Independent, Mainstream and In Between: How and Why Indie Films Have Become Their Own Genre

摘要

u22Indie filmu22 is a term many film critics and audience members use, but do most people know what that word is really labeling? This paper unravels what is meant by the term u22indie film,u22 how it is defined and how it can be classified in todayu27s film industry as its own genre. Through an analysis of a number of recent indie and Hollywood films, this paper illustrates that indie films can be categorized by their un-Hollywood mechanical and narrative styles. Furthermore, in an examination of the history of the American film industry, it shows that todayu27s industry has reached a muddled state where determining the financial situation of a film is difficult, making room for a new definition of the term u22independent.u22 Although, indies are made by both large studio corporations and tiny production companies, viewers still recognize them as indies. They do not divide them by their finances, and in fact expect a certain style from them no matter how much they are made for. All of this allows indie films of today to be classified into their own genre - u22The Indie.u22