The Development of Christopher Nolan's Auteur Persona
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Discourses of Cinematic Culture and the Hollywood Director: The Development of Christopher Nolan’s Auteur Persona Erin Elizabeth Hill-Parks A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Modern Languages at Newcastle University June 2010 Abstract This thesis examines how the concept of the auteur functions in contemporary Hollywood film industry and popular culture through a consideration of extra-textual components of cinematic discourse. By analysing a director’s films along with the industrial and cultural factors surrounding those films, a method for understanding contemporary auteurism in Hollywood is presented. Case study Christopher Nolan has earned a reputation as a director who produces films which are critical and popular successes and also reveal stylistic and thematic consistency across genre and industrial contexts. Building on ideas from Michel Foucault and Timothy Corrigan, this thesis adapts the ideas of the author function and the commercial auteur to examine how Nolan’s auteur persona is developed and used by industry and audiences in understanding his films. Drawing on a hybrid theoretical framework incorporating auteur, star, and reception studies as well as post-structuralist theories on authorship, this thesis analyses how Nolan’s auteur persona is constructed across a range of texts, but especially through DVD extras (official discourse), professional reviews (critical discourse), and responses from the general public (audience discourse). The analysis exposes the mechanisms within the discursive surround which create a distinct auteur persona that helps differentiate Nolan and his films in the marketplace. The research demonstrates that the auteur is an enduring and dynamic concept that is prevalent through all aspects of film culture including in the films, but also from production to critical reviews to audience discussion. Furthermore, due to technological changes, audience discourse plays an increasingly active role in shaping the auteur persona, often adapting the auteur concept to negotiate meanings for films. Ultimately the auteur persona acts as a way to understand not only how the auteur concept functions in cinema to organise economic, artistic, and cultural conditions, but also how film knowledge is developed intertextually in contemporary culture by varied audiences. i Acknowledgements As with any work, this research happened in a specific context and with the help of many people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors Dr Ann Davies and Dr Sarah Leahy for their many helpful comments and suggestions throughout the entire process. Thank you also to the faculty and staff of the School of Modern Languages, especially Dr Myriem El Maizi, Dr Teresa Ludden, Dr Beate Müller, Dr Nick Morgan, and Professor Rosaleen Howard for your additional comments and support. I appreciate the time given to me by both Dr Stephanie Lawler and Peter Krämer for discussions which helped shape concepts within the research. Additionally, thank you to Dr Melanie Bell and Professor Mark Jancovich for your insightful and instructive comments. An enthusiastic thank you goes to Alicia Cresswell, whose support and conversation have helped enormously in the PhD and beyond. More people than can be named here have helped with emotional and intellectual support. This includes friends near, such as Jane, Raksha, and Lucy, and far, such as Chris and Marisa. Thank you for your support. A very large thank you to my fellow film researcher Louise Anderson for being there to talk and always helping to put things in perspective. As always, thank you to my family including Ann and David, Shari, Stephanie and most especially my mom and dad. Finally, zikomo kwambiri to Dave for your past, present, and future support. None of this would have been accomplished without you. ii Table of Contents ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................................I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................ II TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................III LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ...........................................................................................................V CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 – THE AIM OF INVESTIGATING THE AUTEUR PERSONA ......................................................................... 6 1.2 – WHY STUDY CHRISTOPHER NOLAN................................................................................................... 7 1.3 – THE MULTIPLE LEVELS OF CINEMATIC DISCOURSE......................................................................... 13 1.4 – STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS.............................................................................................................. 16 CHAPTER TWO: EXAMINING DIRECTORS OUTSIDE OF THE TEXT ...................................... 19 2.1 – THE ORIGINS AND EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTEUR CONCEPT ............................................. 20 2.2 – THE AUTEUR IN HOLLYWOOD ......................................................................................................... 24 2.2.1 – The Rise of the Contemporary Blockbuster Film .................................................................... 28 2.2.2 – American Independent Cinema............................................................................................... 30 2.3 – NEW THEORETICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AUTEUR STUDIES .............................................................. 32 2.3.1 – The Intertextual and the Auteur .............................................................................................. 39 2.3.2 – Contemporary Auteur Studies................................................................................................. 42 2.3.3 – The Rise of the Auteur-Star..................................................................................................... 48 2.4 – FRAMEWORK FOR THE RESEARCH: FORMING AN INTERTEXTUAL METHOD ..................................... 49 2.5 – GENRE STUDIES, AUTEURISM, AND AUDIENCE ................................................................................ 59 2.6 – CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER THREE: CONSTRUCTING AN AUTEUR PERSONA THROUGH FILMS AND OFFICIAL DISCOURSE .......................................................................................................................... 64 3.1 - FOUNDATIONS OF THE AUTEUR PERSONA WITHIN FILMS................................................................. 66 3.1.1 – Reality and Superheroes: Batman Begins and The Dark Knight............................................ 69 3.1.2 – Facing Yourself: Insomnia and The Prestige.......................................................................... 77 3.1.3 – Remembering the Beginning: Following and Memento ......................................................... 83 3.2 – CREATION OF THE AUTEUR PERSONA IN CONTEMPORARY HOLLYWOOD ........................................ 88 3.3 – THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AUTEUR PERSONA THROUGH DVDS ................................................... 92 3.4 – CREATING A HYBRID TEXT: DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY ................................................................ 96 3.5 – LOOKING BEHIND THE SCENES: FURTHER DVD EXTRAS WITH NOLAN......................................... 114 3.6 – CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................. 125 CHAPTER FOUR: DEVELOPMENT AND DISSEMINATION OF THE AUTEUR PERSONA THROUGH CRITICAL DISCOURSE .................................................................................................. 127 4.1 – THE ROLE OF CRITICAL DISCOURSE IN THE AUTEUR CONCEPT ..................................................... 130 4.2 – METHOD OF ANALYSIS AND SELECTION OF SOURCES.................................................................... 135 4.2.1 – Following.............................................................................................................................. 140 4.2.2 – Memento................................................................................................................................ 144 4.2.3 – Insomnia................................................................................................................................ 150 4.2.4 – Batman Begins ...................................................................................................................... 155 4.2.5 – The Prestige .......................................................................................................................... 163 4.2.6 – The Dark Knight ................................................................................................................... 169 4.4 – CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................. 178 iii CHPATER FIVE: APPROPRIATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE AUTEUR IN AUDIENCE DISCOURSE .....................................................................................................................