The American film industry transformed itself during the 1970s: a new
order emerged out of the chaos of the former studio system. A new rating
system freed directors to explore serious subjects but allowed for the
expansion of exploitation films as well. So while unprecedented social
and political commentary emanated from the film-school-trained "New
Hollywood" auteurs, the bigger change was the major studios' embrace of
sensationalist content, mass advertising, and saturation booking. The
methods of fringe exploitation producers became the norm.
Some of the films discussed in this book include: Five Easy Pieces,
Chinatown, Carnal Knowledge, Straw Dogs, A Clockwork Orange,
Mean Streets, The Conversation, Nashville, Shampoo, Taxi
Driver, and Apocalypse Now.