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Chase Bennett

Professor Rankin

American Cinema: 1960-Present

15 May 2013

The Indie Film Genre

Presently, in 2013, independent filmmaking is at an all time high. With the
advancement of technology, new and eager filmmakers can make a film with ease. The
Internet has provided free distribution through websites such as YouTube. Anyone with a
little money, a creative mind and a lot of drive can make a film that garners a lot of
attention in the social media world. But studios arent strangers to these online
filmmakers. Studios are now using these popular social media websites as a method of
distribution, promotion, and as a way to get audiences involved and excited about their
films. Since the dawn of filmmaking, Hollywood has always been quick to find their
niche audiences. In the 1950s, their audiences were teenagers drooling over Elvis
Presley. Today, many of their audiences live online. But twenty years ago, the Internet
wasnt a popularized form of entertainment. Elvis was dead, and Generation X was
pulsing with creativity.
Like every decade since the creation of cinema, the 1990s brought something new
to the film industry. Hollywood continued to thrive, with blockbusters growing stronger
than ever, and there was no shortage of computer-generated imagery (CGI). But outside
of Hollywood something else was happening. Average people with little filmmaking
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experience were getting on their feet and making movies. Among these young
independent filmmakers were personalities such as Richard Linklater and Kevin Smith.
Although there were many independent filmmakers at the time, these individuals made a
lasting impact on Hollywood. With Linklaters Slacker (1991), and Smiths Clerks
(1994), independent film gained a new appreciation in the film world. For reasons worth
exploring, films like Slacker and Clerks had an appeal that caught the attention of young
audiences nationwide. Because of their success, it was apparent that there was a new
niche audience for these types of films. As expected, Hollywood became nothing short of
aware of this niche. With the influence of early independent films such as Slacker and
Clerks, and the power of Hollywood, a new genre was formedthe indie film. This
essay will begin by looking at the early independent films of the 1990s and how their
budget influenced the aesthetics, casting choices, and the narratives. Then it will look at
defining the stylistic characteristics of the indie film genre and how it has evolved since
the 1990s. Finally, it will look to explore how Hollywood markets the indie films to its
desired niche audience.
Linklaters Slacker was made for $23,000 (IMDB, Slacker). Smiths Clerks was
made for $27,000 (IMDB, Clerks). The budget of these films is very important when it
comes to understanding what made these films unique from the Hollywood formula.
Because of the low-to-no budget approach, the aesthetic, casting choices, and narrative of
the films were affected heavily. In the case of Clerks, it was shot in black and white for
the sole purpose of saving money. In Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks, a
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documentary on the making of Clerks, producer Scott Mosier stated, I think the look of
[Clerks] was mainly decided by the dollar. It was just more cost effective to shoot in
black and white. In this way, Clerks was immediately and aesthetically separated from
the traditional Hollywood formula. Another unique aesthetic in both films was the choice
to shoot long takes. In Richard Linklaters book Slacker, he describes the visual
aesthetic as being quiet but eloquent and that it suggests documentary (Linklater 14).
Because a conversation between two or more people would most likely be a single take in
a traditional documentary, his idea of long takes is effective in suggesting a documentary.
I was trying to impose the feeling that everything on the screen was just captured
naturallylike we just walked around town for one day. It feels like improvisation, like
its just spontaneously happening (Linklater 127) Clerks follows Slackers long take
aesthetic, but the camera is much more static. Smiths choice for a long take aesthetic
may have been directly inspired from Slacker. It was the movie that got me off my
ass; it was the movie that lit a fiie unuei me, the movie that maue me think, 'Bey, I
coulu be a filmmakei.' Anu I hau nevei seen a movie like that befoie evei in my life."
(Eluei 2S6)
One of the largest aspects of both Slacker and Clerks was the casting. In both
films, most of the actors were not professional some of them being friends of the
filmmakers. In the case of Slacker, Richard Linklater didnt use the conventional method
for casting. In the preliminary stages of the film, he wandered the streets looking for
people that he found interesting. Not only was I not exactly sure of what I was looking
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for, but I had also not yet developed the boldness to walk up to a stranger and say, I
think you look very interesting. Want to be in a movie? (Linklater 14) Once he built up
the courage, he invited them to an interview. Their dedication to be in the film was tested
on whether or not they showed up for the interview. His casting philosophy and method
is as follows:
(a) Choose people based on their visual aesthetic and attitude; (b) interview:
testing for camera shyness and presence; (c) question them on their life, attitudes,
and tastes, and on the basis of their answers, match them with a character and
situation in the script and shape the role. An entirely new role can always be
created and fit in somewhere. Performance will depend on screen presence: the
actor must give off the right vibrations, be the surface that represents the complex
depths, and be able to capture the essence of the moment in that time. Pick actors
whose sheer physical presence conveys a distinct reality (Linklater 11)
