Abstract

The line between "studio" and "independent" film has recently blurred considerably with respect to the American film industry. This trend has manifested literally in "Indiewood," a term coined to describe the growth of studio-owned "specialty divisions" that distribute technically independent films. This thesis seeks to explore the implications of "Indiewood" on the economics of gay film, asking how changes in the infrastructure of the American film industry have altered the manner in which gay film is produced and distributed, and what themes are being privileged in this new alignment. Situated within Gramscian framework of "hegemony," this analysis will examine what I term "Gay Indiewood," in relation to neoliberalism, the dominant power of American society. While "Indiewood" can clearly be seen as representing neoliberalism in its definitive transferring of independent film into the corporate world, this thesis will explore its relationship to what Lisa Duggan terms "the new homonormativity," a form of neoliberalism within gay politics. By linking the concepts of "Gay Indiewood," "the new homonormativity" and "neoliberalism," this thesis urges a closer look at the mainstreaming of homosexuality in the American hegemonic arrangement.