Wollen Article

In his article, "From Signs and Meaning in the Cinema," author Peter Wollen discusses the progression of auteur theory in international film discourse. He does so, especially, by emphasizing the career of Howard Hawks, an American auteur from the 1930's to the 1960's. Hawk's seperated his films into two seperate categories, the drama and the comedy. "[His] dramas show the mastery of man over nature, over women, over the animal and childish; the comedies show his humiliation." Hawks, as a result from his repetition of motifs, Hawks became considered as an auteur during his a career, a filmmaker whose works were considered to be masterpieces. What I found most interesting about this article, however, was the discussion of the early development of auteur theory. Wollen makes it seem as if American filmmakers were only considered by their peers due to a lucky coincedence of two seperate factors. The first was the history of France. France had banned American films during the Vichy governemnt era. After the war, however, American films flooded the market with more emotional impact than most films, thus taking advantage of the weakened spirit of France. On top of this, a cine-phile club had sprung up in France, which sought to analyze films. This club eventually gave American filmmakers the time of day they deserved, and ultimately led to the appreciation of works which otherwise would not have been.