Mumblecore

Definition: An American independent film movement of the early twenty-first century that is characterized by low-budget production, a strong focus on personal relationships between twenty-somethings, improvised scripts and non-professional actors.

Pronunciation: MUM-bull-kor

Origin

Eric Masunaga, a sound editor who came up with the term one night at a bar during the 2005 South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, coined the term. He came up with the term when asked to describe the similarities between the films Mutual Appreciation, The Puffy Chair and Kissing on the Mouth, which all screened at the festival that year. The term was first used publicly in an interview with the daily news site indieWIRE.

Why this word?

Film movements are usually categorized and analyzed years after the movement has taken place, so it’s very interesting that this word would even exist so early into the movement. The fact that this word is so relevant, new and virtually unknown in popular culture at this moment is the most intriguing factor considering many popular movies of today could align themselves in the category.

How to use the word mumblecore in a sentence?

This noun can be used in various types of sentences when discussing early film movements of the twenty-first century.

“The Puffy Chair is a fine example of a mumblecore movie.”

“I don’t have the budget to make a three million dollar movie; maybe I can get some friends to act it in and make it a mumblecore?