I have noticed that fans of indie/foreign films tend to be very skewed towards the liberal side of politics. I guess it’s because liberals tend to be more open to different ideas and things that are not the status quo.
Am I wrong about this? Maybe I just don’t meet many GOP people at the films I go to.
I’m also guessing is has to do with the fact that indie filmmaker tend to be pretty liberal in their own politics and their movies reflect that.
I like certain indie movies, but it depends on the subject matter. The same goes for commercial movies, television, magazines, and other mass media. So, one data point against.
‘Foreign’ and ‘indie’ are both a bit broad. But as joebuck pointed out, the stereotypical art house film is likely to promote or at least acknowledge subjects and issues that conservatives may be uncomfortable with or flat-out against (women’s sexuality, homosexuality). If these were mainstream stories and values, they’d be in blockbusters.
That might be due to your movie tastes. For instance, a conservative watching ‘Fireproof’ could make the same comment. “Boy, there aren’t my liberals here, I wonder what they have against indie films?”
Funny story - 25 years ago a local art film place showed porn films too. The owner said he had to show the porn to make ends meet. Now we have several theaters that do OK just with indie/art films.
In addition to the aforementioned willingness to try new things you have to take into account where the theaters showing these movies are.
Such places are really hard to find in the areas that are the most conservative. You couldn’t see such films if you wanted to if you lived out in the sticks somewhere. On the other hand, the GI Joe movie marketing was heavily targeted at red state audiences.
It’s probably because all independent films are about gay cowboys eating pudding.
I was thinking something similar. I was wondering if more conservative type foreign movies get made but you don’t hear about those.
Unless the OP has actually been polling people at theaters, I’d say this smacks of confirmation bias. My family is very fond of indie movies, and we’re all republicans. There are many indie and foreign movies that aren’t particularly political, you know. What are the politics to The Quiet Room, El Habitante Incierto, The Secret of Roan Inish, or
Noche De Reyes? Not that I avoid political flavored ones anyway - The Last Supper and Urbania are two of my favorite movies.
Or maybe it’s that the OP has a set idea about what an indie film is, that doesn’t conform to the fact that the label is suitable for all films produced by indepentent film companies. That’s frequently the case with indie music, when people mistakenly think it applies to “a sound” rather than a business model (hint: The Decemberists are not indie. They’re on Capital records!).
This.
The last movie I saw was “500 Days of Summer”. It was well scripted, well acted and nicely filmed.
This is pretty much what I was going to say. Indie filmmakers, lacking the distribution/marketing resources of the major studios, are going to be be able to place their films into fewer theaters. So it makes economic sense to place their films in the largest available markets, i.e. the big cities, which tend to be more liberal than conservative.
BTW , I never said there were zero conservative indie film fans, just that there were not many. A few people on here doesn’t invalidate my opinion.
I am going to our local indie theater tonight and I almost always see Obama bumper stickers on cars there. But if I see any McCain stickers I will let you know. 
That’s a silly way of determining anything - how many people keep bumper stickers for the loser on their cars this many months after the election? McCain stickers have all but disappeared here, but that doesn’t mean people switched parties. I don’t recall seeing many Kerry bumper stickers this long after the last election, either.
This is basically what I was going to say. Most liberals live in very urban areas with an abundance of amenities like art house films. A lot of conservatives live in rural areas/“fly over land” areas where there isn’t a large enough population to support things that have a “niche” appeal.
The tendency to associate indie films with having liberal messages probably doesn’t give them much incentive to want to seek out indie films.
Since someone mentioned “Fireproof” I decided to wiki it. It looks like Fireproof was the highest grossing indie film of 2008 so it seems like if they hear about a film that has a message they want to hear then conservative people are not averse to going to indie films.
Did you go see “Fireproof”, Bijou? I am curious about how open you are to different ideas. 
No but you’ve pulled your opinion out of your arse without any support. Why are you shilling independent films as if they were somehow better by virtue of low budgets and limited distribution? You’ve forwarded this idea as if indie movies are better and only elite Liberals go to see them.
Sure, “The Spitfire Grill” was good but so was “Ghost Town”. Obscure is not a reason to seek out a movie. Good scripts, acting, and cinematography make a movie worth seeing. In fact, Obscure means the distributors don’t think it will sell.
And while I’m at it, just why did you lump foreign films in with this category? If it’s sub-titled then the movie has less impact because of the loss of the nuance of the language. Unless a movie is made in the style of " Emilie" then it isn’t going to translate properly. Emilie was narrated with sound effects as well as with words. The dialogue of the actors was backdrop to the narration, which translated well with sub-titles. It was effectively made as a silent movie.
Hmm…not quite sure if “500 Days” fits into the same category, considering it is in very wide release. As mentioned, one problem is that foreign/indie films are usually only shown in larger markets (urban) where there are, to be honest, probably fewer GOP audiences in the area. I know that even in Las Vegas, when there is an indie or foreign film I want to see, it is at one theater, 45 minutes across town, and shown maybe once or twice a day at an hour I can’t go.
Granted, many also have topics that my Republican brother would have no interest in seeing, but I think it would be hard to prove that conservatives don’t want to see them as much as they are not widely available - that is, unless they become a hit and get a wider release.
I know many Christian films (heavy on the religious dogma) are release in Utah and parts of the country where they have a built in audience, and most indie Gay films are released (surprise surprise) in NYC, SF and LA…so I really think it has to do with market.
It ain’t cheap to release a film without studio backing and a big budget, so smaller distributors have to find their market and hope for good reviews to get picked up and maybe more widely distributed.
The OP asked if conservatives were not fans of indie movies, not if they don’t go see them in theaters. DVDs make it easy for people to see most anything they want (eventually) despite the limitations of what might be shown in their area.
Where did I ever say anything about the quality or distribution of indie films? Some other posters mentioned their limited distribution, not me. Can you at least read my posts and react to what I actually write?
Actually you’re describing me. I rarely go to theaters anymore because a movie with popcorn/drink/snow caps requires a small loan. I bought “Amelie” rather than go to the theater. In fact, I’m starting to buy USED DVD’s and CD’s because I search the internet for reviews or look/listen to previews.