Jean Luc Godard

Why can be Jean-Luc Godard considered an author?
The 1950s film critic magazine, Cahiers du Cinema, revolutionized the film criticism and coined a series of phrases that would give birth to a new wave of movies that did not comply with the industry standards imposed by the major film producing companies. One of those phrases was the “politique des auteurs”. The phrase made a reference on how the authors were often venerated because of the aesthetics of their movies instead of basing their criticism on specific film elements. The idea behind the phrase was addressing the concern regarding how much the American movies and their authors were praised despite working inside the framework Hollywood imposed. Hence, despite these restrictions, the French critics managed to find artistic elements within the films that reflected the personal views of the authors.
Consequently, by establishing that even Hollywood directors could be authors worthy of praising, French critics justified their keen appreciation for certain Hollywood films. Likewise, by praising the artistic qualities of the American filmmakers, the critics in Cahiers du Cinema also criticized their country’s cinema as they considered it had lost all the cinematic qualities they saw in the American films. On the other hand, for the American directors this theory meant little as most of the directors working for the big producing companies regarded themselves as mere craftsmen who made movies, not art. Neverthel…