Comments on: Indie Indeed http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/ A group blog about computer narrative, games, poetry, and art. Wed, 19 May 2010 01:52:58 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: andrew http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/comment-page-1/#comment-83186 andrew Mon, 17 Apr 2006 03:15:24 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/#comment-83186 Here's a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/16/movies/16waxm.html" rel="nofollow">good NYTimes article</a> on the difficulty of distributing edgier indie films these days, even ones with known actors. The film in the article looks awesome, can't wait to eventually see it. Here’s a good NYTimes article on the difficulty of distributing edgier indie films these days, even ones with known actors. The film in the article looks awesome, can’t wait to eventually see it.

]]> By: mark http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/comment-page-1/#comment-83023 mark Thu, 06 Apr 2006 23:55:57 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/#comment-83023 And indeed a similar confusion over indie-ness has led to decades of debate over which record labels are "corporate" versus "indie", which bands are "true to their indie roots" versus "sell-outs", and so on. Is a punk band on Epitaph "indie" (the label is personally owned by another punk band's singer, and isn't part of the RIAA), or is the label big enough that it should qualify as "corporate"? If the latter, when did it make that transition? Was it when The Offspring and Rancid got popular in 1994? If so, does that mean popularity = not indie? Or do we really mean "D.I.Y.", where there's no label at all and you press and mail out CD-Rs yourself? Basically it's a continuum over which we're trying to make a binary distinction, so I don't think it's possible to settle the interminable aguments over where to draw the line... And indeed a similar confusion over indie-ness has led to decades of debate over which record labels are “corporate” versus “indie”, which bands are “true to their indie roots” versus “sell-outs”, and so on. Is a punk band on Epitaph “indie” (the label is personally owned by another punk band’s singer, and isn’t part of the RIAA), or is the label big enough that it should qualify as “corporate”? If the latter, when did it make that transition? Was it when The Offspring and Rancid got popular in 1994? If so, does that mean popularity = not indie? Or do we really mean “D.I.Y.”, where there’s no label at all and you press and mail out CD-Rs yourself?

Basically it’s a continuum over which we’re trying to make a binary distinction, so I don’t think it’s possible to settle the interminable aguments over where to draw the line…

]]> By: andrew http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/comment-page-1/#comment-83022 andrew Thu, 06 Apr 2006 22:56:48 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/#comment-83022 A similar confusion about indie-ness in the film world about 10 years over the perceived commercialization of Sundance spawned the Slamdance festival, co-located with Sundance. More thoughts later when I get a chance... A similar confusion about indie-ness in the film world about 10 years over the perceived commercialization of Sundance spawned the Slamdance festival, co-located with Sundance.

More thoughts later when I get a chance…

]]> By: Unk http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/comment-page-1/#comment-83019 Unk Thu, 06 Apr 2006 18:29:42 +0000 http://grandtextauto.org/2006/04/05/indie-indeed/#comment-83019 It seems pretty obvious that these attempts to denouce indie award winners are mostly generated out of puerile jealousy. On the other hand, I think our industry does lack definition which is something that needs to be addressed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_gaming Defining the boundaries where indies begins and end seems to be a reoccurring theme of late. Some are asking questions about what happens to an indie that becomes really successful... are they still indies? The real root of the problem I think is our lack of self-definition as a movement. We have no center. It seems like before we can move on to define our boundaries we must first define our core. The word 'indie' itself seems to be a sort of vague catch-all for anything falling outside of studio control but it is also a sub-culture. I am of the increasing opinion that the industries and people revolving around the indie movement (primarily film, music, and games) all are working on the same problem... which is how to live a sustaining creative lifestyle outside of the control of corporate interests. Unlike those whining about how these award winners are not 'real indies', I am not so sure that being indie has anything to do with monetary success or failure as much as creative control and freedom over our own lifestyles. Regardless, until these sorts of questions are addressed we will be stuck having these superficial debates over who the 'real' indies are. -Unk It seems pretty obvious that these attempts to denouce indie award winners are mostly generated out of puerile jealousy.

On the other hand, I think our industry does lack definition which is something that needs to be addressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indie_gaming

Defining the boundaries where indies begins and end seems to be a reoccurring theme of late. Some are asking questions about what happens to an indie that becomes really successful… are they still indies? The real root of the problem I think is our lack of self-definition as a movement. We have no center. It seems like before we can move on to define our boundaries we must first define our core.

The word ‘indie’ itself seems to be a sort of vague catch-all for anything falling outside of studio control but it is also a sub-culture. I am of the increasing opinion that the industries and people revolving around the indie movement (primarily film, music, and games) all are working on the same problem… which is how to live a sustaining creative lifestyle outside of the control of corporate interests.

Unlike those whining about how these award winners are not ‘real indies’, I am not so sure that being indie has anything to do with monetary success or failure as much as creative control and freedom over our own lifestyles. Regardless, until these sorts of questions are addressed we will be stuck having these superficial debates over who the ‘real’ indies are.

-Unk

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