ABSTRACT
The convention of acknowledging individual authorship is widespread throughout mass media. Auteurism remained a preferred theory of film authorship in some quarters. Literary and cultural theorists also interrogated the role of the author. Historical institutional racism plays a role in the underrepresentation of people of color throughout media industries. The concept of authorship and authorship theory are tools that can illuminate the dynamics of conditions of production, the extent of creative sovereignty, the legal rights of authors, and the marketing strategies of industry. The designation of authorship through the protective mechanism of intellectual property law has implications for creative control and economic gain. Changing authorship practices in different media require new theoretical models. Lev Manovich has shown as much, noting that interactivity, remixing, sampling, and other innovations complicate and extend the definition of authorship. In some media, some creative artists seemed as willing as literary and film critics to renounce traditional forms of authorship.
