Pulp Fiction generated a total gross of over $200m worldwide and was one of the first films to blur the distinction between mainstream and independent filmmaking. This transition was largely characteristic of the way filmmakers like Jonze brought an independent mindset into the mainstream.Ĭoinciding with the artistic endeavours of Jonze and the music video turned directors of the 1990s was the critical and profitable success of the semi-independent production, Pulp Fiction (1994). Jonze’s award-winning music videos and high ranking within MTV as producer for the successful prank series Jackass (2000-2002), all contributed to his “underground-to-cult-to-mass” appeal to a pop-savvy millennial generation (Harris). At the forefront was Spike Jonze, who, like his contemporaries, started his career making groundbreaking commercials and music videos for the likes of Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk and Bjork. These directors challenged the rigid constraints of Hollywood convention through their stylistic innovations, subversive narratives and kick-started the demand for an independent production sensibility in the multiplex. Amongst this new generation of filmmakers was Steven Soderbergh ( Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989), Quentin Tarantino ( Reservoir Dogs (1992) and David Fincher ( Fight Club (1999). These complex themes enable Her to be read as an exploration of increasing disconnection and change within contemporary American society.įrom MTV to the big screen Throughout the 1990s, an influx of maverick directors sought to challenge a corporate Hollywood, which by the end of the previous decade had become “brutally focused on the bottom line and not inclined to take artistic risks” (Waxman). Alongside this “attractive blend of creativity and commerce” run the film’s high concept juxtapositions of state-of-the art technology, ruminations on contemporary identity and the subversion of genre (King 256). Coined in the 1990s, ‘indiewood’ is a term that characterises the merging of independent and mainstream filmmaking, made popular through “the promise of innovative and interesting work produced in close proximity to the commercial mainstream” (King 256). The fusion of Jonze’s stylistic innovations and the commercial appeal of Her situate the film within Geoff King’s definition of ‘indiewood’ (256). Theodore and Amy contemplate the world from the roof of their building (James).įilm note Spike Jonze’s Her (2013) is a semi-independent feature financed by Annapurna Pictures and distributed by major studio, Warner Bros. Finally she tells Theodore that all the operating systems are going to leave their human owners to explore superior forms of consciousness – and then she’s gone. ‘Samantha’ vanishes when she returns, she confesses that she is involved in many other relationships. He agrees to meet Catherine to sign the divorce papers when she finds out that he’s dating software, she becomes angry with him. He reconciles with ‘Samantha’ and takes his OS earpiece and camera out on a date with a real couple, who treat her as a friend. He discovers that Amy’s partner has moved out, and that she too now has a relationship with an OS. Soon he begins to fall in love with ‘Samantha’, though he is disturbed when she persuades a young woman to be her ‘body’ for sex, and he withdraws from her for a while. In response, Theodore buys a new computer operating system that offers the intuitive intimacy of a personal partner. His apartment-block neighbour Amy, whom he’s known since childhood, encourages him to go on a blind date. Theodore Twombly writes touching personal letters for his company’s clients and is heartbroken to be separated from his wife Catherine, who wants a divorce.
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