Yannis Tzioumakis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748618668
- eISBN:
- 9780748670802
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748618668.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This introduction to American independent cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic history of the sector from the early twentieth century to the present and a study of key ...
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This introduction to American independent cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic history of the sector from the early twentieth century to the present and a study of key individual films and film-makers. Readers will develop an understanding of the complex dynamic relations between independent and mainstream American cinema.The main argument revolves around the idea that American independent cinema has developed alongside mainstream Hollywood cinema with institutional, industrial and economic changes in the latter shaping and informing the former. Consequently, the term ‘independent’ has acquired different meanings at different points in the history of American cinema, evolving according to the impact of changing conditions in the American film industry. These various meanings are examined in the course of the book.The book is ordered chronologically, beginning with independent filmmaking in the studio era (examining both top-rank and low-end independent film production), moving to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production for the Hollywood majors as well as exploitation filmmaking) and finishing with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the major independent production and distribution companies and the institutionalisation of independent cinema in the 1990s). Each chapter includes a number of case studies which focus on specific films and/or filmmakers, while a number of independent production and distribution companies are also discussed in detail.Less
This introduction to American independent cinema offers both a comprehensive industrial and economic history of the sector from the early twentieth century to the present and a study of key individual films and film-makers. Readers will develop an understanding of the complex dynamic relations between independent and mainstream American cinema.The main argument revolves around the idea that American independent cinema has developed alongside mainstream Hollywood cinema with institutional, industrial and economic changes in the latter shaping and informing the former. Consequently, the term ‘independent’ has acquired different meanings at different points in the history of American cinema, evolving according to the impact of changing conditions in the American film industry. These various meanings are examined in the course of the book.The book is ordered chronologically, beginning with independent filmmaking in the studio era (examining both top-rank and low-end independent film production), moving to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production for the Hollywood majors as well as exploitation filmmaking) and finishing with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the major independent production and distribution companies and the institutionalisation of independent cinema in the 1990s). Each chapter includes a number of case studies which focus on specific films and/or filmmakers, while a number of independent production and distribution companies are also discussed in detail.
Young-a Park
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804783613
- eISBN:
- 9780804793476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804783613.003.0003
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter examines the emergence of “independent” film and KIFA’s negotiations with newfound contributors of capital (e.g., conglomerates and venture capitalists), the state, and new cultural ...
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This chapter examines the emergence of “independent” film and KIFA’s negotiations with newfound contributors of capital (e.g., conglomerates and venture capitalists), the state, and new cultural venues. New cultural spaces where new political sensibilities were expressed emerged as a result of such negotiations and compromises. This chapter analyzes how activist cultural production and consumption has been reconfigured in the postauthoritarian context. The chapter sets up a backdrop against which a new crop of independent filmmakers and their different narrative strategies emerged. It also shows the changing context in which newly defined activist films have been produced and consumed and the ways alternative filmic spaces have emerged.Less
This chapter examines the emergence of “independent” film and KIFA’s negotiations with newfound contributors of capital (e.g., conglomerates and venture capitalists), the state, and new cultural venues. New cultural spaces where new political sensibilities were expressed emerged as a result of such negotiations and compromises. This chapter analyzes how activist cultural production and consumption has been reconfigured in the postauthoritarian context. The chapter sets up a backdrop against which a new crop of independent filmmakers and their different narrative strategies emerged. It also shows the changing context in which newly defined activist films have been produced and consumed and the ways alternative filmic spaces have emerged.
Claire Molloy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637713
- eISBN:
- 9780748671007
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637713.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Ambiguous, complex and innovative, Christopher Nolan's Memento has intrigued audiences and critics since the day of its release. Memento is the archetypal ‘puzzle film’, a noir thriller about a man ...
