Anna Backman Rogers argues that American independent cinema is a cinema not merely in crisis, but also of crisis.As a cinema which often explores the rite of passage by explicitly drawing on American cinematic heritage, from the teen movie to the western, American independent films deal in images of crisis, transition and metamorphosis, offering a subversive engagement with more traditional modes of representation.Examining films by Gus Van Sant, Jim Jarmusch and Sofia Coppola to highlight their use of cinematic time as a mode of philosophical thought, this book brings new and exciting perspectives to American independent cinema.