American Cinema of the 2010s: Themes and Variations

The 2010s were perhaps the most tumultuous decade since the 1960s. The effects of the Great Recession continued to be felt. The administration of Barack Obama, the first African-American president, encouraged many to think that America was now post-racial, an illusion broken by the election of Donald Trump. Polarization reigned, communicated on social media. Netflix and Amazon jumped into production. By 2019, Netflix produced more feature films than the traditional studios combined. Cinema’s move from film to digital, in production and in exhibition, was complete by mid-decade. #MeToo and #Oscarssowhite signaled a reckoning with gross gender and racial inequalities in the media, matched by that in the wider culture.

The essays of American Cinema of the 2010s explore the blockbusters, low-budget sleepers, and films in between. A decade seemingly dominated by the superhero movies of Marvel and DC also saw small horror films and critically praised independent films draw audiences and win awards. Animation continued to produce popular and ground-breaking works, while auteurs such as Kathryn Bigelow, Quentin Tarantino, and George Miller intersected with new voices such as Jordan Peele, Ryan Coogler, and Ari Aster to make the 2010s a memorable era for movies. Films discussed include Frozen, Guardians of the Galaxy, Zero Dark Thirty, The Force Awakens, Get Out, Mad Max: Fury Road, American Sniper, Hereditary, and Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood.