American eccentric cinema / Kim Wilkins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wilkins, Kim, 1986- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States--In motion pictures.

United States.

National characteristics, American, in motion pictures.

Existentialism in motion pictures.

Motion pictures--United States.

Motion pictures.

Physical Description:

vi, 214 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, NY, USA : Bloomsbury Academic, Bloomsbury Publishing Inc, 2019.

Summary:

Since the late 1990s a new language has emerged in film scholarship and criticism in response to the popularity of American directors such as Wes Anderson, Charlie Kaufman, and David O. Russell. Increasingly, adjectives like 'quirky', 'cute', and 'smart' are used to describe these American films, with a focus on their ironic (and sometimes deliberately comical) stories, character situations and tones. Kim Wilkins argues that, beyond the seemingly superficial descriptions, `American eccentric cinema' presents a formal and thematic eccentricity that is distinct to the American context. She distinguishes these films from mainstream Hollywood cinema as they exhibit irregularities in characterization, tone, and setting, and deviate from established generic conventions. Each chapter builds a case for this position through detailed film analyses and comparisons to earlier American traditions, such as the New Hollywood cinema of the 1960s and 1970s. American Eccentric Cinema promises to challenge the notion of irony in American contemporary cinema, and questions the relationship of irony to a complex national and individual identity.

Contents:

Introduction

Defining American eccentricity

Road films and national identity

Overtly cinematic characterization

Hyper-dialogue and the eccentric manner

Eccentric worlds

Conclusion : beyond eccentricity.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 200-209), filmography (pages 195-199) and index.

ISBN:

9781501336911

1501336916

OCLC:

1077626270