French New Wave: Cinema & Society
Instructor: Leonard R. Koos
Department: Modern Foreign Languages
Course Number: FSEM 100F
CRN: 12740
Course Overview: The cinema of the French New Wave of the 1960s comprises one of the most influential and significant movements in the history of the medium. Through experimental and innovative treatments of film form and narrative and, French New Wave directors reacted against dominant conventions and styles of filmmaking, and created films that self-reflexively examine the very nature of the institution of cinema in modern society. In our study of the major directors and films of the French New Wave and beyond, we will not only gain a better understanding of the historical and formal evolution of cinema, but also learn to think critically about what it means to watch a film. We will examine the main formal elements of cinematic composition (namely, shot composition and selection, editing, sound, and color) as well as discuss theoretical concepts like auteurism, genre, cinema vérité, feminism, and 1960s radical politics as they relate to the films on our schedule. In the latter portion of the semester, we will consider the continuation of the New Wave phenomenon in France and in other cinematic traditions (in Czechoslovakia, Hong Kong, and Brazil) and examine how the expression of New Wave aesthetics has evolved outside of France since its initial expression in the 1960s.
While the films we view will constitute our primary “texts,” a number of secondary readings have been provided that will help us orient and structure our class discussions. The required texts for this course are James Monaco’s The New Wave and Michel Marie’s The French New Wave; An Artistic School. All other readings are on reserve in the library. Films will be screened once a week on Monday at 4:00 P.M in Combs 237. After that, copies of the films on our syllabus will be available on reserve in the Combs Media Lab. All films are subtitled in English The Honor Code applies for all work for this course.
Course Materials:
- James Monaco, The New Wave
- Michel Marie, The French New Wave; An Artistic School
- all other readings available on reserve in Simpson Library
Course Assignments and Grading:
- Class participation (20%) - Your presence in the seminar is obviously a precondition to your participation. As well, viewing films before our class discussions is essential for effective participation. As this seminar is discussion-based, it requires the ongoing participation of its members. You will be expected to be an active and thoughtful participant in our classroom discussions. In addition, you will be expected to participate in the discussion boards on Blackboard that will be established for the first two films. For films three and four, you will be asked to hand in a one page reaction paper. These papers will be the basis of commentary and discussion inside and outside of class on writing skills. They will not be graded, but are required. Also, you will be asked to perform an internet site evaluation exercise following the fall break.
- Oral presentation (10%) - You will be asked to deliver a short (5-10 minutes), informational oral presentation on assigned topics that are designed to contextualize the films and issues we will be discussing. Your presentation will be evaluated on its organization, its coherence, and its effectiveness in terms of its delivery and comprehensiveness. You are encouraged to use handouts, film clips, and Powerpoint presentations for this exercise.
- Short paper (30%) - As a midterm exercise, you will be asked to write a short paper on an assigned topic that will require you to develop an argument on a theme found in several of the films we have discussed.
- Presentation of seminar paper topic (10%) - In the final week of the semester, you will give a brief (5-10 minutes) presentation of your seminar paper topic. Your presentation will be evaluated based on its organization, the effectiveness of its delivery, and its coherence. This exercise is intended to give you useful feedback as you are writing your seminar paper.
- Seminar paper (30%) - You will be asked to write a seminar paper (10-15 pages) on a topic that you will choose in consultation with the professor. In week 9, you will propose a topic. In week 12, you will provide an outline of the paper. You will be expected to use properly documented secondary sources (library and internet) for this project. Your seminar paper will be due during the final exam period.
Schedule:
Introduction: Tradition Versus New Wave
August
- 28 - Introduction; formal elements of cinematic representation
- 30 - Screening: La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962); Readings: Jill Forbes, “The French Nouvelle Vague” in World Cinema: Critical Approaches, pp. 77-81; Michel Marie, The French New Wave; An Artistic School, pp. 5-48
Groundbreaking Films
September
- 4 - Film: The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959); Readings: James Monaco, The New Wave, pp. 23-45; Michel Marie, The French New Wave; An Artistic School, pp. 49-69
- 6 - Screening: Les Mistons (François Truffaut, 1957); Reading: Anne Gillian, “The Script of Delinquency: François Truffaut’s Les 400 Coups (1959)” in French Film: Texts and Contexts, pp. 142-157
- 11 - Film: Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959); Readings: James Monaco, The New Wave, pp. 107-132; Michel Marie, The French New Wave; An Artistic School, pp. 70-97
- 13 - Screening: original trailer for Breathless; Charlotte and her Jules (1960) Michel Marie, "It really makes you sick!: Jean-Luc Godard’s A bout de soufflé (1959) in French Film: Texts and Contexts, pp. 158-179
The Younger Generation
September
- 18 - Film: The Good Girls (Chaude Chabrol, 1960); Readings: James Monaco, The New Wave, pp. 259-289
- 20 - Reading: Michel Marie, The French New Wave; An Artistic School, pp. 98-126
- 25 - Film: Jules and Jim (François Truffaut, 1962); Reading: James Monaco, The New Wave, pp. 47-62
- 27 - discussion of Jules and Jim continued
Formal Puzzles
October
- 2 - Film: Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961); Reading: Alan Williams, Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking, pp. 367-373
- 4 - Screening: Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955); Discussion of Last Year at Marienbad continued
The Musical Revisited
October
- 9 - Film: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964); Reading: Roy Armes, French Cinema since 1946, v. 2, pp. 180-183
- 11 - Discussion of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg continued
Radical Politics and the End of Cinema
October
- 23 - Film: Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967); Reading: James Monaco, The New Wave, pp. 193-217
- 25 - Discussion of Weekend continued; midterm paper due
The Persistence of An Aesthetic
October
- 30 - Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985); Reading: Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, To Desire Differently: Feminism and the French Cinema, pp. 214-247
November
- 1 - Discussion of Vagabond continued
- 6 - Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983); Reading: Roy Armes, French Cinema since 1946 ,v. 2, pp. 127-135
- 8 - Discussion of Sans Soleil continued
Beyond the French New Wave: Influence and Evolution
Czechoslovakia:
November
- 13 - Film: Closely Watched Trains (Jiri Menezel, 1966); Reading: David Cook, A History of Narrative Film, pp. 624-632
- 15 - Discussion of Closely Watched Trains continued
Hong Kong:
November
- 20 - Film: Chungking Express (Wong Kar-Wai, 1994); Reading: David Cook, A History of Narrative Film, pp. 782-790
Brazil
November
- 27 - Film: City of God (Fernando Mierelles, 2002); Reading: David Cook, A History of Narrative Film, pp. 801-804
- 29 - Discussion of City of God continued
Student Presentations
December
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