Vulgar auteurism
Vulgar auteurism is a movement in latter-day cinephilia[1][2][3][4] and film criticism associated with championing or reappraising filmmakers, mostly those working in the horror and action genres and whose work has supposedly been overlooked or unfairly maligned by the critical mainstream.[4][5] Initially associated with the social network and streaming service Mubi[4] and its online film magazine, The Notebook,[4] vulgar auteurism became a controversial[6] topic in the cinephile community following the publication of an article in the Village Voice in 2013.[4][5] It has been described as "a critical movement committed to assessing the 'unserious' artistry of popcorn cinema with absolute seriousness."[7]
Origin[edit]
Vulgar auteurism, introduced by writer Andrew Tracy in an article for CinemaScope[8], derives its name[5] from the auteur theory, a key component of film criticism which posits that the director is the author ("auteur") of a film and that films should be analyzed in terms of how they fit into a director's larger body of work.[5][9] Also known as "auteurism," the auteur theory was introduced by French critics associated with the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma during the 1950s and popularized in the United States in the 1960s by Andrew Sarris.[3]
Several critics, including Richard Brody of The New Yorker and Scott Foundas of Variety, have drawn parallels between the earliest French and American proponents of the auteur theory and vulgar auteurism.[3][5] However, many commentators on the movement consider vulgar auteurism to be distinct from the classical auteur theory, pointing to its concern with visual style over theme.[4] The question of whether vulgar auteurism is a legitimate separate movement or a subset of the auteur theory remains a source of controversy in the film critic community.[4] According to film critic Peter Labuza, vulgar auteurism "seems to have been an unconscious movement before it ever had a name."[4] The earliest criticism identified as exhibiting "vulgar auteurism" was published in the Canadian film magazine Cinema Scope in 2006 and 2007.[3][4] Cinema Scope writer Andrew Tracy coined the term[3][4] in his 2009 article, "Vulgar Auteurism: The Case of Michael Mann".[4] Initially pejorative,[4] the term was repurposed by MUBI user John Lehtonen.[4] In the early-going, the theory was explored not through text, but through images via a Tumblr simply entitled "Vulgar Auteurism",[10] spearheaded by Lehtonen and filmmaker Kurt Walker, with contributions from MUBI critics Adam Cook and Daniel Kasman. Over the years which followed, Mubi's online film magazine began to publish more and more articles defending genres and directors which were unpopular with the critical mainstream.[4]
Vulgar auteurist ideas gained currency[4] when one of the movement's leading proponents,[7] critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, became the co-host of the television program Ebert Presents: At the Movies, produced by Roger Ebert. However, while "vulgar auteurist" criticism was becoming popular, the term and the movement to which it corresponded remained obscure until the publication of an article by Calum Marsh, "Fast & Furious & Elegant: Justin Lin and the Vulgar Auteurs", in The Village Voice on May 24, 2013.[4][6][11]
Controversy and criticism[edit]
Marsh's article was immediately controversial.[4][6] While some took issue with the films and filmmakers being championed by the proponents of vulgar auteurism, others took issue with the idea that vulgar auteurism was a movement distinct from the auteur theory.[4]
One of the most vocal proponents of vulgar auteurism is former Village Voice critic Nick Pinkerton,[3][6] [11] who has written essays in praise of directors championed by the movement[3] and whose 2012 article "The Bigger and Better Mousetraps of Paul W.S. Anderson" has been described as vulgar auteurist.[3] Writing in his SundanceNow column following the publication of Marsh's article, Pinkerton described vulgar auteurism as "a shameless attention grab",[12] adding: "Even more galling is the assumed attitude that the VA position stands alone against a vast, unsympathetic critical conspiracy to marginalize and underrate the products of industrial filmmaking. [...] The numbers, meanwhile, do not bear out claims of a highbrow conspiracy: Fast & Furious 6, which we’re assured is scorned by critics the world over, currently stands at 61% at Metacritic, above The Great Gatsby (54%), and within striking distance of arty jazz like Simon Killer and Post Tenebras Lux."[12]
Notable directors[edit]
- Paul W.S. Anderson[3][13]
- Kathryn Bigelow[14]
- Michael Bay[14][15] [16][17]
- Joe Carnahan[18]
- John Carpenter[14]
- Jon M. Chu[14]
- Joe Dante[19]
- Brian De Palma[20][21]
- Latter-day Clint Eastwood[18]
- Roland Emmerich[22][23] [24]
- Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly (aka Farrelly brothers)[5]
- Abel Ferrara[18]
- David Fincher[18]
- James Gray[18]
- Walter Hill[25]
- John Hyams[5]
- Richard Kelly[18]
- Justin Lin[14][26][27][27][28]
- McG[18]
- Michael Mann[14][29]
- John McTiernan[4][30][31]
- John Milius[32]
- Alex Proyas[33]
- Sam Raimi[18]
- Matt Reeves[18]
- George A. Romero[18]
- Tony Scott[3][34][35][36][37][38]
- M. Night Shyamalan[18]
- Zack Snyder[39]
- Latter-day Steven Soderbergh[18]
- Latter-day Steven Spielberg[18]
- Sylvester Stallone[18][40]
- Paul Verhoeven[4]
- Robert Zemeckis[41]
Notable films[edit]
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)[18]
- Ali (2001)[18]
- The A-Team (2010)[18]
- AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)[20]
- Basic Instinct (1992)[20]
- Big Wednesday (1978)[42]
- The Black Dahlia (2006)[18]
- The Blackout (1997)[18]
- Blue Steel (1990)[18]
- Cast Away (2000)[43]
- Changeling (2008)[18]
