Explores the films, practitioners, production and distribution contexts that currently represent American womens independent cinemaWith the consolidation of aindie culture in the 21st century, female filmmakers face an increasingly indifferent climate. Within this sector, women work across all aspects of writing, direction, production, editing and design, yet the dominant narrative continues to construe amaverick white male auteurs such as Quentin Tarantino or Wes Anderson as the face of indie discourse. Defying the formulaic myths of the mainstream achick flick and the ideological and experimental radicalism of feminist counter-cinema alike, womens indie filmmaking is neither ironic, popular nor political enough to be readily absorbed into pre-existing categories. This ground-breaking collection, the first sustained examination of the work of female practitioners within American independent cinema, reclaims the adifference of female indie filmmaking. Through a variety of case studies of directors, writers and producers such as Ava DuVernay, Lena Dunham and Christine Vachon, contributors explore the innovation of a range of female practitioners by attending to the sensibilities, ideologies and industrial practices that distinguish their work while embracing the ain-between space in which the narratives they represent and embody can be revealed.Key FeaturesCovers American womens independent cinema since the late 1970sAnalyses the work of acclaimed but critically overlooked female practitioners such as Kelly Reichardt, Christine Vachon, Miranda July, Kasi Lemmons, Nicole Holofcener, Mira Nair, Lisa Cholodenko, Megan Ellison, Lynn Shelton, Ava DuVernay, Mary Harron and Debra GranikDistinguishes four different approaches to analysing womens independent cinema through: production and industry perspectives; genre and other classificatory modalities; political, cultural, social and professional identities; and collaborative and collectivist practicesContributorsJohn Alberti, Northern Kentucky UniversityLinda Badley, Middle Tennessee State UniversityCynthia Baron, Bowling Green State UniversityShelley Cobb, University of SouthamptonCorinn Columpar, University of TorontoChris Holmlund, University of Tennessee-KnoxvilleGeoff King, Brunel University, LondonChristina Lane, University of MiamiJames Lyons, University of ExeterKathleen A. McHugh, UCLAKent A. Ono, University of UtahLydia Papadimitriou, Liverpool John Moores UniversityClaudia Costa Pederson, Wichita State UniversityClaire Perkins, Monash UniversitySarah Projansky, University of UtahMaria San Filippo, Goucher CollegeMichele Schreiber, Emory UniversitySarah E. S. Sinwell, University of UtahYannis Tzioumakis, University of LiverpoolPatricia White, Swarthmore CollegePatricia R. Zimmermann, Ithaca College

Celluloid Mavericks: A History of American Independent Filmmaking documents this rich history, showing what it meant to be "independent" in the 1930s and what it means today. Author Greg Merritt distinguishes between indie and semi-indie productions, explores the genres represented under the independent umbrella, and addresses the question of what makes a movie independent -- its "spirit" or the budget backing the production. From one-reel flicks at the turn of the century to the blockbusters of the ‘90s, Celluloid Mavericks takes readers on a fascinating tour of the industry.

'Hollywood Independents' explores the crucial period between 1948 and 1962 when independent film producers first became key components of the modern corporate entertainment industry. Mann examines their impact, the decline of the studios, the rise of television, and the rise of potent talent agencies such as MCA.

This anthology addresses the salient aesthetic, ideological and economic determinants of independent American cinema over the past three decades.

Indie, Inc. surveys Miramax's evolution from independent producer-distributor to studio subsidiary, chronicling how one company transformed not just the independent film world but the film and media industries more broadly. Miramax's activities had an impact on everything from film festival practices to marketing strategies, talent development to awards campaigning. Case studies of key films, including The Piano, Kids, Scream, The English Patient, and Life is Beautiful, reveal how Miramax went beyond influencing Hollywood business practices and motion picture aesthetics to shaping popular and critical discourses about cinema during the 1990s ... [and] looks at the range of Miramax-released genre films, foreign-language films, and English-language imports released over the course of the decade.

The pioneering anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner combines her trademark ethnographic expertise with critical film interpretation to explore the independent film scene in New York and Los Angeles since the late 1980s. Not Hollywood is both a study of the lived experience of that scene and a critical examination of America as seen through the lenses of independent filmmakers. Based on interviews with scores of directors and producers, Ortner reveals the culture and practices of indie filmmaking, including the conviction of those involved that their films, unlike Hollywood movies, are "telling the truth" about American life. These films often illuminate the dark side of American society through narratives about the family, the economy, and politics in today's neoliberal era. Offering insightful interpretations of many of these films, Ortner argues that during the past three decades independent American cinema has functioned as a vital form of cultural critique.

