The pioneering anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner combines her trademark ethnographic expertise with critical film interpretation to explore the independent film scene in New York and Los Angeles since the late 1980s. Not Hollywood is both a study of the lived experience of that scene and a critical examination of America as seen through the lenses of independent filmmakers. Based on interviews with scores of directors and producers, Ortner reveals the culture and practices of indie filmmaking, including the conviction of those involved that their films, unlike Hollywood movies, are "telling the truth" about American life. These films often illuminate the dark side of American society through narratives about the family, the economy, and politics in today's neoliberal era. Offering insightful interpretations of many of these films, Ortner argues that during the past three decades independent American cinema has functioned as a vital form of cultural critique.

Not Hollywood is both a study of the lived experience of the independent film scene in New York and Los Angeles and a critical examination of America as seen through the lenses of independent filmmakers.

About the Author

Sherry B. Ortner is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UCLA. She is the author of numerous books including New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of '58 and Anthropology and Social Theory: Culture, Power, and the Acting Subject, both published by Duke University Press.

Reviews
"[T]his is an accessible, enjoyable and original study which will interest anyone concerned with the relationship between culture and economic forces, and which makes a distinctive contribution to the current anthropology of neoliberalism. Finally, it will awaken your curiosity about the range of American independent film, and encourage you to test your own thoughts and reactions against Ortner's analysis - which is, no doubt, just as its author would wish." -- Fenella Cannell * Anthropology of This Century *
"For a general overview of American independent cinema and how it fits into broader changes in U.S.society as a whole, Ortner's book offers a comparatively light yet thoroughly engaging study." -- Alison Frank * Film Quarterly *
"An original interpretation of film and public culture that addresses the nexus of anthropology and film studies. Best suited for anthropologists interested in contemporary visual culture and film professionals looking for perspective outside the film industry." -- Robin Chin Roemer * Library Journal *
"[A]n excellent account of how value is formed by and for independent cinema via the producers who drive the productions into the marketplace. The sociological-ethnographic focus on production in the book amounts to an excellent contribution to the understanding of the process of production in the sector, rather than simply its products. Ortner's book is also highly readable and engaging, and will provide an excellent text for anyone who teaches undergraduates in either practice- or theory-based production studies." -- Steven Rawle * Scope *
"The major accomplishment of Not Hollywood is the way Ortner seamlessly pulls together her analyses of independent film, neoliberalism, generation and class. The result is a timely and insightful book." -- Lara McKenzie * PopAnth *
"Not Hollywood is an outstanding example of how anthropology could foster non-conventional perspectives in the study of film, and of contemporary 'Western' societies more generally. Ortner is successful in constructing a fundamentally anthropological analysis, taking seriously the world of film production as any other cultural phenomenon. This book constitutes one of the rare published studies about film production from an anthropological perspective, and is thus a greatly appreciated and major contribution to the field of media anthropology." -- Maria-Paz Peirano * Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute *
"Ortner once again contributes much-needed analysis to understanding social class in the United States. Expertly combining a Geertzian approach to culture with a Marxist and Gramscian approach to power, she explores the links between the transformation in American class structure over the past four decades and the cultural shifts of our neoliberal age. Ortner is, as ever, brilliant at making difficult concepts accessible. At a moment when it may seem that anthropologists could have little more to say about neoliberalism, she uncovers its cultural effects in a clear, insightful, and absorbing way." -- Naomi Schiller * American Ethnologist *



Book Information
ISBN 9780822354260
Author Sherry B. Ortner
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Duke University Press
Publisher Duke University Press
Weight(grams) 472g