As a result of Linklaters method of casting, the majority of his actors were non-
professional actors who he felt naturally fit the roles in which he gave them. In the case
of Clerks, most of the lead actors were community theater actors in his town, and the
smaller parts were friends and crew (Snowball Effect: The Story of Clerks).
Interestingly enough, the director of photography, producer, makeup artist, gaffer, camera
assistant, and Kevin Smith himself all had a speaking role in the film (IMDB, Clerks).
Although not impossible, its hard to argue that for both Slacker and Clerks, that these
actors were selected purely out of choice. The lack of budget made these non-
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professional actor castings a necessity. Nonetheless, the amateur acting gives these films
a unique quality apart from the traditional Hollywood narrative.
In both Slacker and Clerks, the low-to-no budget aspect of the films influenced
the narratives immensely. Knowing they would be working with a micro-budget, they
knew their limitations. In reference to Slacker, Linklater says, It was a film that didnt
need a lot of money, it was incorporated in the filmthe art direction, the
pseudodocumentary feel fit its budget. If you are going to do a low-budget film, you
cant compete with Hollywood. (Linklater 120) In Snowball Effect: The Story of
Clerks, Kevin Smith based Clerks on what his life was like while working at the Quick
Stop convenient store, the same store featured in the film. Smith states:
I read an interview with Robert [Rodriguez] where hes like, The best way to go
about making your first film is take stock of what you haveI knew I had access
to a bus, I knew I had access to a guitar, and I knew I had a turtle. So right away I
knew I was putting those things in my movie. So I was like, Well Ive got
access to a convenient store.
Much like Linklater, Smith used the resources that he had, and worked them into
his script.
Aside from budget limitations and lack of resources, the indie film tends to
have many defining characteristics. Whether its a $23,000 breakout film such as Slacker,
or $7,000,000 Academy Award winning independent film Juno (2007), the niche
audience roughly remains the same. One of the most defining characteristics of an
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indie film is that they usually represent an emerging adults struggle to retain their
childhood. As a result, they naturally tend to be nostalgic. For example, in Juno the main
character struggles with the adult responsibilities of having a child, yet she drinks Sunny
Delight, uses a hamburger phone, and plays with a toy car on her pregnant belly. In
American Independent Cinema: Indie, Indiewood, and Beyond, Michael Z. Newman
states, The childlike qualities of the characters and storytelling extend especially to the
films nostalgic and retro touches, like the use of ironically rescued 1980s pop music by
Hall and Oates. (King, Molloy, and Tzioumakis 76) In the 2004 independent film,
Napoleon Dynamite, the main character (Napoleon) is very much represented as a child
in an adults body. He a high school student who plays with action figures on the school
bus, is obsessed with being cool, plays tetherball, and has a difficult time controlling
his emotions. Along with Napoleons child-like behavior, the film is very nostalgic. The
film is filled with outdated items such as, corded telephones, VHS tapes, cassette players,
80s action figures, and 80s clothing. It also features When In Romes 1988 hit, The
Promise, and Alphavilles 1984 song, Forever Young. (A very fitting song title,
indeed.) Because films like Slacker and Clerks were made twenty years earlier, many of
their nostalgic qualities are inherent to the time period in which they were made. In
Slacker, for example, images of children pounding soda out of an old soda machine, or
the conversation about the philosophies of Scooby Doo will resonate with todays indie
audience. In Clerks, audiences will resonate with the main characters refusal to work,
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but desire to play sports such as hockey. And images of VHS tapes in the video store are
nostalgic of the childhood the indie audiences desire.
When it comes to indie film, there is no shortage of pop culture references. Pop
culture references are another defining characteristic of the indie film. These references
help ground the viewer in the reality they live in. Slacker and Clerks are loaded with
references to other movies, novels, poems, or historical events. Within the first five
minutes of Slacker, the film manages to make references to Tolstoy, Frank Zappa, The
Omega Man (1971), and The Wizard of Oz (1939). Clerks makes references to many
movies such as Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977). In more recent indie films, music
plays an important role, sometimes even becoming a key part of the narrative. Nick and
Norahs Infinite Playlist (2008) is a sole example of this. The film focuses on a depressed
teenage musician who makes mixtapes for his ex-girlfriend. The film features music from
popular indie artists such as Vampire Weekend and Modest Mouse. In Michael Z.
Newmans Movies For Hipsters section of American Independent Cinema: Indie,
Indiewood, and Beyond, he refers to a discussion about the film (500) Days of Summer
(2009) on the online cinephile site MUBI:
One commenter there notes that the film is really going for that cutesy-indie
feel by its use of The Smiths and other alternative artists. The thread is launched
with the observation that Its a film that definitely caters to a very specific people
group, and it trades in pop culture references meant for those people, and not for
others. (King, Molloy, and Tzioumakis 78-79)
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As the indie film genre began to gain popularity, Hollywood was first in line, as
they saw an opportunity to distribute films for this new niche audience. As a result,