A quixotic figure, Vasile Avramenko (1895-1981) used folk culture and modern media in a life-long crusade to promote Ukraine’s struggle for independence to North American audiences. From his base in New York City, he built a network of folk dance schools and produced musical spectacles to help Ukrainian immigrants sustain their identity. His feature-length Ukrainian language films made in the 1930s with Hollywood director Edgar G. Ulmer, the “king of ethnic and B movies,” were shown throughout North America. Orest T. Martynowych’s The Showman and the Ukrainian Cause is a fascinating portrait how culture can become a political tool in a diaspora community.

Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes is the first major biography of the effervescent, scene-stealing actress (1906-1979) who conquered motion pictures, vaudeville, Broadway, summer stock, television, and radio. Born the child of vaudevillians, she was on stage by age three. With her casual sex appeal, distinctive cello voice, megawatt smile, luminous saucer eyes, and flawless timing, she came into widespread fame in Warner Bros. musicals and comedies of the 1930s, including Blonde Crazy, Gold Diggers of 1933, and Footlight Parade. Frequent co-star to James Cagney, Clark Gable, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart, friend to Judy Garland, Barbara Stanwyck, and Bette Davis, and wife of Dick Powell and Mike Todd, Joan Blondell was a true Hollywood insider. By the time of her death, she had made nearly 100 films in a career that spanned over fifty years. Privately, she was unerringly loving and generous, while her life was touched by financial, medical, and emotional upheavals. Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes is meticulously researched, expertly weaving the public and private, and features numerous interviews with family, friends, and colleagues.

Punk Slash! Musicals is the first book to deal extensively with punk narrative films, specifically British and American punk rock musicals produced from roughly 1978 to 1986. Films such as Jubilee, Breaking Glass, Times Square, Smithereens, Starstruck, and Sid and Nancy represent a convergence between independent, subversive cinema and formulaic classical Hollywood and pop musical genres. Guiding this project is the concept of "slip-sync." Riffing on the commonplace lip-sync phenomenon, "slip-sync" refers to moments in the films when the punk performer "slips" out of sync with the performance spectacle, and sometimes the sound track itself, engendering a provocative moment of tension. This tension frequently serves to illustrate other thematic and narrative conflicts, central among these being the punk negotiation between authenticity and inauthenticity. Laderman emphasizes the strong female lead performer at the center of most of these films, as well as each film's engagement with gender and race issues. Additionally, he situates his analyses in relation to the broader cultural and political context of the neo-conservatism and new electronic audio-visual technologies of the 1980s, showing how punk's revolution against the mainstream actually depends upon a certain ironic embrace of pop culture.

'The first edition of The Cultural Industries moved us irrevocably past the tired debates between political economy and cultural studies approaches. This second edition takes on new and vital targets, for example claims that the Internet is replacing television in everyday media consumption.... In the process, Hesmondhalgh provides us with an essential toolkit for making critical sense of the digital media age, and our places within it' - Nick Couldry, Goldsmiths College, University Of London 'This book sets a valuable standard for communication studies. Hesmondhalgh integrates cultural research with political economy, organizational sociology with public communication policy studies, global with comparative analysis, and intellectual property law with technology changes. I've successfully taught graduate and undergraduate courses in the USA and France using the first edition, and this one is better still' - John D.H. Downing, Global Media Research Centre, Southern Illinois University Praise for the first edition: 'This lucid, careful and sophisticated book orders the entire field, for the US as well as Europe, and at one stroke becomes the state of the art, the standard' - Todd Gitlin, Columbia University, USA This book is a powerful antidote to journalistic hype about change in the cultural industries. Significantly expanding, updating and revising an acclaimed first edition published in 2002, it · analyses how, why and in what ways cultural production has changed since the 1980s · guides the reader through existing approaches · scrutinises facts and debates about the role of culture and creativity in modern societies · provides new material on copyright, cultural policy, celebrity power, the digital distribution of music and many other issues Like its predecessor, this exciting new edition of The Cultural Industries places transformation in the cultural industries in long-term political, economic and cultural context. In doing so, Hesmondhalgh offers a distinctive critical approach to cultural production, drawing on political economy perspectives, but also on cultural studies, sociology and social theory.