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Ambiguous, complex and innovative, Christopher Nolan's Memento has intrigued audiences and critics since the day of its release. Memento is the archetypal ‘puzzle film’, a noir thriller about a man with short-term memory loss seemingly seeking revenge for the death of his wife but finding it increasingly difficult to navigate through the facts. Truth, memory and identity are all questioned in a film that refuses to give easy answers or to adhere to some of the fundamental rules of classical filmmaking as the film makes use of some audacious stylistic and narrative choices, including a unique (for American cinema) editing pattern that produces a dizzying and highly disorienting effect for the spectator. The book introduces Memento as an important independent film and uses it to explore relationships between ‘indie’, arthouse and commercial mainstream cinema while also examining independent film marketing practices, especially those associated with Newmarket, the film's producer and distributor. Finally, the book also locates Memento within debates around key film studies concepts such as genre, narrative and reception.Less
Ambiguous, complex and innovative, Christopher Nolan's Memento has intrigued audiences and critics since the day of its release. Memento is the archetypal ‘puzzle film’, a noir thriller about a man with short-term memory loss seemingly seeking revenge for the death of his wife but finding it increasingly difficult to navigate through the facts. Truth, memory and identity are all questioned in a film that refuses to give easy answers or to adhere to some of the fundamental rules of classical filmmaking as the film makes use of some audacious stylistic and narrative choices, including a unique (for American cinema) editing pattern that produces a dizzying and highly disorienting effect for the spectator. The book introduces Memento as an important independent film and uses it to explore relationships between ‘indie’, arthouse and commercial mainstream cinema while also examining independent film marketing practices, especially those associated with Newmarket, the film's producer and distributor. Finally, the book also locates Memento within debates around key film studies concepts such as genre, narrative and reception.
John Richardson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195367362
- eISBN:
- 9780199918249
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195367362.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, Popular
This chapter elucidates how neosurrealist aesthetics has permeated audiovisual practices in so-called independent films. The discussion begins with a review of theories on recent cinema, included the ...
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This chapter elucidates how neosurrealist aesthetics has permeated audiovisual practices in so-called independent films. The discussion begins with a review of theories on recent cinema, included the new “smart film,” digital cinema and the impact of MTV's accelerated or “intensified” aesthetic. A broad theorization of neosurrealism in cinema is follow by two case studies on Richard Linklater's Waking Life (2001) and Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind (2008). The first discusses how Glover Gill's neuvo-tango score works with corresponding rotoscoped images to produce an experientially rich and immersive narrative world. The second highlights how Gondry's Be Kind Rewind can be interpreted as metafilmic commentary on recent technological and cultural changes. In each of these films an element of wonder is conveyed through the use of audiovisual devices that blur the boundaries between narrative levels, combined with an aesthetic of “repurposing” that draws attention to the cultural memory of objects.Less
This chapter elucidates how neosurrealist aesthetics has permeated audiovisual practices in so-called independent films. The discussion begins with a review of theories on recent cinema, included the new “smart film,” digital cinema and the impact of MTV's accelerated or “intensified” aesthetic. A broad theorization of neosurrealism in cinema is follow by two case studies on Richard Linklater's Waking Life (2001) and Michel Gondry's Be Kind Rewind (2008). The first discusses how Glover Gill's neuvo-tango score works with corresponding rotoscoped images to produce an experientially rich and immersive narrative world. The second highlights how Gondry's Be Kind Rewind can be interpreted as metafilmic commentary on recent technological and cultural changes. In each of these films an element of wonder is conveyed through the use of audiovisual devices that blur the boundaries between narrative levels, combined with an aesthetic of “repurposing” that draws attention to the cultural memory of objects.
Claire Molloy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637713
- eISBN:
- 9780748671007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637713.003.0003
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter explores the aspects of Memento's marketing in both the US and UK to assure what signifiers of independence were used, particularly in early print advertisements. Marketing independent ...
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This chapter explores the aspects of Memento's marketing in both the US and UK to assure what signifiers of independence were used, particularly in early print advertisements. Marketing independent films required ingenuity to reap the largest rewards from a small budget. The marketing of independent film developed a public discourse of independence. While the older, upscale educated consumer had resonance for the marketing of certain independent products, the strategies employed for Menace II Society, Like Water for Chocolate and Memento recognised other social identities. Memento's platform release broadly followed the independent release patterns for indie films on the art-house circuit. Its crossover success was also due to the targeting of a young college audience and its strategic placement in cinemas close to large campuses. Its marketing strategy also concentrated on the complex plot.Less
This chapter explores the aspects of Memento's marketing in both the US and UK to assure what signifiers of independence were used, particularly in early print advertisements. Marketing independent films required ingenuity to reap the largest rewards from a small budget. The marketing of independent film developed a public discourse of independence. While the older, upscale educated consumer had resonance for the marketing of certain independent products, the strategies employed for Menace II Society, Like Water for Chocolate and Memento recognised other social identities. Memento's platform release broadly followed the independent release patterns for indie films on the art-house circuit. Its crossover success was also due to the targeting of a young college audience and its strategic placement in cinemas close to large campuses. Its marketing strategy also concentrated on the complex plot.
