Reality and Fantasy in American Independent Cinema A Cavellian Approach

In the 21st century, blockbuster fantasy films have dominated film viewership in the United States. The increased popularity of fantasy films has generated much greater scholarly interest in the study of fantasy films. It has also generated an artistic response by American Indie filmmakers who have developed alternative approaches to the portrayal of film fantasy. Reality and Fantasy in American Indie Films: A Cavellian Approach applies the methods and procedures of Cavellian philosophical film criticism to the study of four prominent American indie films released in 2014 in which fantasy can be said to play an important role: Birdman (Alejandro G. Iñárritu); Boyhood (Richard Linklater); The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson); and Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch).

Chapter1. Introduction.- Part1. Theoretical Approaches to Film Fantasy.- Chapter2. Opposition to Mainstream Fantasy.- Chapter3. A Cavellian Approach to Fantasy Film Criticism.- Part2. Reality and Fantasy in American Indie Films.- Chapter4. Fantasies of Immortality, The Good Life and Romantic Love in Only Lovers Left Alive and Groundhog Day.- Chapter5. Fantasy and Desire in Birdman.- Chapter6. The Fantasy World of The Grand Budapest Hotel.- Chapter7. Boyhood and the Mystery of Growing Up on Film.

Rick Zinman is an independent scholar based in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in Film-Philosophy and Quarterly Review of Film and Video, among other publications.