Creative or Marketing Genius

Advertising is an ambiguous space because of its potential for a broad reach, undeniable abode of talent, and unidentified authorship. Advertisements can be successful because of slogans, such as "Built Ford Tough," marker, such as the gecko, endorsement, such as the celebrities wearning the milk mustache, mnemonic abilities, such as the sing-a-long commercials of the free credit reports, satiric essence, such as the identity theft commericals, its biting poignance, such as "Love shouldn't hurt" or "Identity: it takes a lifetime to build, but only a second to lose," or just for its movie-like execution of conveying a message, such as most SuperBowl ads. In general, everyone knows the company being advertised for, though occassionally ads leave you wondering, "what was that about" with no real understanding of what you saw or who wanted you to see it. Some advertisements are simply brilliant, and at least leave me wondering "wow, who thought that up?" Someone knows. The company of the ad, such as Ford or Geiko, hired a particular advertising agency to represent them, who in turn gave the account to a group of psychosocio analysts, who in turn toss around ideas to match the company's interest, execute an idea with the aid of typically in-house writers, researchers, graphic artists, and so on, and then rely on focus groups and marketing space (e.g., billboards, television) to ensure the reach of their marketing strategy. So, somewhere someone knows the one person or group who came up with a brilliant, national scheme; but the public does not, unless they attend advertising award ceremonies or do extensive "homework" on the subject. The marketing agency as a whole does not even put their name on the product, just the recipient or hiring company/organization. The only accredited "author" is the agency advertised, not the "creative genius." Often times this is accepted because of the inherent services-rendered characteristic of the situation, however unjust for the curious on-looker who wants a name.

Authored

Find something authored.... Well, as a literature student and creative writer, I place very high standards on literary works to determine if they are worthy pieces of publication. Though the ideas of high art are often mocked in contemporary society, I still subscribe to them. Such work, I believe, should follow particular rules of grammar and composition to assist the myriad of ideas, perspectives, and emotions the author attempts to blend into some useful purpose, whether escape, satire, or what have you, that reaches an intended audience. With great ease, I call such a sculptor "an author" and the work "authored" despite the understood tampering that occurs throughout publishing phases and the undeniable influences of society onto the writer during a moment of creation. But, even this concrete sample of authoring turns murky when various backstories are ascribed to it. For example, the story, setting, and characters already exist in a slightly varied form...this easily labeled "authored work" now has two authors because our author is a sequel writer. The original premise of the story may not be his/hers, but the path that those formed characters take are new, therefore changing the characters and plot along the way. How much of our writer is the author? To what extent is this well-defined literary work now worthy of publication? I think our writer is the author of those characters in that place, time, and existence, partly because I find it difficult to offer an entire world (fictional as it may be) to one author while simultaneously denying any other writer to coexist in that space. And, if the work offers a masterfully outlined route (devised by purposeful diction, syntax, imagery, etc.) on which a reader may engage with the setting, characters, or storyline, then it is worthy enough.

Author and "Author"

Generally speaking, there is a separation, as there should be, between the one authoring a work and the persona that sneaks into the work, however conscious or unconscious. There is a time and place for the author to place his/her entire self into the work explicitly (such as with autobiographies) and to purposely constrain him-/herself from allowing even shreads of the self to implicitly enter the work (such as with technical writing). I believe the true blend of Hitchcock and "Hitchcock" scenarios is in fiction writing/production, where the man's style and experiences influence the story as does the hype or image created by "the industry."
Also, although intentionality has eluded many as to its importance, its usefulness may be evident in this conversation. Some stories are more powerful or gain larger reception Author and "Author" are less defined. A quick example of this is the film 8 Mile, where most of the excitment about the movie came from talk of it being a fairly accurate biography of Eminem, though Eminem never endorsed the movie as biographical. Having the lines blurred, the movie gained an audience that might not have been there. In other cases, the separation gives the author greater credibility because of a perceived objectivity towards the subject matter of the work.

Institutional Influence in the Traditional Author/Writer World

Unfortunately, most authors do not have the means, and perhaps the desire, to create, edit, format, publish, distribute, and promote their own works. Therefore, they are dependent upon publishing and marketing institutions to author in a sense. This raises a few poignant questions or thoughts. First of all, the act of authorship should at least minimally exist with the creator without having to have these other institutions to make him/her an author, which interesting enough is seldom the case. Secondly, the institution is essentially a particular group of readers. When editors, publicists, and such read manuscripts, they become readers. Now, the role of readers in shaping a story has received great attention because some question if the reader is not in fact a partial author. Theory aside, it is often times difficult to separate a social consciousness and psychological impact of text upon a reader. The story changes when it enters the mind of a reader; and, aspects of a story or characters resonate differently with different people. Therefore, the reader has become an author of sorts. Thirdly, just as the reader exists in a world of a certain social climate, so does the text. The institution can mold a text. The clearest example of this is theater and film, a medium which can dictate what types of work will be or need to be produced, influencing the writer, playwright, or screenwriter accordingly. Through all of these possibilities and perspectives, the institution is a key element of authorship.

Technology

Technological advances have allowed for great change and opportunity for authors, which seem to generally go unnoticed. Technology determines our understanding of authorship and ownership in some realms, but not in others. For example, often directors are given the benefits of authorship in film and broadcasters in radio and news to some degree at an equal or greater level than the writers of words or artist of graphics, or other "traditional" authors.
In another way, technology provides the space for work to be created. For example, individuals can produce their own music and post it on the Internet for public showing. Similarly, writers can create stories with multiple plot threads, in which readers click on the plot lines they want the story to have and the endings they prefer. In summation, technology creates opportunity for more authors, while raising more complex questions about who is the author.

My authorship

This blog is my page because I have created it. The influences of the blogger webdesign and guidelines of various posts I must comment upon is merely background noise. Because my thoughts of topics were not influenced, just merely the topics themselves. And, though the design of the page does reflect my sense of self in many ways (i.e., italics to imitate letter writing, harbor template to demonstrate my deep ties to the water and shore, the ability to move my list of influences above thoughts as homage to the "greats" and conscious hierachical placement of myself under them, and lastly the coloring to echo a personal favoring towards purples and teals), the content is most significant.

Those who inspire, those I adore

As a reader, a writer, and a student of the written word, I have spent countless hours enjoying and analyzing stories. I, as many others, agree that there is no "new" idea. But, there is new expression, new voices, new vocabularies, and new spins on those old stories. These are the elements for which I look with anticipation in reading. When many underline unfamiliar words or mark important plot and character passages, I highlight beautiful ones that may hold no higher significance. Therefore, my favorite authors are a boundless list of obscure and celebrated names, who happened at least for a time to express something in a way that captivated me, emotionally, intellectually, or aesthetically. These men and women are authors not because they put words on a page or a copyright symbol by their name, though I am discounting those definitions, but because they have some mastery of not only content understanding, but of expression that allows them to convey information or stories more effectively or brilliantly than others, however subjective that label of author may then be.