Yannis Tzioumakis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748618668
- eISBN:
- 9780748670802
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748618668.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This introductory chapter discusses the problems involved in defining the term ‘independent filmmaking.’ By citing several examples of 'unlikely' independent films (such as Star Wars: Episode 1 The ...
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This introductory chapter discusses the problems involved in defining the term ‘independent filmmaking.’ By citing several examples of 'unlikely' independent films (such as Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace) alongside more likely label carriers (such as Memento and Palindromes) the chapter introduces the various problems associated with attempts towards defining the term (independent of what?) and raises the question of why study American independent cinema in its own right, that is, separately from Hollywood cinema, especially as key companies like Disney started as independent producers only to become later vertically integrated studios and more recently global entertainment conglomerates. Finally the chapter approaches American independent cinema as a discourse that expands and contracts when authorised institutions contribute to its definition at different historical junctures and offers brief examples of how the discourse has changed since the early 20th CenturyLess
This introductory chapter discusses the problems involved in defining the term ‘independent filmmaking.’ By citing several examples of 'unlikely' independent films (such as Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace) alongside more likely label carriers (such as Memento and Palindromes) the chapter introduces the various problems associated with attempts towards defining the term (independent of what?) and raises the question of why study American independent cinema in its own right, that is, separately from Hollywood cinema, especially as key companies like Disney started as independent producers only to become later vertically integrated studios and more recently global entertainment conglomerates. Finally the chapter approaches American independent cinema as a discourse that expands and contracts when authorised institutions contribute to its definition at different historical junctures and offers brief examples of how the discourse has changed since the early 20th Century
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626038
- eISBN:
- 9780748670895
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626038.003.0005
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter addresses some of the issues of independent film to investigate the practice of sequelisation, and subsequently its meaning and currency. The specific commercial strategies inherent in ...
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This chapter addresses some of the issues of independent film to investigate the practice of sequelisation, and subsequently its meaning and currency. The specific commercial strategies inherent in the indie sequel cooperate with a variety of artistic and personal aims. The sequel is utilised to express an interdependency of meaning and viewing positions. The chapter then highlights the trilogy's heritage in cinema. The sequel can be seen as a vital niche mechanism, informing the continuous transformation of the trilogy and heightening its currency. The forms of ‘sequel’ and ‘trilogy’ can be seen as taking on entirely new guises and contexts within the intermedial environment. The independent film sequel brings a sense of authorial progression or development, at the same time as it enables a filmmaker to re-explore the same theme or critical issue throughout a range of different scenarios.Less
This chapter addresses some of the issues of independent film to investigate the practice of sequelisation, and subsequently its meaning and currency. The specific commercial strategies inherent in the indie sequel cooperate with a variety of artistic and personal aims. The sequel is utilised to express an interdependency of meaning and viewing positions. The chapter then highlights the trilogy's heritage in cinema. The sequel can be seen as a vital niche mechanism, informing the continuous transformation of the trilogy and heightening its currency. The forms of ‘sequel’ and ‘trilogy’ can be seen as taking on entirely new guises and contexts within the intermedial environment. The independent film sequel brings a sense of authorial progression or development, at the same time as it enables a filmmaker to re-explore the same theme or critical issue throughout a range of different scenarios.
Paul Grainge, Mark Jancovich, and Sharon Monteith
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748619061
- eISBN:
- 9780748670888
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748619061.003.0022
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter focuses on alternative models of cinema, which flourished beyond the exclusive control of the major studios. This was related in no small part to occasional funding sources and ...
