A critical collection exploring how U.S. independent cinema evolved from an underground, outsider movement into a major cultural force.
The essays trace the indie film scene from the 1970s through the 1990s — from the gritty, low-budget aesthetics of John Cassavetes and Jim Jarmusch to the breakout success of filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, and the Coen Brothers. The book examines how “independent” became both a creative stance and a marketing category, balancing art-house authenticity with commercial viability.
Through academic and industry perspectives, it dissects the economics, politics, and identities shaping indie cinema — gender and race representation, festival circuits, studio “indie” divisions, and the contradictions of rebellion within capitalism. The result is a definitive look at how the margins became a marketplace without entirely losing their edge.