smaller independent arms were created. With new studios like Fox Searchlight, Focus
Features, and Sony Picture Classics, the fine line between what defines an independent
film, and what defines a studio made film has become blurred. These smaller studios
began distributing and marketing cheaply made indie films to the niche audiences that
had an interest in them. In some areas, the business became more like that of the studios.
Even in its more distinctively indie guise, the sector has followed Hollywood in
becoming a more hit-driven phenomenon, in which promoters and distributors are
constantly on the lookout for the next bit thing(King 34) Not only were studios
distributing films, but in some cases they were financing them as well. Juno was partially
financed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, but it was still classified as an independent film and
won the Best Feature award at the Independent Spirit Awards (IMDB, Juno). Studios
and their media acolytes gushed at the triumph of independent cinema at the 2004 Oscars.
So-called independent Million Dollar Baby won the best-picture award, but it was largely
financed and released by Warner Bros. Meanwhile, a studio indie, Fox Searchlights
Sideways, was best film at the Independent Spirit Awards. The following year, four of the
five best-picture nominations were captured by independents, financed by the likes of
Universals Focus Features and Warner Independent Pictures, adding to the growing
conviction in some quarters that studio and independent had become indistinguishable.
(Spaner 253)
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In an online interview conducted by Gavin Michael Booth, Kevin Smith discussed
this studio-controlled system of independent film:
Whats missing in independent cinema nowwhy its not the way it was fifteen
years ago, when it was easy for a shmuck like me to get a moderately decent film
onto the national platformis there were lots of distributors back in those days.
You had your choice. Now they dont exist, and now the distributors that do exist,
who used to be identified with independent film, or low-budget film, or first time
film is they make independent film, but they make the kind of independent film
that wins an Academy Award or is directed by the Coen Brothers. No Country
For Old Menmade by Miramaxis an independent film. I couldnt make that,
you couldnt make that, and they wouldnt let us if we asked them toif we
begged them to.
If independent films arent considered completely independent anymore, what are
they? Its arguable that they are a new genre that Hollywood has successfully marketed.
A quick browse through the independent section of Netflix will bring interesting results.
As expected, Slacker and Clerks appear on the list, but many studio made films appear as
well. Films like Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Charlie Bartlett (2007), and
Adventureland (2009) appear on the list, but arent independent films. They are all good
examples of films that give an indie vibe.
Although these studio-made indie films have many of the same characteristics
as films such as Slacker or Clerks, they lack the characteristics that resulted directly from
budget limitations. As stated earlier, budget limitations affected visual aesthetic, casting
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choices, and the narratives. Because Hollywood is producing multimillion-dollar indie
films, these limitations arent entirely present. The visual aesthetic of these indie films
are closer to the Hollywood formula than to the long, documentary-like takes in Slacker,
and Clerks. They arent casting their friends to play the parts, but instead many of them
cast professional, well-established actors. The ability for the Hollywood indie films to
cast known actors is essential to marketing an indie film. Hollywood stars have
become an even more integral aspect of this phase of independent cinema than the earlier
one, and despite the fact that they tend to work for a fraction of their normal fees, they
have contributed to the inflation of budgets compared to the previous years. (King,
Molloy, and Tzioumakis 37) A film full of unknowns is a lot less likely to be seen than a
film with familiar faces. In addition to the visual aesthetic and casting choices, in
Hollywood indie films, narratives arent restricted to what available resources the
filmmaker has. This is an important distinction between the two types of independent
films. The Hollywood indie film has found a middle ground, so to speak. They arent
giving independent filmmakers $20,000 to make a film, but they also arent giving them
hundreds of millions.
From the information presented in this essay, its easy to see that defining
independent film isnt as easy as it was twenty years ago. Its a question that is still
heavily debated. In the early 1990s, films like Slacker and Clerks were some of the first
films to really find that niche audience that so many people love today. They could be
seen as examples for what they did right, and what they did wrong. Although they had a
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limited budget, they found ways to get around it and make the movie they wanted to
make. As the indie film genre evolved into what it is today, Hollywood left some of the
Slacker and Clerks aesthetics behind. Hollywoods indie films didnt shoot in black
and white, didnt use non-professional actors, and didnt restrict themselves to resources
that were already available to them. But they kept the pop-culture references, and kept
the nostalgia.
Its interesting to think that although technology has advanced to the point where
anyone can shoot an independent film with a low-to-no budget approach, the majority of
independent films are still heavily Hollywood influenced. Hollywood has made it harder
for the average Joe to break into the industry as a successful filmmaker, but more
independent films are being made than ever before.











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