The Notion of Mainstream Film in Contemporary Cinema
The Notion of Mainstream Film in Contemporary Cinema

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this paper is to establish how the term “a mainstream film” is usedand understood, what meaning is assigned to it in contemporary discourse aboutcinema. Wide research was carried out, aimed at pinpointing its usage both on theInternet, among bloggers and film forum members, as well as in academic papers.It turns out that the term is widely used, but very scarcely defined. Moreover, it isunderstood in very different, often incompatible manners. At least six meaningswere detected. A mainstream film can be a blockbuster, a film which propagatesdominant ideologies, a realist film, a film which employs continuity editing,a film rooted in the tradition of classical Hollywood cinema, a film that is easyto comprehend. Until recently, all these meanings could be combined due toa relatively high degree of uniformity within film culture, but now, when cinemais experiencing growing diversification in all spheres, it is probably better not touse it at all.

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