Indie films have been quickly growing into the public eye.  For many years, since the birth of the Sundance Film Festival (and other similar independent film festivals), independent films, for the most part, stayed independent.  Occasionally there would be a break-out performance that redefined a genre or an actor’s career that would be known by all, but they were rare to occur.  We find now that in this day and age, indie films are surely, and ironically, becoming mainstream.
It was design that gave away this transition in film.  Ever since the popular Napolean Dynamite indie film, a theme has risen in mainstream movies.  The design used in Napolean Dynamite of a late sixties style typeface and graphics with a hint of a modern twist has begun to sprout here of there, until it has nearly spawned like rodents.  The ability to create a popular, strong film with a small budget is commendable, but the exploitation of that film’s strong design to pull in the target market is unfortunate, from an artistic originality standpoint.
With no disrespect to their quality, films such as Juno, Garden State (which was released at almost the same time as Napolean Dynamite), Adventureland, Wristcutters, Superbad (a poor attempt), and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist all have nearly the exact same design and layout in their feel and graphics.  Designed to look like a personal indie film, these movies played off the trend, creating an irony that was depressing for those who link independent films with originality.
The problem is not the quality of the films, the problem isn’t the script, the problem is the design and marketing that is clearly killing both that film’s originality and respect.  There’s nothing wrong with a film looking like another, or playing off of another film’s popularity, but originality must be ignored in order to do so.  Regardless of agreement, one can’t ignore the similarities in design.