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This chapter focuses on alternative models of cinema, which flourished beyond the exclusive control of the major studios. This was related in no small part to occasional funding sources and specialised forms of institutional support that emerged for independent film. The video market, in particular, became a crucial source of funding through cassette presales. At the same time, international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, London, Berlin, Toronto, Hong Kong and Pusan became an important showcase for raising public awareness of films produced outside Hollywood. The chapter also includes the study, ‘Gone With The Wind Plus Fangs’: Genre, Taste and Distinction in the Assembly, Marketing and Reception of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Thomas Austin, which examines the particular means by which film in the early 1990s was distinguished by a so-called ‘industrially motivated hybridity’. This describes the means by which film creates appeal not through any singular or unified style, but through promotional and conversational processes of fragmentation, elaboration and diffusion.Less
This chapter focuses on alternative models of cinema, which flourished beyond the exclusive control of the major studios. This was related in no small part to occasional funding sources and specialised forms of institutional support that emerged for independent film. The video market, in particular, became a crucial source of funding through cassette presales. At the same time, international film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, London, Berlin, Toronto, Hong Kong and Pusan became an important showcase for raising public awareness of films produced outside Hollywood. The chapter also includes the study, ‘Gone With The Wind Plus Fangs’: Genre, Taste and Distinction in the Assembly, Marketing and Reception of Bram Stoker's Dracula by Thomas Austin, which examines the particular means by which film in the early 1990s was distinguished by a so-called ‘industrially motivated hybridity’. This describes the means by which film creates appeal not through any singular or unified style, but through promotional and conversational processes of fragmentation, elaboration and diffusion.
Young-a Park
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- May 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804783613
- eISBN:
- 9780804793476
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804783613.003.0006
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Asian Cultural Anthropology
This chapter analyzes the consumption and circulation of the works of independent filmmakers at Korea’s burgeoning international film festivals. New activist cultural production and consumption take ...
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This chapter analyzes the consumption and circulation of the works of independent filmmakers at Korea’s burgeoning international film festivals. New activist cultural production and consumption take place in the film festival venues created by the unprecedented alliances among the postauthoritarian state, new media capital, and the independent film circuit. And these venues, in turn, operate as platforms where festival audiences express their upwardly mobile class identity and individuality, which were not expressed through the consumption of either mainstream or traditional activist films. Here, the audience is an important element in understanding how activist cultural production and consumption have been reconfigured in Korea.Less
This chapter analyzes the consumption and circulation of the works of independent filmmakers at Korea’s burgeoning international film festivals. New activist cultural production and consumption take place in the film festival venues created by the unprecedented alliances among the postauthoritarian state, new media capital, and the independent film circuit. And these venues, in turn, operate as platforms where festival audiences express their upwardly mobile class identity and individuality, which were not expressed through the consumption of either mainstream or traditional activist films. Here, the audience is an important element in understanding how activist cultural production and consumption have been reconfigured in Korea.
Esther M. K. Cheung, Nicole Kempton, and Amy Lee
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028566
- eISBN:
- 9789882206991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028566.003.0010
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
In recounting the last fifteen years of the independent film movement in Hong Kong, it is impossible not to mention Tammy Cheung's name. Even though she does not make narrative films, she has ...
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In recounting the last fifteen years of the independent film movement in Hong Kong, it is impossible not to mention Tammy Cheung's name. Even though she does not make narrative films, she has nevertheless made inroads with documentary films. She focuses on social and human problems as her subject matter and uses direct cinema as her approach. Without the use of voice-over narration, she explores the limits of objectivity and what she calls the “freedom of movement” in the direct cinema style. Her works such as Secondary School and July have elicited a significant response from the community. Even though finding capital and support is incredibly difficult, she claims she will continue filming into the future. Likewise, Hong Kong most certainly needs a documentary culture that records both major historical events as well as reflections from the streets.Less
In recounting the last fifteen years of the independent film movement in Hong Kong, it is impossible not to mention Tammy Cheung's name. Even though she does not make narrative films, she has nevertheless made inroads with documentary films. She focuses on social and human problems as her subject matter and uses direct cinema as her approach. Without the use of voice-over narration, she explores the limits of objectivity and what she calls the “freedom of movement” in the direct cinema style. Her works such as Secondary School and July have elicited a significant response from the community. Even though finding capital and support is incredibly difficult, she claims she will continue filming into the future. Likewise, Hong Kong most certainly needs a documentary culture that records both major historical events as well as reflections from the streets.
