Contemporary Hollywood Cinema

A wide-ranging overview of the film industry in Hollywood today, Contemporary Hollywood Cinema brings together essays on technology, institutions and film itself to explore the nature of Hollywood in the post-studio era. Early contributions consider the growth of aggressive studio business strategies such as the independent marketing of stars; the made-for-tv movie and saturation release for blockbusters, the globalisation of Hollywoods market, the rise of the major independent production/distribution companies, and the recent fortunes of independent cinema. Subsequent articles are concerned with technological advances such as colour, stereo and digital sound, and widescreen, and current developments in film scores in pictures such as Batman Returns, and several contributions consider structural coherence in modern blockbusters like Raiders of the Lost Ark, challenging the idea that contemporary Hollywood has rejected the fluent narratives of its classical predecessor. The final section focusses on issues of audience and ideology, dealing with questions of the representation of race, gender, sexuality and class.