This original study examines the representation of the body in French New Wave films through discussion of a series of films by Jean-Luc Godard, perhaps the central figure of the French New Wave.
Through analysis of - bout de souffle, Une femme est une femme, Le M-is and Alphaville, alongside discussion of some of Godard-s lesser-known French New Wave films, the book explores the interrelation between bodies, books and bathrooms that they facilitate. In so doing, it aims to destabilise the French New Wave-s myth of male exceptionalism and denaturalise the gender dynamic most commonly viewed at its heart, revealing that the women who make up a fundamental part of its fabric are not textually trapped by Godard-s authorial presence. Instead, their corporeality disrupts any purported authorial and national ownership of their bodies.
Given the enduring popularity and visibility of the French New Wave, and of Jean-Luc Godard, in universities and jou