Shweta Kishore
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474433068
- eISBN:
- 9781474453578
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474433068.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
In India, ‘independent documentary film’ is a term that signifies a body of films that first appeared in 1975 during the Constitutional Emergency, a period when the repressive exercise of state ...
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In India, ‘independent documentary film’ is a term that signifies a body of films that first appeared in 1975 during the Constitutional Emergency, a period when the repressive exercise of state authority threatened the democratic political foundations of the nation. The initial usage of the term ‘independent’ to denote a production category located outside of state structures is now a misnomer. In the post-economic reform landscape, independent filmmakers operate with greater flexibility and various interdependent and mutually cooperative forms of organisation between filmmakers, the state, international and domestic NGOs, private institutions and individuals are commonplace. My attempt here is to construct an ongoing critical dialogue between broader concepts of documentary studies and the situated perspectives that emerge from individual accounts and the analysis of films produced and circulated using diverse modes and architectures. Emphasising the historical significance of documentary as a space of oppositional representation, the accounts produce a grounded theory of independence structured in relation to institutions, industry practices, individual subjectivities and technology in post-reform India. Combining the study of independent film practice and textual analysis, the mixed methods study investigates how independent Indian documentary is a practice that not only produces political representation but opens up new material relations between culture, society and the individual.Less
In India, ‘independent documentary film’ is a term that signifies a body of films that first appeared in 1975 during the Constitutional Emergency, a period when the repressive exercise of state authority threatened the democratic political foundations of the nation. The initial usage of the term ‘independent’ to denote a production category located outside of state structures is now a misnomer. In the post-economic reform landscape, independent filmmakers operate with greater flexibility and various interdependent and mutually cooperative forms of organisation between filmmakers, the state, international and domestic NGOs, private institutions and individuals are commonplace. My attempt here is to construct an ongoing critical dialogue between broader concepts of documentary studies and the situated perspectives that emerge from individual accounts and the analysis of films produced and circulated using diverse modes and architectures. Emphasising the historical significance of documentary as a space of oppositional representation, the accounts produce a grounded theory of independence structured in relation to institutions, industry practices, individual subjectivities and technology in post-reform India. Combining the study of independent film practice and textual analysis, the mixed methods study investigates how independent Indian documentary is a practice that not only produces political representation but opens up new material relations between culture, society and the individual.
Nicole Kempton
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789888028566
- eISBN:
- 9789882206991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888028566.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter wrestles with the question of independence in the Hong Kong context, looking at the ways that independence is constituted and circulated, arguing that independence originates less from ...
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This chapter wrestles with the question of independence in the Hong Kong context, looking at the ways that independence is constituted and circulated, arguing that independence originates less from the production side—a lack of studio financing—and more from the independent community's self-styled imaginative construction of the independent film ideal, a counter-public embodying the so-called “indie spirit” through attempts to define itself as distinct from the mainstream. The imagined community of cinematic independence facilitates the circulation of these texts among a critically receptive community both in Hong Kong and around the world, and in the process of circulation, the notion of independence is further refined, mutated, and contested. Throughout the chapter, the public sphere is mobilized as a vehicle for understanding the circulation of film texts in a variety of contexts. In his 1989 book Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Jürgen Habermas asked under what social conditions a public sphere is created.Less
This chapter wrestles with the question of independence in the Hong Kong context, looking at the ways that independence is constituted and circulated, arguing that independence originates less from the production side—a lack of studio financing—and more from the independent community's self-styled imaginative construction of the independent film ideal, a counter-public embodying the so-called “indie spirit” through attempts to define itself as distinct from the mainstream. The imagined community of cinematic independence facilitates the circulation of these texts among a critically receptive community both in Hong Kong and around the world, and in the process of circulation, the notion of independence is further refined, mutated, and contested. Throughout the chapter, the public sphere is mobilized as a vehicle for understanding the circulation of film texts in a variety of contexts. In his 1989 book Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Jürgen Habermas asked under what social conditions a public sphere is created.
