What constitutes “independent film” in an era when independent distributors have merged with Hollywood studios? English 345 addresses this question by examining the narrative, stylistic, and industrial aspects of contemporary U.S. independent film. While we will briefly investigate the history of independent film in the U.S., beginning with the industry’s earliest days, we will concentrate on the burgeoning of independent cinema that began in the mid 1980s. In addition to viewing films in class, students will attend selected screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival. Course films will likely include, among other titles, Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003), Gas, Food, Lodging (Allison Anders, 1992), Magnolia (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1999), Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001), Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004), Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994), Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995), Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Steven Soderbergh, 1989), She’s Gotta Have It (Spike Lee, 1986) Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984), and 21 Grams (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2003)

One of the following titles:
King, Geoff. American Independent Cinema. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 2005. ISBN: 0253218268.
Levy, Emanuel. Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film. New York: NYU Press, 2001. ISBN: 0814751245.
Tzioumakis, Yannis. American Independent Cinema: An Introduction. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers UP, 2006. ISBN: 0813539714.

Texts:

• Bordwell, David and Kristin Thompson. Film Art: An Introduction 8th edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. [9780073535067]