The birth of the reader must be ransomed by the death of the Author.
- Roland Barthes
It’s a pernicious theory that’s been ruining discussions around art for longer than I’ve been alive. If you want to see a serious and thorough takedown on the concept, I recommend reading Eric Wayne’s article “The Death of the Author” Debunked.
But if you don’t have that kind of time, just watch my video essay. It’s a follow-up to my April Fool’s video, which was a parody of the sorts of dumb fan theories that come about when we put the reader’s perceptions above the author’s intentions.
The free version of the video will be available on the TMFS channel this weekend. It’ll be lightly censored because YouTube’s IP gnomes got riled up about some interview footage, and I’m going to have to bleep out some mild swears. Only paid Substackers get the full version!
Footnotes, sources, and a list of movies from the video essay are below the paywall, but first…
Let’s Chat About Movies
I don’t really do film reviews on TMFS, but if you’re interested in talking about the latest movies or classics you’ve just seen, I’ve created the Too Much Film School subscriber chat. This is a conversation space exclusively for subscribers—kind of like a group chat or live hangout. I’ll post questions and updates, and you can jump into the discussion on the website or in the app—
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