Beginning in the mid-2000s and carrying through the next several years, a small, dedicated group of critics and cinephiles worked at reevaluating certain contemporary Hollywood genre filmmakers whose work had been largely maligned or ignored by both critics and mainstream audiences. This group, termed as “vulgar auteurism,” distinguished directors like Michael Mann and Paul W.S. Anderson for their audacious and unique formal styles, often using digital technologies and imagery. This thesis proposes that the films and filmmakers associated with vulgar auteurism are connected through how they uniquely portray life in the early 21st century using three of Tony Scott’s late-period films: Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu (2006); and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). These films exemplify “post-cinematic affect,” a term used by Steven Shaviro to define how both changes in filmmaking and larger economic shifts have together created new forms of aesthetics for articulating lived experience. This paper also utilizes two areas of focus—postmodernism and neoliberalism—to better understand the sociocultural and economic backgrounds post-cinematic affect derives from. Through close analysis of the three Tony Scott films mentioned above, this thesis demonstrates that the films and directors reappraised by vulgar auteurism provide new critical insights into how we live and move through the early 21st century, examining contemporary cultural and political issues like international terrorism, government surveillance, and financial instability.
","abstract_html":"<p>Beginning in the mid-2000s and carrying through the next several years, a small, dedicated group of critics and cinephiles worked at reevaluating certain contemporary Hollywood genre filmmakers whose work had been largely maligned or ignored by both critics and mainstream audiences. This group, termed as “vulgar auteurism,” distinguished directors like Michael Mann and Paul W.S. Anderson for their audacious and unique formal styles, often using digital technologies and imagery. This thesis proposes that the films and filmmakers associated with vulgar auteurism are connected through how they uniquely portray life in the early 21<sup>st</sup> century using three of Tony Scott’s late-period films: <em>Man on Fire </em>(2004); <em>Déjà Vu </em>(2006); and <em>The Taking of Pelham 123 </em>(2009). These films exemplify “post-cinematic affect,” a term used by Steven Shaviro to define how both changes in filmmaking and larger economic shifts have together created new forms of aesthetics for articulating lived experience. This paper also utilizes two areas of focus—postmodernism and neoliberalism—to better understand the sociocultural and economic backgrounds post-cinematic affect derives from. Through close analysis of the three Tony Scott films mentioned above, this thesis demonstrates that the films and directors reappraised by vulgar auteurism provide new critical insights into how we live and move through the early 21<sup>st</sup> century, examining contemporary cultural and political issues like international terrorism, government surveillance, and financial instability.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cartwright, Ethan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Film Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Nam Lee","Kelli Fuery","Erica Aguero"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:16Z","subjects":["Film and Media Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/16","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Nam Lee","Kelli Fuery","Erica Aguero"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cartwright, Ethan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2023-05-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Film Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Film and Media Studies"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/16"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Beginning in the mid-2000s and carrying through the next several years, a small, dedicated group of critics and cinephiles worked at reevaluating certain contemporary Hollywood genre filmmakers whose work had been largely maligned or ignored by both critics and mainstream audiences. This group, termed as “vulgar auteurism,” distinguished directors like Michael Mann and Paul W.S. Anderson for their audacious and unique formal styles, often using digital technologies and imagery. This thesis proposes that the films and filmmakers associated with vulgar auteurism are connected through how they uniquely portray life in the early 21st century using three of Tony Scott’s late-period films: Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu (2006); and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). These films exemplify “post-cinematic affect,” a term used by Steven Shaviro to define how both changes in filmmaking and larger economic shifts have together created new forms of aesthetics for articulating lived experience. This paper also utilizes two areas of focus—postmodernism and neoliberalism—to better understand the sociocultural and economic backgrounds post-cinematic affect derives from. Through close analysis of the three Tony Scott films mentioned above, this thesis demonstrates that the films and directors reappraised by vulgar auteurism provide new critical insights into how we live and move through the early 21st century, examining contemporary cultural and political issues like international terrorism, government surveillance, and financial instability.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Cartwright, Ethan. Obsessed With the Image: Vulgar Auteurism and Post-Cinematic Affect in the Late Films of Tony Scott. 2021. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000243"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Obsessed With the Image: Vulgar Auteurism and Post-Cinematic Affect in the Late Films of Tony Scott"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Nam Lee","Kelli Fuery","Erica Aguero"],"dc:creator":["Cartwright, Ethan"],"dc:date.available":["2023-05-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Beginning in the mid-2000s and carrying through the next several years, a small, dedicated group of critics and cinephiles worked at reevaluating certain contemporary Hollywood genre filmmakers whose work had been largely maligned or ignored by both critics and mainstream audiences. This group, termed as “vulgar auteurism,” distinguished directors like Michael Mann and Paul W.S. Anderson for their audacious and unique formal styles, often using digital technologies and imagery. This thesis proposes that the films and filmmakers associated with vulgar auteurism are connected through how they uniquely portray life in the early 21st century using three of Tony Scott’s late-period films: Man on Fire (2004); Déjà Vu (2006); and The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009). These films exemplify “post-cinematic affect,” a term used by Steven Shaviro to define how both changes in filmmaking and larger economic shifts have together created new forms of aesthetics for articulating lived experience. This paper also utilizes two areas of focus—postmodernism and neoliberalism—to better understand the sociocultural and economic backgrounds post-cinematic affect derives from. Through close analysis of the three Tony Scott films mentioned above, this thesis demonstrates that the films and directors reappraised by vulgar auteurism provide new critical insights into how we live and move through the early 21st century, examining contemporary cultural and political issues like international terrorism, government surveillance, and financial instability.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/film_studies_theses/16"],"dc:source":["Cartwright, Ethan. Obsessed With the Image: Vulgar Auteurism and Post-Cinematic Affect in the Late Films of Tony Scott. 2021. Chapman University, MA Thesis. Chapman University Digital Commons, https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000243"],"dc:subject":["Film and Media Studies"],"dc:title":["Obsessed With the Image: Vulgar Auteurism and Post-Cinematic Affect in the Late Films of Tony Scott"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Film Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:16Z"}