Film critics and historians generally agree that the French New Wave, which emerged in the late 1950s and dominated world cinema in the 1960s, constituted one of the most groundbreaking and influential movements in the history of the medium. In this FSEM, we will examine the major directors and films of this movement, as well as the the themes and social issues that animate these works. In addition to analyzing how these films revolutionized both film production and film form with experimental techniques and narratives, we will also see how they portray in very new ways significant political and social changes transforming France during this period, such as the changing role of women in society, inter-generational conflict, and emergence of radical leftist politics. Through close analysis, collaborative presentations, group discussion, and individual research, we will gain a deeper understanding of how the films of the French New Wave comprise powerful social documents as well as innovative works of personal expression.
In this seminar, we use the example of the French New Wave to examine larger issues in the period like the changing role of women in post-war society, the emergence of young people as a consequential social demographic, and the development of counterculture in the 1960s.