Claire Molloy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637713
- eISBN:
- 9780748671007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637713.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
Memento emerged into the new landscape of twenty-first-century independent film. This book is centrally concerned with placing Memento within that terrain constituted of the various discourses which ...
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Memento emerged into the new landscape of twenty-first-century independent film. This book is centrally concerned with placing Memento within that terrain constituted of the various discourses which construct independence. It explores the context of the film's production, the practices used in its marketing and distribution, its negotiation of narrative norms and its public reception. Discourses of independence are historically specific and unfixed, and describe relations of power. The Fimmaker Top 50 draws attention to the contested nature of independence within different authoritative groups. Memento provides a route to thinking about the ways in which the forces shaped late American independent cinema. Finally, an overview of the chapters included in this book is shown. It can be stated that this film defies easy comprehension and continues to be regarded by many as an example of independent creativity and innovation.Less
Memento emerged into the new landscape of twenty-first-century independent film. This book is centrally concerned with placing Memento within that terrain constituted of the various discourses which construct independence. It explores the context of the film's production, the practices used in its marketing and distribution, its negotiation of narrative norms and its public reception. Discourses of independence are historically specific and unfixed, and describe relations of power. The Fimmaker Top 50 draws attention to the contested nature of independence within different authoritative groups. Memento provides a route to thinking about the ways in which the forces shaped late American independent cinema. Finally, an overview of the chapters included in this book is shown. It can be stated that this film defies easy comprehension and continues to be regarded by many as an example of independent creativity and innovation.
Bryan Turnock
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- February 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781911325895
- eISBN:
- 9781800342460
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781911325895.003.0008
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter assesses the emergence of American independent horror, looking at George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). By the mid-1960s, the traditional Hollywood studio system was ...
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This chapter assesses the emergence of American independent horror, looking at George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). By the mid-1960s, the traditional Hollywood studio system was responsible for only around 20 per cent of America's film production. The remainder came from independent film-makers and from films made outside of the United States, where labour and locations were cheaper. The 'New Wave' movements in countries such as Japan, France, Britain, and Czechoslovakia introduced new styles of film-making to American cinemagoers, who found them an attractive alternative to the classical Hollywood feature film. As such, the late 1960s saw enormous changes in American cinema, including within the horror genre. Influenced by social, political and cultural upheavals occurring in the country at the time, 1968 is often cited as the dawn of the 'modern American horror film'. The chapter considers how political and social turmoil in America led to a growing number of independent film-makers actively working against the industry establishment, taking advantage of the heavily diminished influence of the major studios, and producing films which rejected Hollywood conservatism and deliberately pushed the boundaries of acceptability.Less
This chapter assesses the emergence of American independent horror, looking at George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968). By the mid-1960s, the traditional Hollywood studio system was responsible for only around 20 per cent of America's film production. The remainder came from independent film-makers and from films made outside of the United States, where labour and locations were cheaper. The 'New Wave' movements in countries such as Japan, France, Britain, and Czechoslovakia introduced new styles of film-making to American cinemagoers, who found them an attractive alternative to the classical Hollywood feature film. As such, the late 1960s saw enormous changes in American cinema, including within the horror genre. Influenced by social, political and cultural upheavals occurring in the country at the time, 1968 is often cited as the dawn of the 'modern American horror film'. The chapter considers how political and social turmoil in America led to a growing number of independent film-makers actively working against the industry establishment, taking advantage of the heavily diminished influence of the major studios, and producing films which rejected Hollywood conservatism and deliberately pushed the boundaries of acceptability.
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626038
- eISBN:
- 9780748670895
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626038.001.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The film sequel has been much maligned in popular culture as a vampirish corporative exercise in profit-making and narrative regurgitation. Drawing upon a wide range of filmic examples from early ...
