from one house to the next. Steven’s image of his father deteriorated as a result of all the moving and he felt as if his father put more care into his work than he did with his son. This image of his father is reflected in many of his films, including ​E.T. The Extra Terrestrial​, ​ Hook ​, and ​Jurassic Park​.23 The film, ​E.T. The Extra Terrestrial,​ contains the character of an absent father as well as extraterrestrials and the theme of being lost as mentioned before. Within this film, Elliot’s parents are divorced and Elliot lives with his mother, while his father lives in Mexico. The absence of the father is first acknowledged when Elliot’s mother tells Elliot that the alien is part of his imagination. This is when Elliot says, “dad would believe me.”24 Elliot reflect Spielberg’s own feelings as a child and how he wanted his father’s attention but his father had other priorities outside of the family.

Regarded as “Spielberg’s ultimate autobiographical project”25 the film, ​Hook​, contains the theme of a neglecting father. Within this film, a father named Peter Banning has two children named Jack and Maggie. Much like Spielberg’s own father, Peter is too invested in his job to take the time to care for his children. The audience is able to first see this when Peter is attending his daughter’s play, but instead of

McBride, Joseph. Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. Print.

Friedman, Leister D. ​Citizen Spielberg​. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Print.

24 ​E.T., the extra-terrestrial​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1982. Film.

25 Morris, Nigel. The Cinema of Steven Spielberg: Empire of Light. London: Wallflower Press, 2007.

Print.

22 23

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watching his daughter perform, he is scheduling a work meeting. Jack then reminds his father that he had promised that he would go to his baseball game, and Peter ensures Jack that he will keep his promise. On the day of the game, Peter is seen at his meeting and then we see Jack at the baseball field, upset that his father is not there to cheer him on, reflecting Spielberg’s feelings towards his father as a child.26 Steven Spielberg is also able to relate to Peter Banning as a father because he knows how difficult it is to take time away from work in order to spend time with his children. In an interview, Spielberg explains that in many instances he is unable to see his children except on the weekends. Much like Peter’s children, Spielberg’s children constantly ask for their father to spend time with them, but Spielberg is unable to give them much time because how involved he needs to be in his films.27 This implementation of Spielberg as both a child, reflected through Jack, and as a father, reflected through Peter, supports the idea that Spielberg is an auteur because of the way Spielberg is able to insert himself into his films.

One of Steven Spielberg’s most iconic films, ​Jurassic Park​, also presents the theme of a neglecting father-like character. Although Dr. Alan Grant is not the biological father of Tim and Lex Murphy, the children are still neglected by Grant at the beginning of the film. It is seen that Grant is annoyed by the children and does not want to spend any time with them. However, towards the end of the film when the T-Rex escapes its exhibit, Tim and Lex are trapped in a Jeep and Grant is able to rescue both of them by distracting the T-Rex with a flashlight. This event shows Dr. Alan Grant’s transformation from a neglecting character to a strong father-like figure.28 Spielberg’s transformation of this character reflects his own desires as a child to see his father transform from a neglecting father to a caring father who cared more about him rather than his work.

​Hook​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, and Julia Roberts.

United States: TriStar Pictures, 1991. Film 27 Bahiana, Ana Maria. “Hook.” Steven Spielberg: Interviews. Ed. Leister D. Friedman and Brent Notbohm. USA: University Press of Mississippi, 2000. Print.

28 ​Jurassic Park​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. By Michael Crichton. Performed by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1993. Film.

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It is clear to see that Steven Spielberg is able to meet the requirement of having inner meaning within his films, due to his constant inclusion of themes such as feeling lost, which is commonly represented through the use of extraterrestrials, as well as the theme of an absent or neglecting father.

Spielberg’s ability to create inner meaning in his films fulfills Andrew Sarris’ third level of becoming labeled as an auteur.29

Counterclaim It is worth noting that Steven Spielberg’s status as an auteur does have an opposing side. This opposition may believe that since films are such a complex project that require several talented individuals, then the director cannot take all the credit for a film that they directed. In Spielberg’s case, people may believe that the cinematographer had just as much to do with the film as Spielberg did, and for this reason, Spielberg is not to be considered an auteur. For example, the iconic point of view shot from ​Jaws​ could be considered the work of cinematographer and the composer was responsible for the music, so therefore Spielberg did not show his own creative direction in creating these point of view scenes, and as a result, does not deserve the title of being an auteur.30 Another reason the opposition may believe that Steven Spielberg is not an auteur is because he is not at the top of the hierarchy. Many times, the director has to answer to the producer and because of this, the director cannot possibly display their creativeness in their films. It is worth noting, however that for many of Spielberg’s films, he is both the producer and the director, so therefore the only person he answers to is himself. For this reason, he is still able to display his creativeness and earn the title of auteur for the work he has done for his films.

