American Eccentric Cinema

Kim Wilkins is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Screen Cultures at the University of Oslo, Norway. Her current research examines national and cultural identity in post-reunification Berlin screen cultures. She has published widely on American indie cinema, particularly the films of Wes Anderson and Spike Jonze.

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionNeoliberal Citizenship and the Eccentric Locating the Eccentric in CinemaNew Hollywood and Eccentric ConnectionsChapter One: Defining American EccentricityIndie and EccentricityAmerican Eccentricity and IronyAnxietyEccentricity Chapter Two: Road Films and National IdentityAmerican Eccentricity and GenreThe Eccentric Road Film: From Easy Rider to The Darjeeling LimitedThe Road and Kaufman’s Mind TripsChapter Three: Overtly Cinematic CharacterizationOvertly Cinematic Characters and Audience Identification Wes Anderson and Overtly Cinematic CharacterizationEccentric or ‘Smart’ Characterization?Wes Anderson’s Eccentric CharactersChapter Four: Hyper-Dialogue and the Eccentric MannerThe Shift from New Hollywood Naturalism to Eccentric Hyper-Dialogue Dialogue and ConventionHyper-Dialogue and PerformanceHyper-Dialogue as Dramatic FunctionHyper-Dialogue and SincerityChapter Five: Eccentric WorldsEccentric Deviations from Realism Eccentricity and the Intertextual WorldEccentric Cities: MagnoliaConclusion: Beyond EccentricityRipples of EccentricityOutside the Box IndexFilmographyBibliography

[Wilkins] provides readers with thought-provoking and perspective-changing ideas of eccentric cinema and its motives.