ABSTRACT
John Sayles has become known as one of the most prominent representatives of American independent cinema. His independence derives from how he has made movies outside of Hollywood, financing them with income earned working as a screenwriter for other people’s projects. Such economic independence has allowed Sayles the narrative integrity that he identifies as a fundamental characteristic of independent film, describing it as “when filmmakers started out with a story they wanted to tell and found a way to make that story.” Sayles’s insistence on the story he wants to tell is exemplified by his interest in putting history on the screen. He avoids Hollywood’s limited view of history by not overemphasizing the accomplishments of a few individuals but rather by presenting “ensemble situations” including the actions of a range of characters. Sayles insisted on such an approach to history in his 1988 film Eight Men Out that recounts the deal that Chicago White Sox players made with gamblers to intentionally lose the 1919 World Series. Employing a large ensemble of characters Sayles creates a complex history of how class division marked this moment in baseball history and also told a story that resonated with similar problems of economic inequality plaguing America in the 1980s when the Eight Men Out was released.
