.20 Since The 1990s, American Independent Film Study

American independent films are different from the films produced by Hollywood mainstream studios. Early in the 1940's and 1950's after the Second World War, "experimental cinema" and "underground film" that had an independent tendency emerged in America. Having experienced development in the 1960's and 1970's, independent film met Hollywood film as an equal by its success in terms of art and commerce at the end of 1980's and the beginning of 1990's, which made Hollywood no longer sit by and begin to take measures to meddle in the field of independent film. Hollywood's participation changed the definition of independent film subtly. Now the capital source and manufacture way are only the norms of reference to define weather a film is an independent film. The essence of independent film is mainly embodied in the "independent spirit"- focusing on individual expression and persisting in artistic innovation, which is different from the mainstream film.The prosperity of independent film in the 1990's has its specific social context, including the convenience of the technological condition, the prosperity of videotape market and the aesthetic space left by Hollywood. As an artistic form different from Hollywood mainstream films, independent film has its own specific artistic style in terms of themes and aesthetic characteristics. Independent films concern and reflect the life pursuit of marginal groups, mental symptoms of modern people and the phenomena of violent crime in American society. In the meantime, independent film breaks the monotonous and closed pattern of conventional narrative by its multi-dimensional narrative style and multiple space and time system. Independent film also assumes the stylistic characteristics of being genre-mixed and multicomponent-combined.Besides the research on the independent film itself, this paper also makes a systematic analysis of the contributions made by the power engines that promote the development of independent film continuously, such as some organizations and agencies related to independent film: Independent Film Program, Sundance Institute and some independent film companies in the producing, marketing, promoting and publishing of independent films.Finally, as the two important components of American films, we should also pay attention to the mutual relation between independent film and Hollywood. They are interdependent and reciprocal, but in the meantime, there are some irrevocable commercial corrosion and artistic crises. This paper tries to explore the survival strategy and the way of development of American independent film on the basic of a comprehensive survey.