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The film sequel has been much maligned in popular culture as a vampirish corporative exercise in profit-making and narrative regurgitation. Drawing upon a wide range of filmic examples from early cinema to the twenty-first century, this book reveals the increasing popularity of, and experimentation with, film sequels as a central dynamic of Hollywood cinema. Now creeping into world cinemas and independent film festivals, the sequel is persistently employed as a vehicle for cross-cultural dialogue and as a structure by which memories and cultural narratives can be circulated across geographical and historical locations. This book aims to account for some of the major critical contexts within which sequelisation operates by exploring sequel production beyond box office figures. Its account ranges across sequels in recent mainstream cinema, art-house and ‘indie’ sequels, non-Hollywood sequels, the effects of the domestic market on sequelisation and the impact of the video game industry on Hollywood.Less
The film sequel has been much maligned in popular culture as a vampirish corporative exercise in profit-making and narrative regurgitation. Drawing upon a wide range of filmic examples from early cinema to the twenty-first century, this book reveals the increasing popularity of, and experimentation with, film sequels as a central dynamic of Hollywood cinema. Now creeping into world cinemas and independent film festivals, the sequel is persistently employed as a vehicle for cross-cultural dialogue and as a structure by which memories and cultural narratives can be circulated across geographical and historical locations. This book aims to account for some of the major critical contexts within which sequelisation operates by exploring sequel production beyond box office figures. Its account ranges across sequels in recent mainstream cinema, art-house and ‘indie’ sequels, non-Hollywood sequels, the effects of the domestic market on sequelisation and the impact of the video game industry on Hollywood.
Yingjin Zhang
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780824833374
- eISBN:
- 9780824870584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Hawai'i Press
- DOI:
- 10.21313/hawaii/9780824833374.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
This chapter examines the claims of independent Chinese filmmakers to truth and reality as well as their experiments with various documentary modes and styles. Focusing on the issues of truth, ...
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This chapter examines the claims of independent Chinese filmmakers to truth and reality as well as their experiments with various documentary modes and styles. Focusing on the issues of truth, subjectivity, and audience, it explores truth claims as well as the dilemma of self-positioning and audience interaction in Chinese independent filmmaking and videomaking. It also discusses the extent to which independent production and overseas investment and distribution affect the reception of independent films and videos as documents of truth, and how to reconcile the politics of such unusual circulation of the truths and poetics of independent film- and videomaking in contemporary China. Using the film Xiao Wu as example, the chapter describes a pattern of drastic difference in the reception of “truth” inside and outside China. Finally, it considers the origins, styles, problems, solutions, and directions of the Chinese independent documentary.Less
This chapter examines the claims of independent Chinese filmmakers to truth and reality as well as their experiments with various documentary modes and styles. Focusing on the issues of truth, subjectivity, and audience, it explores truth claims as well as the dilemma of self-positioning and audience interaction in Chinese independent filmmaking and videomaking. It also discusses the extent to which independent production and overseas investment and distribution affect the reception of independent films and videos as documents of truth, and how to reconcile the politics of such unusual circulation of the truths and poetics of independent film- and videomaking in contemporary China. Using the film Xiao Wu as example, the chapter describes a pattern of drastic difference in the reception of “truth” inside and outside China. Finally, it considers the origins, styles, problems, solutions, and directions of the Chinese independent documentary.
Claire Molloy
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637713
- eISBN:
- 9780748671007
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637713.003.0006
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter explores the public discourse on Memento. It also examines how this developed within Internet communities. It then returns to the issue of categorising Memento as an independent film and ...
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This chapter explores the public discourse on Memento. It also examines how this developed within Internet communities. It then returns to the issue of categorising Memento as an independent film and explores the extent to which its independent status figured in its public reception and eventual success. Activity on Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is established by communal practices. Both critical and public responses to Memento unsurprisingly focused predominantly on the reverse ordered narrative. Memento was a mainstream film disguised as an indie, having high production values and a Hollywood feel that masqueraded as art house. This film is now recognised as an exemplification of twenty-first-century indie filmmaking. Christopher Nolan claimed to be a ‘mainstream director’ during the marketing of Memento and an ‘independent’ when filming Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.Less
This chapter explores the public discourse on Memento. It also examines how this developed within Internet communities. It then returns to the issue of categorising Memento as an independent film and explores the extent to which its independent status figured in its public reception and eventual success. Activity on Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is established by communal practices. Both critical and public responses to Memento unsurprisingly focused predominantly on the reverse ordered narrative. Memento was a mainstream film disguised as an indie, having high production values and a Hollywood feel that masqueraded as art house. This film is now recognised as an exemplification of twenty-first-century indie filmmaking. Christopher Nolan claimed to be a ‘mainstream director’ during the marketing of Memento and an ‘independent’ when filming Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Michelle Devereaux
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781474446044
- eISBN:
- 9781474476652
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9781474446044.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
This chapter offers a description of Romanticism and the Romantic movement and delineates the primary arguments of the book. It interrogates the question ‘what is Romantic?’ by investigating ...
