Freak scenes : American indie cinema and indie music cultures

Freak Scenes explores the increased licensing of indie music & representation of indie music cultures within American independent cinema since the 1980s. Indie music has, since the 2000s, become highlighted in some indie films as an attraction, but this book probes how the appeal of indie music stretches back to the late 1970s, when punk music made its impact on filmmaking.Sexton looks at a range of issues where indie music & indie film intersect, including commercial concerns, the growth of niche marketing, the increased employment of popular music in cinema & questions of authenticity, as well as the fraught tensions between commercial & artistic concerns. Case studies include: sonic authorship & indie music, representations of punk & indie scenes on screen, & an exploration of how racial & gender issues inform the representation & reception of indie cultures on film.°°°Jamie Sexton is Senior Lecturer in Film & Television Studies at Northumbria University. He is the author & editor of a number of books, including British Musical Hauntology (forthcoming, 2023), The Routledge Companion to Cult Cinema (co-edited with Ernest Mathijs, 2019), Stranger Than Paradise (2017) & Cult Cinema: An Introduction (co-authored with Ernest Mathijs, 2011). #### The first academic book to explore indie music and indie music cultures on screen * Combines historical, cultural, aesthetic and industry analysis to explore the functions and broader appeal of indie music on film * Includes analyses of indie punk scenes on film * Examines gender and racial issues within indie music and film __Freak Scenes__ explores the increased licensing of indie music and representation of indie music cultures within American independent cinema since the 1980s. Indie music has, since the 2000s, become highlighted in some indie films as an attraction, but this book probes how the appeal of indie music stretches back to the late 1970s, when punk music made its impact on filmmaking. Sexton looks at a range of issues where indie music and indie film intersect, including commercial concerns, the growth of niche marketing, the increased employment of popular music in cinema and questions of authenticity, as well as the fraught tensions between commercial and artistic concerns. Case studies include: sonic authorship and indie music, representations of punk and indie scenes on screen, and an exploration of how racial and gender issues inform the representation and reception of indie cultures on film. Contents Figures Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 2 A Brief History of Indie Music in American Indie Film 3 Sonic Authorship 1: Gregg Araki 4 Sonic Authorship 2: Sofia Coppola 5 Documenting Scenes and Performers 1: Punk, Smithereens and Suburbia 6 Documenting Scenes and Performers 2: Grunge and Riot Grrrl 7 Indie Music, Film and Race 1: Medicine for Melancholy and Pariah 8 Indie Music, Film and Race 2: Sorry to Bother You 9 Conclusion Bibliography INDEX