The Death of the Author

During the recent CoP seminar we took a look at the text called The Death of the Author, by Roland Barthes. It questions who the real author of the text is and the readers role within reading the text. Not even text specifically, it can be anything from a drawing to a play, or rather relevantly animation. Basically anything created by one person and can be read by another. "The Author is thought to nourish the book, which is to say that he exists before it, thinks, offers, lives for it, is in the same relation of antecedence to his work as a father to his child" (Barthes, 1968). This means that it is often assumed that the author is to its creation as a father to a child, and can claim creation upon it. However Barthes argues that this is not true, and the idea of authorship needs to be rethought, because a creation is a mere manifestation of a conscious mind regurgitating its beliefs, surroundings, languages, ideas, cultures,philosophies. So the self proclaimed authors are just borrowing ideas from something or someone they already know.

 For example, in animation, the animator would be considered the mastermind behind the creation, however the animator just manipulated tools or software that was already invented by someone else, and telling a story where bits and pieces are put together from all sorts of different experiences and research, creating something that might be new and unseen. So when we read into a piece of work, we tend to focus on the authors beliefs and ideas, however the truth is their ideas and beliefs belong to no one in particular. That being said, if we shouldn't be looking at the author, then were should we look?  ‘Once the Author is removed, the claim to decipher the text becomes quite futile’ Barthes. R (1997) meaning that every reader interprets the text in his own way, therefore creating an author from with himself. The meaning of a creation is alive only when it is interpreted, and through the lens of every bodies different belief systems and ideas there is infinite ways to interpret everything so there for ‘ A text’s unity lies not in its origin but in its destination’ Barthes. R (1997). However in a capitalism driven society there has to be a figurehead for any creation in order for it to be successful, so that it can be branded and merchandised. A good example would be Pixar. Some might say that John Lasseter the chief creative officer of Pixar is the visionary who makes all these beautiful stories like Toy Story or Bugs Life to come to life and if it weren't for him they probably would have not been created. However behind every Pixar movie there is hundreds of creatives responsible, storyboard artists, animators, software engineers, scriptwriters and such. Every movie is a collaborative effort and the credit should not go to one person. But it does, because people need award ceremonies and someone to worship. And the industry needs something to sell. This subject is touched on the Netflix series Bojack Horseman, where a has-been Hollywood star decides to publish an autobiography written by a ghost writer. Basically the entertainment industry recognizes the need of the consumer and provides the solution, which in this case would be a relateble social figure who was once been worshiped and glorified but appears to be like any other human being- flawed. And since the celebrity has no talent for writing the ghostwriter does everything for him without taking any credit. So in this case when people are looking to the author for answers they could not be any further from the truth. "The figure of the author implied a totalitarian control over creative activity and seemed an essential ingredient of high art." 1996 Rock M. Which means the author overlooked the entire process and made sure that it represented his or her name exactly as envisioned and is consistent within its work. So if a person sees that there is a new Pixar movie out, they are going to buy tickets and see it because "it's by Pixar, it has to be good".
To conclude, every piece of work or creation we read comes from an author within us, and we interpret everything in our own way, there is really no need for the author, there is only the need for a reader. But nowadays in order to be successful in the industry, ones work and therefore ones name has to sell, so that there would always be readers keeping the creation alive.

Rock. M (1996, 'The Design of the Author', Eye No. 2)
Barthes. R (1968, 'The Death of the Author', London, Fontana.)