- Che (2008)[18]
- Christine (1983)[20]
- Cloverfield (2008)[18]
- Conan the Barbarian (1982)[44]
- Contact (1997)[45]
- Crank (2006)[18][46]
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)[18]
- Dangerous Game (1993)[18]
- Death Becomes Her (1992)[47]
- Deja Vu (2006)[18][48]
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)[18]
- Dillinger (1973)[49]
- Domino (2005)[18]
- Escape From L.A. (1996)[18]
- The Expendables (2010)[18]
- The Fan (1996)[50]
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)[51]
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)[52]
- Fast Five (2011)[53]
- Flags of Our Fathers (2005)[18]
- The Game (1997)[18]
- Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)[18]
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)[18]
- Go Go Tales (2007)[18]
- Gran Torino (2008)[18]
- The Happening (2008)[18]
- The Howling (1981)[54]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)[18]
- Lady in the Water (2004)[18]
- Last Action Hero (1993)[18]
- Man on Fire (2004)[18]
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)[20]
- Me, Myself and Irene (2000)[18]
- Miami Vice (2006)[20][55]
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)[18]
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)[18]
- Mission to Mars (2000)[20]
- Mystic River (2003)[18]
- Near Dark (1987)[18]
- New Rose Hotel (1998)[18]
- Ocean's 12 (2004)[18]
- Ocean's 13 (2007)[18]
- Paradise Alley (1978)[56]
- Pain & Gain (2013)[20]
- Point Break (1991)[20]
- Predator (1987)[57][58]
- Public Enemies (2009)[18]
- Redacted (2007)[18]
- Resident Evil (2002)[18]
- Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)[59][18]
- Rocky Balboa (2006)[18]
- Rocky II (1979)[60]
- The Rock (1996)[18]
- Shallow Hal (2001)[18]
- Shopping (1994)[61]
- Showgirls (1995)[18]
- Small Soldiers (1998)[62]
- Snake Eyes (1998)[18]
- Solaris (2002)[18]
- Southland Tales (2006)[18]
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)[18]
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)[18]
- Starship Troopers (1997)[18]
- Stuck on You (2003)[20]
- Sudden Impact (1983)[18]
- Taken (2009)[18]
- The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)[20]
- The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)[63]
- Top Gun (1986)[64]
- Total Recall (1990)[18]
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)[18]
- Two Lovers (2008)[18]
- Unbreakable (2000)[18]
- Unstoppable (2010)[18][36]
- The Village (2004)[18]
- War of the Worlds (2005)[18]
- We Own the Night (2007)[18]
- Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994)[65]
- The Yards (2000)[18]
References[edit]
- ^ What Vulgar Auteurism Gets Wrong-CriterionCast.com
- ^ Cinema Scope-Trash Humping on "Vulgar Auteurism"
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Foundas, Scott. "'Pompeii' doesn't suck: Paul W.S. Anderson and Vulgar Auteurism". Variety.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Labuza, Peter. "Expressive Esoterica in the 21st Century—Or: What Is Vulgar Auteurism?". LabuzaMovies.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g Brody, Richard. "A Few Thoughts on Vulgar Auteurism". The New Yorker.
- ^ a b c d Singer, Matt. "Some Refined Discussion About Vulgar Auteurism".
- ^ a b Patches, Matt. "The Other Paul Anderson: The Psychotic Action Vision of 'Pompeii' Director Paul W.S. Anderson". Grantland.
- ^ What is Auteurism and How did it Get Here? Part 2 - GoodTrash Media
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism"
- ^ a b Kenigsberg, Ben. "From the Wire: Pinkerton's Notes on Vulgar Auteurism". Indiewire.
- ^ a b Pinkerton, Nick. "BOMBAST #96". SundanceNow. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ a b c d e f Vulgar Auteurism-Film Theory
- ^ Fresh blood: Three Great Directors of Direct-to-Video Action|Balder and Dash|Roger Ebert.com
- ^ The artistic genius of Michael Bay – Macleans.ca
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw Vulgar Auteurism: A Guide Or: The "Mann-Scott-Baysians"-MUBI
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k For Love of the Vulgar-MUBI
- ^ 'Dressed to Kill' and 'The Hunger': So Lethal, So Very Fashionable
- ^ The Golden Age of TV: Rise of the Television Auteur|Facets Features
- ^ Army of Milla: Resident Evil and Modern Auteurism-End of Cinema
- ^ Secret Defense: Roland Emmerich’s “Anonymous” on Notebook|MUBI
- ^ Walter Hill on his EIFF retrospective-The Skinny
- ^ Fast & Furious & Elegant: Justin Lin and the Vulgar Auteurs|Village Voice
- ^ a b Vern Tells It Like It Is: Those Damn Vulgarians-Vern's Reviews on the Films of Cinema
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Back to "Basic" on Notebook|MUBI
- ^ Vulgat Auteurism: Archive
- ^ "Gods of Egypt Director Alex Proyas Hates Film Critics". /Film. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
- ^ 'Dressed to Kill' and 'The Hunger': So Lethal, So Very Fashionable
- ^ Fresh blood: Three Great Directors of Direct-to-Video Action|Balder and Dash|Roger Ebert.com
- ^ a b Smearing the Senses: Tony Scott, Action Painter on Notebook|MUBI
- ^ Tony Scott: A Moving Target—Movement A on Notebook|MUBI
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ It's time to take a serious look at Zack Snyder-Little White Lies
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism: Archive"
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgat Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgat Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgat Auteurism: Archive
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism"
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism: Archive"
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism"
- ^ Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism: Archive"
- ^ "Vulgar Auteurism"
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism: Archive
- ^ Vulgar Auteurism