10 votes

Vulgar auteurism: a never ending cycle

This will be an informal essay without citations or links. Basically, source: just trust me bro.

In the 2010s, a group of online film writers decided to reevaluate blockbuster filmmakers. This was supposed to be our modern Cahiers du Cinema, the film critics who brought us The French New Wave. They re-evaluated Hollywood directors from the 40s and 50s, filmmakers who were thought of only as making commercial entertainment. They're the reason that filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and Nicolas Ray are now held in high esteem. They're also the reason why Citizen Kane is so revered today.

Critics from The Village Voice and The A.V. Club became proponents of this "new" auteur theory. Vulgar auteurism, which focused on a type of broad filmmaking distinguishing itself from prestige auteurs. It brought up filmmakers such as Michael Mann, who already had acclaim contemporarily, into the realm of one of the great filmmakers. It also brought up filmmakers that weren't acclaimed during their time, such as Tony Scott, who is now held in high regard and in some cases held in higher regard than his more prestige-oriented brother, Ridley Scott.

As time has gone on, this now applies to filmmakers such as Michael Bay, who has made a critical comeback after his Transformers movies with his 2022 film Ambulance, and M. Night Shyamalan, who started losing prestige throughout the 21st century. Movies from Shyamalan, such as The Village, The Happening, and After Earth are now held in higher regard than they were back during their releases.

Now that I have that out of the way, I wanted to bring up something as it's happening. While certain popcorn movies are now acclaimed (John Wick: Chapter 4 and Top Gun: Maverick being recent examples), there are still directors that are currently not being regarded highly that will likely meet a fate similar to Bay, Shyamalan, and Scott. I'm thinking of David Leitch, who received mixed-negative reception with his film Bullet Train while receiving positive albeit tepid reception with his follow-up The Fall Guy. Leitch is an auteur, much like Bay. His work on Deadpool 2 feels like him, even his film Hobbs and Shaw feels different than the other Fast and Furious franchise (although not to the same degree). Bullet Train was a relative box office hit at the time, but it's reached cult-classic status. Most people will probably know what movie you're talking about if you bring it up. It has a large presence on TikTok and other social media platforms. It simply lives in the culture. It contains the highly stylized, technically proficient action of films from Bay and Scott that were not well-liked by critics at the time. The same 20 and 30-something-year-olds who love Shyamalan today but despise Leitch will be in for a shock in ten years' time when the 20-something year olds who grew up with Bullet Train hold it in high regard like these people do Bad Boys II or Pain and Gain.

Another filmmaker who falls into this is Adam McKay. Much like Shyamalan, McKay received immense acclaim and prestige for his film The Big Short. Even films that weren't so acclaimed by critics at the time, such as Step-Brothers and The Other Guys, are held in high regard today as comedy masterpieces. So, what then of his critical reception on his last two films, Vice and Don't Look Up. Yes, they received Best Picture nominations, but they have become punching bags for these same film critics who loved Shyamalan's Trap. Don't Look Up specifically gets considered a terrible film. These aren't action films, so why am I bringing it up? McKay exhibits a loud and vulgar style in these films. He breaks the fourth wall constantly, interrupts the flow of scenes with freeze frames and insert shots. The editing in his films feels chaotic. So while this loud and vulgar style is accepted with filmmakers such as Scott, it seems like it's a bridge too far here. So I would not be surprised if McKay and Don't Look Up, which was one of the most-watched films on Netflix of all time, meet a similar reassessment period as the other films I've mentioned.

I didn't have much of a point to this other than to notice this pattern, even from critics and film lovers who seem to hold the theory to heart. And for some reason can't notice what's in front of them.

7 comments

  1. [6]
    Oodelally
    Link
    Wait, by who? I don't think I've ever seen anyone complain about it. I understand that your source is trust me, bro, but I've empirically never seen this.

    Don't Look Up specifically gets considered a terrible film

    Wait, by who? I don't think I've ever seen anyone complain about it.

    I understand that your source is trust me, bro, but I've empirically never seen this.

    8 votes
    1. Macha
      Link Parent
      Huh, my social group largely agree with its message but it still gets mocked for having all the subtlety of a brick wall

      Huh, my social group largely agree with its message but it still gets mocked for having all the subtlety of a brick wall

      10 votes
    2. PelagiusSeptim
      Link Parent
      Personally, in film discussion groups I was a part of at that time, there were a ton of people who didn't care for it. (Also, it's not super important, but in this context you should say...

      Personally, in film discussion groups I was a part of at that time, there were a ton of people who didn't care for it. (Also, it's not super important, but in this context you should say anecdotally rather than empirically)

      5 votes
    3. [3]
      cloud_loud
      Link Parent
      55% on RT was also featured on many Worst of 2021 lists. Even had an article written in 2023 about it being bad. As with Bullet Train, there’s more of a following for it now with people saying...

      55% on RT was also featured on many Worst of 2021 lists. Even had an article written in 2023 about it being bad.

      As with Bullet Train, there’s more of a following for it now with people saying we’re just living it out. But the critics that hated it at the time still do. I’ve seen tweets as recently as this year about it being terrible.

      3 votes
      1. [2]
        Oodelally
        Link Parent
        78% audience score though. As I said, I've never actually talked to people personally that didn't like it.

        78% audience score though. As I said, I've never actually talked to people personally that didn't like it.

        4 votes
        1. cloud_loud
          Link Parent
          Yeah and I mentioned its popularity on Netflix. Tony Scott also made box office hits that were well liked although not critically acclaimed at the time. In critic circles he was disregarded as a...

          Yeah and I mentioned its popularity on Netflix. Tony Scott also made box office hits that were well liked although not critically acclaimed at the time. In critic circles he was disregarded as a popcorn director. As was Michael Bay.

          3 votes
  2. ShamedSalmon
    (edited )
    Link
    If I may, I'd like to propose some edits to your opening paragraph: With that aside, I think you have a wonderful start to an essay! You've done a fabulous job of presenting several directors and...

    If I may, I'd like to propose some edits to your opening paragraph:

    A little over a decade ago, a group of online film reviewers decided to reevaluate blockbuster filmmakers. Critics from The Village Voice and The A.V. Club became proponents of a "new" auteur theory. This was supposed to be our modern Cahiers du Cinema magazine, the film critics who brought us The French New Wave, re-evaluating Hollywood directors and filmmakers from the 40s and 50s who were otherwise thought of primarily as making commercial entertainment. Cahiers du Cinema was a significant contributor to why filmmakers like Alfred Hitchcock, Howard Hawks, and Nicolas Ray are now held in high esteem. They also played an instrumental role in why Citizen Kane is so revered to this day.

    The 2010s brought the rise of Vulgar Auteurism, which focused on a type of broad filmmaking that distinguished itself from prestige auteurs. It brought up filmmakers such as...

    With that aside, I think you have a wonderful start to an essay! You've done a fabulous job of presenting several directors and examples of their works, but I think it deserves a part two, where you summarize in one sentence what the definition of vulgarity is in this context, and then tie in the role and influence of critics, as mentioned in your opening paragraph.

    I think there is a wonderful opportunity to draw allusions between Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night's effect on Disco in the 1970s zeitgeist, and Fast & Furious & Elegant: Justin Lin and the Vulgar Auteurs' effect on modern film review.

    Finally, I just want to encourage you to continue to engage with film through a critical lens. Clearly, you are a cinephile, sharp and highly observant! I absolutely adore reading write-ups like this and hope with earnest that you post some in-depth film reviews on here in the future. Fantastic work!!

    EDIT: I'm reading through some of your weekly film reviews now. Good stuff!

    4 votes