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This chapter offers a description of Romanticism and the Romantic movement and delineates the primary arguments of the book. It interrogates the question ‘what is Romantic?’ by investigating historical Romanticism and its relationship to imagination, the problem of identity and selfhood, and Romantic irony, linking these principles to the twenty-first century theory of metamodernism. It then connects these concepts to the films discussed, drawing on historically relevant film movements and previous scholarship on American independent film. It concludes with overviews of subsequent chapters.Less
This chapter offers a description of Romanticism and the Romantic movement and delineates the primary arguments of the book. It interrogates the question ‘what is Romantic?’ by investigating historical Romanticism and its relationship to imagination, the problem of identity and selfhood, and Romantic irony, linking these principles to the twenty-first century theory of metamodernism. It then connects these concepts to the films discussed, drawing on historically relevant film movements and previous scholarship on American independent film. It concludes with overviews of subsequent chapters.
Anna Backman Rogers
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780748693603
- eISBN:
- 9781474412216
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748693603.003.0001
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
American independent cinema is certainly a cinema in crisis, but it is also a cinema of crisis. A great deal of useful scholarship has been carried out on the notion of independence and the ...
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American independent cinema is certainly a cinema in crisis, but it is also a cinema of crisis. A great deal of useful scholarship has been carried out on the notion of independence and the definition of indie cinema as a hybrid industry (‘indiewood’). This study partakes of that conversation, but from the perspective of the aesthetics and poetics of crisis that figure or visualise notions of ambiguity and the in-between. The cinema of crisis delineated here is one that explores the difficulty or impossibility of progression through extended moments of liminality and threshold. In a cinema of crisis, the concept of a plot is subservient to the investigation of what it means to exist in a moment of threshold within the context of a rite of passage; this moment may usher in transformation, or it may lead to stasis and not offer any form of resolution. What the viewer sees on screen are bodies that may halt, falter, freeze and become-surface, or evolve, mutate, dissolve and merge: these are bodies in crisis because they are either atrophying or becoming-other.Less
American independent cinema is certainly a cinema in crisis, but it is also a cinema of crisis. A great deal of useful scholarship has been carried out on the notion of independence and the definition of indie cinema as a hybrid industry (‘indiewood’). This study partakes of that conversation, but from the perspective of the aesthetics and poetics of crisis that figure or visualise notions of ambiguity and the in-between. The cinema of crisis delineated here is one that explores the difficulty or impossibility of progression through extended moments of liminality and threshold. In a cinema of crisis, the concept of a plot is subservient to the investigation of what it means to exist in a moment of threshold within the context of a rite of passage; this moment may usher in transformation, or it may lead to stasis and not offer any form of resolution. What the viewer sees on screen are bodies that may halt, falter, freeze and become-surface, or evolve, mutate, dissolve and merge: these are bodies in crisis because they are either atrophying or becoming-other.
Dan Edwards
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- January 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780748695621
- eISBN:
- 9781474412186
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748695621.003.0007
- Subject:
- Film, Television and Radio, Film
The final section of the book considers the future prospects for future development of the alternative public sphere of independent documentaries, in light of increasing censorship and a hardening ...
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The final section of the book considers the future prospects for future development of the alternative public sphere of independent documentaries, in light of increasing censorship and a hardening government attitudes towards unsanctioned representations of China’s contemporary reality. Recent events in China’s independent viewing and production culture are discussed in detail, including a wave of independent film festival shutdowns since 2011. Speculative comments are offered about the state’s evolving attitude towards the independent documentary realm.Less
The final section of the book considers the future prospects for future development of the alternative public sphere of independent documentaries, in light of increasing censorship and a hardening government attitudes towards unsanctioned representations of China’s contemporary reality. Recent events in China’s independent viewing and production culture are discussed in detail, including a wave of independent film festival shutdowns since 2011. Speculative comments are offered about the state’s evolving attitude towards the independent documentary realm.