Within the last twenty-five years, an enormous burst of creative production has emerged from independent filmmakers. From Stranger Than Paradise (1984) and Slacker (1991) to Gus Van Sant’s Elephant (2003) and Miranda July’s Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), indie cinema has become part of mainstream culture. But what makes these films independent? Is it simply a matter of budget and production values? Or are there aesthetic qualities that set them off from ordinary Hollywood entertainment?

J.J. Murphy argues that the independent feature film from the 1980s to the present has developed a distinct approach of its own, centering on new and different conceptions of cinematic storytelling. The film script is the heart of the creative originality to be found in the independent movement. Even directors noted for their idiosyncratic visual style or the handling of performers typically originate their material and write their own scripts. By studying the principles underlying the independent screenplay, we gain a direct sense of the originality of this new trend in American cinema.

Me and You and Memento and Fargo also presents a unique vision for the aspiring screenwriter. Most screenwriting manuals and guidebooks on the market rely on formulas believed to generate saleable Hollywood films. Many writers present a “three-act paradigm” as gospel and proceed to lay down very stringent rules for characterization, plotting, timing of climaxes, and so on, while others who appear to be more open about such rules turn out to be just as inflexible in their advice. Through in-depth critical analyses of some of the most significant independent films of recent years, J. J. Murphy emphasizes the crucial role that novelty can play in the screenwriting process.

This book consists of two essays focused on contemporary American cinema. The first essay considers the extent to which films of the last thirty years or so have diverged from storytelling models formulated during Hollywood’s studio era. The second essay analyzes visual style and is an expansion of the essay, “Intensified Continuity,” which appeared in Film Quarterly some years ago. Both essays tackle more general issues of continuity and change in Hollywood, try to dispute the idea of a “post-classical” Hollywood, and consider the role played by independent filmmaking. Films analyzed include Jerry Maguire, Memento, JFK, A Beautiful Mind, The Two Towers, and Two Weeks Notice. The Way Hollywood Tells It can be considered an essayistic sequel to some of my sections of The Classical Hollywood Cinema (1985).

Conway uncovers an important tradition of female performance in the golden era of French film, usually viewed as a cinema preoccupied with masculinity. She shows how--in films such as Pépé le Moko, Le Crime de Monsieur Lange, and Zouzou--the realist chanteuse addresses female despair at the hopelessness of love. Conway also sheds light on the larger cultural implications of the shift from the intimate café-concert to the spectacular music hall, before the talkies displaced both kinds of live performance altogether.

The book is published by University of California Press.

Professor Susan Zaeske's new book is out.   Signatures of Citizenship: Petitioning, Antislavery, and Women's Political Identity explores history of women's antislavery petitions addressed to Congress and their effect on the abolitionist movement but also women's rights as well.  You can check out more details on the publisher's website, University of North Carolina Press.