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An auteur is defined as “a film director who has a lot of influence on the making of their films, so they can be considered their author”- Cambridge dictionary. Examples of true auteurs in the modern Hollywood landscape are little, however a prominent example of a modern auteur who has made their way into the Hollywood spotlight is Guillermo Del Toro. With his recent winnings of two Oscars at the 90th academy awards for Best Picture and Best Director, both for The Shape of Water, it is important to look back on his previous works to consider and analyze how his ability to deliver a meaningful experience through the codes and conventions used in his films.
If not The Shape of Water the film Del Toro is most well known for would be his 2007 Spanish language drama/horror Pan’s Labyrinth. The film received two Oscar nominations and is praised for its practical effects. Comparing Pan’s Labyrinth with one of Del Toro’s more recent films: the 2015 gothic horror/romance Crimson Peak, Del Toro’s repeated use of symbolic codes such as color and mise en scene, technical codes like lighting, and genre conventions to show that humans are often far more evil than the supernatural become obvious.
[image: Related image][image: Image result for pan's labyrinth pale man]The use of color and lighting in Del Toro’s films often go hand in hand, especially so in his horror films.
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Del Toro uses red, black and gold often in scenes that feature the more otherworldly or supernatural aspects of his films, as shown in the Pale Man’s feast room in Pan’s Labyrinth or the frequently blood covered ghosts shown in Crimson Peak.
The colors red and black in horror films are commonly associated with death or violence, as Del Toro applies these colors to the supernatural elements of the worlds he creates (supernatural elements that are at first viewed as evil), when the film reaches its dramatic climax it is revealed that the supernatural creatures of the film are often more of a helping force than a hindrance. Due to Del Toro’s repeated subversion of symbolic codes in coordination with the narrative of his films it allows the audience to consider that humans can be far more evil than any otherworldly entity. Figure 2 Edith's encounter with a ghost. Crimson Peak (2015)
Lighting in Del Toro’s films continues to subvert the traditional use of horror lighting. While other horror directors would frame a monster or source of terror in darkness and use close up shots to avoid revealing too much and playing into the audience’s fear of the unknown. Del Toro places creatures of the night well in view of the audience with full lighting and wide/long establishing shots to give the creatures a sense of reality and ground them on the same level as the human villains.
The mise en scene of Del Toro’s films, more specifically the setting and costuming of his scenes and characters have some reoccurring themes that continue to show his skill at crafting media art. The appearance of clockwork as a background setting and a major part of the plot is prevalent in Del Toro’s work. Not only is it an uncommon style but it signifies an evil human presence in the film. The fiendishly evil Captain Vidal from Pan’s Labyrinth has his office decorated with many gears and pendulums to give the feel that the scene takes place inside a giant clock.
The long shots of the broken grandfather clock in Crimson Peak show the beginnings of Lucile and Thomas’ plans. In the first Hellboy film while the titular character himself is not human, when facing a human foe: Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, the presence of clockwork in the villain’s lair and his body allows Del Toro to continue the theme of humans having the capability of true evil.
[image: Image result for crimson peak mansion]Eyes play a big role in signifying the supernatural to Del Toro as well as a washing over of the truth. Damaged faces and bloodshot eyes are a characters awakening to the truth, Vidal’s mutilated face by the end of Pan’s Labyrinth, Thomas is stabbed in the face at the climax of Crimson Peak, Jacinto’s bloodshot eye in The Devil’s Backbone and Newt’s bloodshot eye in Pacific Rim after his ‘neural handshake’ with a kaiju.
A snowy setting or shots of snowfall again act as a symbol across Del Toro’s films to signify a gateway to the otherworldly realm (whether metaphorical of physical). Such as the initial public discovery of Hellboy and his battle with the Forest God in Hellboy II, the snow dusted labyrinth that Ofelia explores in Pan’s Labyrinth, or the snow entering the house in Crimson Peak.
Del Toro’s use of the fantastical and traditional supernatural horror to contrast the disgustingly evil acts that humans are capable of committing is the continual theme that Del Toro uses film to convey is obvious across all his films. I hope that Del Toro remains a prominent figure in the Hollywood landscape and continues to produce unforgettable films with an important message. Figure 3 Snowfall in the Allerdale Hall. Crimson Peak (2015)
How an Auteur Applies Codes and Conventions to Create Media Art?. (2024, Feb 14). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/how-an-auteur-applies-codes-and-conventions-to-create-media-art-essay
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