21G.341 | Spring 2014 | Undergraduate

Contemporary French Film and Social Issues

Course Description

This course covers issues in contemporary French society as expressed through movies made in the 2000s. Topics include France's national self-image, the women's movement, sexuality and gender, family life and class structure, post-colonialism and immigration, and American cultural imperialism. Films by Lelouch, …
This course covers issues in contemporary French society as expressed through movies made in the 2000s. Topics include France’s national self-image, the women’s movement, sexuality and gender, family life and class structure, post-colonialism and immigration, and American cultural imperialism. Films by Lelouch, Audiard, Doillon, Denis, Klapisch, Resnais, Rouan, Balasko, Collard, Dridi, Kassovitz, and others. Readings from French periodicals. Films shown with English subtitles. Taught in French.
Learning Resource Types
Presentation Assignments
Written Assignments
Instructor Insights
A beautiful young brunette converses with a man who dominates the frame.
Image from Jean-Luc Goddard’s Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux, which depicts Nana (Anna Karina) as she gradually descends into prostitution. (Courtesy of Ian E. Hill on Flickr. License: CC BY-NC.)