Auteur Theory In The Film 'The Godfather'

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The Graduate depicts a college graduate from a middle-class, white family, as he rebels from his parents. He refuses to go to graduate school and follow his parents’ lifestyle of materialism and work. His parents base their lives on earning and spending money. They think more about the future, whereas the counterculture is more about experiencing the present. Ben wants happiness and satisfaction, and he tries to obtain that. Ben seems to be alone and helpless throughout most of the film. He’s drifting, as he tells his father in one scene. He doesn’t have a set goal in mind. He’s just floating and hoping that he doesn’t drown. He needs something to fill this void, and then comes Ms. Robinson, but she only fills it momentarily. I feel that …show more content…

This isn’t the most realistic, as there is usually more than one individual working on a film, but the director is considered to be the guiding force. An auteur is one that has a distinct style and is one that can create films that are both commercially and aesthetically pleasing. A good example of an auteur film is The Godfather. Sarris states that an auteur is one that has a that can create both commercially and aesthetically pleasing films, and Coppola transformed a story fit for a low-budget gangster film, into something far more. As a result, The Godfather ends up becoming a successful blockbuster, but it’s also artistic, and reflective of our society. The Godfather caters to both casual and critical audiences. Coppola uses graphic violence to draw in casual viewers, but he draws in critical viewers by having the film become a social critique of society. Auteur films are meant to give us a view of the world. In addition, the film draws parallels between the mafia and the police, by essentially stating that our society is corrupt. The way to rise up in the world and achieve power is through the use of violence, and with power, comes money. Despite this, it doesn’t condemn the mafia, but rather we are given the opportunity to make our decision on who is morally just and who