The principal focus of American Independent Cinema is on the particular versions of independent cinema that came to prominence from the mid 1980s with the appearance of milestone films such as Stranger Than Paradise (Jim Jarmusch, 1984), sex, lies, and videotape (Steven Soderbergh, 1989) and Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994). The terms ‘independent’ or ‘indie’ – the latter often used to distinguish this particular version of independence – are used primarily in the sense in which they became established in the wider culture in this period, rather than according to a fixed or more literal definition. To understand.
