The Death of the ‘Authorlessness Theory’? Essay -- Essays Papers

The Death of the ‘Authorlessness Theory’? Let’s face it. Can one fully buy into Roland Barthes’ claim that â€Å"The birth of the reader must be at the cost of the death of the Author†? (172). Even if â€Å"it is language which speaks, not the author† (168), an author is responsible for the creation of a unique sequence of words in a novel, a poem or an article. The canvas on which freeplaying signifiers paint themselves seems so vast to Barthes that â€Å"the writer can only imitate a gesture that is always anterior, never original† (170). His claim, when taken at face value, is equivalent to saying that since paint exists, there can be no Painter. But it would be a faux pas give his idea such a naà ¯ve reading—a reading strictly limited to written texts. When applied to projects such as Group art, music and film, his theory gains greater validity. Three such works that illustrate the complexities of authorship are Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party (1979), Gr am Parsons’ second solo album, Grievous Angel (1974), and the 1939 MGM film version of The Wizard of Oz. Adding to Barthes’ idea proposed in â€Å"The Death of the Author† will be discussions of Michel Foucault’s â€Å"What is the Author?† and Andrew Sarris’ auteur theory to understand the complexities of claiming authorship. These examples will show that the Author is a construct that might not disappear as quickly as Barthes and Foucault had anticipated. A discussion of The Dinner Party group project is an excellent starting point to explore definitions of â€Å"The Author† and authority. First, to what extent can fine art be authored (or rather, can a non-text be authored)? Second, who should receive credit? A simple dictionary definition of â€Å"author† will contain ... ...e of MGM—and the Miracle of Production #1060. Special 60th Ann. ed. New York: Hyperion, 1998. Jones, Amelia. â€Å"Sexual Politics: Feminist Strategies, Feminist Conflicts, Feminist Histories.† Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party in Feminist Art History. Ed. Amelia Jones. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. 20-38. - - - . â€Å"The ‘Sexual Politics’ of The Dinner Party: A Critical Context.† Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party in Feminist Art History. Ed. Amelia Jones. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. 82-118. MacDonald, Ian. Revolution in the Head: The Beatles’ Records and the Sixties. Rev. ed. London: Pimlico, 1998. Rushdie, Salman. The Wizard of Oz. London: BFI Publishing, 1992. Sarris, Andrew. The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996.