The Auteur Theory

The Auteur Theory, a theory formulated by François Truffaut states the idea that the true author of a film is the director. The Auteur Theory revolves around how the director leaves an implicit mark on the film and because of this cinematic, literary, or thematic signature or motif, they are credited as the author of the film. While there are numerous people involved in the production of a film, with some directors it is truly prominent who can be described as the author of the film such as with Mel Brooks.

Mel Brooks, renown comical director and screenwriter is one instance of the undeniability of the Auteur Theory. Despite Mel Brook’s complete involvement in his films, writing, co-writing, directing, and even starring in many of his films,

Set in the Wild West, “Blazing Saddles” is an innate example of the recognizability of Brooks’s films as a former black railroad worker becomes sheriff of the small town of Rock Ridge. Throughout the film, Brooks challenges the ideology and serious issue of racism with comedy, more specifically satire. This thematic element of satire in the face of discrimination or otherwise is one critical motif in most Mel Brooks films. The black Sheriff, Bart stays vigilant and slowly earns the respect of the townspeople who once discriminated against him as he combats the railroad company he once worked for who wish to raze the town in order to build the railroad through the area. Whilst Mel Brooks most commonly recognized motif is his slapstick comedy, often times you can recognize one of his films by the satire undermining a serious issue or concept, in the case of “Blazing Saddles” this concept happened to be racism. Additionally, another literary motif we can observe in Mel Brooks films is how the protagonist is rarely ever alone in his struggle. In “Blazing Saddles” the co-protagonist is a drunk by the name of Jim, these characters find themselves interlocked in personal and interpersonal conflicts as any other character would, though these issues are often times portrayed in a sarcastic or satirical manner opposed to a dramatic one. Lastly for the literary motifs represented in

Their roles, while not unrealistic are intentionally different, this is portrayed clearly with the role of the executioner in Blazing Saddles, or even the head of the railroad, who despite being a ruthless and shady businessman has an undeniably unconventional way he acts and speaks. In addition to the juxtaposition of characters and their environment, a literary and dramatic motif, characters in Mel Brooks films also commonly have interpersonal conflicts mixed with their personal conflicts, while this is employed in many movies, the characters in Mel Brooks films, especially “Blazing Saddles” in this respect have a unique twist to them as the characters are generally original, so are their dilemmas. Despite being a commonality in most films, this aspect of the interpersonal and personal conflicts of characters can still be used to identify a Mel Brooks film due to the way he directs and writes in original ways. Lastly, there is an undeniable dramatic element that Mel Brooks utilizes in his films, Blazing Saddles particularly, over dramatization. Intentional use of over dramatization can make a movie more entertaining or more comedic, in “Blazing Saddles” and many of his other films he uses over dramatization to lighten the mood in certain