Clockers and Chi-Raq

“Clockers”

The film “Clockers” is an American crime drama, directed by Spike Lee. This film entails a Brooklyn housing project, with a group of clockers- street- level drug dealers- who sell drugs for Rodney Little, a local drug lord. Rodney tells Ronald "Strike" Dunham, one of his lead clockers, that another dealer, Darryl Adams, is stealing from him and that he wants Strike to kill him. Strike then meets with his brother, Victor, and tries to persuade Victor to kill Adams. Homicide detectives Rocco Klein and Larry Mazilli, riding to the scene of Adams' murder, receive a phone call from another detective who says a man has confessed at a local church to killing Adams. Overall, Lee goes into depth with this story and how his style of interpretation and production plays a role in his authorial production. Within this film adaptation, Lee makes the movie his own, as well as following the original story.

“Chi Raq”

In this film adaptation, Spike Lee again directs a film like Clockers. We know this because both movies incorporate gang violence and some type of violence throughout each film. This film shows a war rage between two rival gangs: the Spartans, led by rapper/gang leader Demetrius Dupree, nicknamed "Chi-Raq" and the Trojans, led by gang lord Cyclops. Demetrius's lover, Lysistrata, grows disillusioned after several outbursts of violence near her, including a shootout at Demetrius's concert, an arson attack at their home while the two are having sex and a young girl, Patti, being accidentally killed in a gang shooting, revealed as the daughter of Irene. Now within this film, there is a rival between two gangs while in Clockers, the “battle” was between a gang member and the head of the gang. However, we see a lot of similarities in each film adaptation because the plot is remarkably similar; along with how each gang is portrayed and directed.

How we define cinematic authorship

To begin, there is a theory about cinematic authorship. This theory is, the auteur theory, which was derived from Astruc's elucidation of the concept of caméra-stylo (“camera-pen”), holds that the director, who oversees all audio and visual elements of the motion picture, is more to be considered the “author” of the movie than is the writer of the screenplay. Moreover, what this means is that the director and the screen writer are at a “battle” of who is the author of the film, and how each skill plays a role in the entirety of the film. Now, in my opinion the person who created the original piece is the main “author.” However, there is a disconnect between the director and screenwriter, but both works simultaneously to create a film that conveys a message and overall, bring the film to life. According to David Mullich, of Plexxie blogs, he states “The Screenwriter writes the film's script. Screenwriters may also come up with the film's concept or story, although often screenwriters are hired to write a script based on the producer or director's concept or story. The Director manages the shooting of the film script, including staging scenes and directing actors. Because directors control the film's creative vision, they also have a key role in casting, production design, and other creative aspects of film production. Some directors are involved with script rewrites before the shoot begins and editing after the shoot has ended. (Mullich)” Now, Mullich wanted to show a comparison between both and let the readers decide our opinions on cinematic authorship. So, that is exactly what I will describe to you guys. First off, when making a film it takes a lot of dedication from everyone, the actors, the directors, the producers... ETC. But, like I mentioned before, the person who created the story is the main author, but regarding who the author is between the two, it is the director. I feel this way because they are the ones who create scenes and direct the actors in the right direction. We see their work on screen and how they chose to display the screenwriters' words.

How can we detect it in works of art on film?

In this section, I would like to give examples of how we can detect different directors' style of work in various movies. To start with, I am describing the similarities between the films Thor and the live version of Cinderella and how Kenneth Branagh, the director, showed his stylistic choices in each film. In the film Thor, Thor is a mystical God of thunder and has his hammer- the Mjollnir- which gives him power that only a worthy person can possess. In similarity, in the film Cinderella, her fairy godmother has a magical wand that can transform things into beauty, along with many other things. In both movies, there is the element of magic and being able to transform something. These similarities come from Branagh and his stylistic choices in determining how and what he wants the actors to do. This is his choice and his way of bringing the story together and to life.

Is the role of the author the same in cinema as it is in other media?

This is a tricky question because there are so many diverse types of things that involve having an author. For example, the author of a book versus the author of a film, compared to a blog, or research entry. There are so many distinct types of authors, so no the role of an author in cinema is different from any other type of author. My reasoning is that a film is collaborative work between many people; however, we see the way the director wants us to view the story. This declares that we see the directors' stylistic choices, rendering him/ her the author.

Is a film primarily the work of one person as the auteurists would have us believe or is it a collaborative effort?

As I have mentioned before, film is primarily collaborative and involves many people to bring the film to life. When making a film, there are numerous people that give their insight and opinions on how a movie should be produced and what the viewers would want to watch. In contrast, the director receives the credit because they are the ones who make the big decisions about the scenery and how the actors will perform. So, this is an exceedingly subjective question because no matter how you look at it, you will be offending someone based on how you believe a film works. These two things are constantly in conflict with one another because everyone has differing opinions, therefore, who is right in this situation.