Auteur theory is an influential form of analysis in film studies that emphasizes an individual filmmaker’s (usually the director’s) stylistic impact on both films and the art form as a whole. This framework positions filmmakers as authors (the theory takes its name from the French word for author). In Monsters, Dederer examines several figures widely considered to be auteurs, including Roman Polanski and Woody Allen. She finds homology between the idea of an auteur and the idea of a genius, both of which invest artists (typically male artists) with a sort of mystical, creative authority.

Genius is a label frequently applied to influential artists that Dederer endeavors to define in Chapter 5. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “extraordinary intellectual power especially as manifested in creative activity,” Dederer posits that the label is frequently used as a way to excuse artists’ problematic behaviors. She argues that the idea of genius is unavoidably tied to notions of ruthless masculinity, having been consistently used to describe figures such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and contemporary male rockstars. The gendered nature of the term is central to Dederer’s feminist analysis, highlighting