29 30

Sarris, Andrew. "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." ​The Film Artist​: 561-64. ​Jaws​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb. Performed by Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1975. Film.

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Another reason in which the opposition believes that Spielberg is not considered an auteur is because the screenwriter is actually the one who plans out how each shot should look and what is taking place on the camera. While the screenwriter is the one who essentially plans out the entire film, the director just follows the directions laid out by the screenwriter and the film is created in the way that the screenwriter wanted it to be created. For this reason, the director could not be considered an auteur because the director is not showing any creativity by following a set of directions, instead the screenwriter would deserve to be considered an auteur because their creativity is displayed by having the director carry out their orders and making the film the way that the screenwriters had planned for it to be made.

Although these counterclaims can make logical sense, it is hard to deny the fact that Spielberg is, in fact, an auteur. Not only does his stylistic signature show in a multiple number of films, but he also displays common themes amongst his films regardless of the crew he is working with. Over the years that Spielberg has been a director, his crew has been different with every film he has created, with only his composer, John Williams, working on many projects with him. The fact that Spielberg is able to create multiple films that the audience can identify as similar to other films created by Spielberg, even though those films had entirely different production crews, shows that Spielberg is the head of the production, and it is his creative expressionism that is being showcased within the films that he directs.

Conclusion Revisiting the question, to what extent is Steven Spielberg considered an auteur and how do his films portray his own creative direction, it is evident that Steven Spielberg’s status as an auteur is supported through his success in reaching all three levels of Andrew Sarris’ requirements in becoming an auteur.31 Spielberg has reached the first level, the technician, due to his ability to make films that are coherent, which can be supported by the fact that he has won multiple Academy Awards as a director,

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Sarris, Andrew. "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." ​The Film Artist​: 561-64.

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which is not something that can be done by someone who cannot make competent films. Spielberg has also reached the second level of Sarris’ requirements of being a stylist. This is supported through the fact that many of his films utilize the point of view shot in order to create a strong emotional response from his audience by creating feelings of suspense or just giving insight to one character’s specific perspective.

Spielberg is able to reach the final level to becoming an auteur due to his ability to incorporate common themes among his films, such as feeling lost or having a neglecting father. Steven Spielberg’s status as an auteur is well-supported and explains why his creative direction is highly sought after in the film industry.

Spielberg’s successful run as a director has been one full of improvise and creative geniusness that produced some of the country’s most commercially and critically successful films. His style and talent in directing is often the reference point for young directors and his level of work is the ultimate goal to reach. Steven Spielberg has created masterpieces within the film industry that have aged well over time, but his legacy has not stopped yet, and hopefully he will be able to produce more films with the same creativeness as he did with his early films.

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Works Cited A.I.: Artificial Intelligence​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. By Brian Aldiss. Screenplay by Ian Watson.

Performed by Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, and Frances O'Connor. United States of America: Warner Bros., 2001. Film.

Bahiana, Ana Maria. “Hook.” Steven Spielberg: Interviews. Ed. Leister D. Friedman and Brent Notbohm.

USA: University Press of Mississippi, 2000. Print.

Bazin, André. "La Politique des Auteurs." ​Cahiers du Cinéma​ 70 (April 1957).

E.T., the extra-terrestrial​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1982. Film.

Friedman, Leister D. ​Citizen Spielberg​. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Print.

Green, Robson, and Charlotte Reather. ​Extreme Fishing​. London: Simon & Schuster, 2014.

Hook​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, and Julia Roberts.

United States: TriStar Pictures, 1991. Film Jaws​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Performed by Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, and Richard Dreyfuss.

United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1975. Film. ​Jurassic Park​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. By Michael Crichton. Performed by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. United States of America: Universal Pictures, 1993. Film.

McBride, Joseph. Steven Spielberg: A Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1997. Print.

Morris, Nigel. The Cinema of Steven Spielberg: Empire of Light. London: Wallflower Press, 2007. Print.

Pickering, Sarah. "Auteur." The Chicago School of Media Theory. Winter 2010.

Sarris, Andrew. "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962." ​The Film Artist​: 561-64.

Saving Private Ryan​. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Produced by Steven Spielberg. By Robert Rodat.

Performed by Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, and Tom Sizemore. United States of America: Dreamworks, 1998. Film Truffaut, François. "Une certaine tendance du cinéma français."Cahiers du Cinéma. No. 31. 1954. Translation by Bill Nichols. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976.