Student Research Projects

A Radical's Perspective: A Study of Commodification and the Consumer Society in the Films of Jean-Luc Godard

Student Name(s)	Michael Haverly
Faculty Mentor(s)	Dr. Sara Sewell
Department	History
Course	HIST 347

Abstract

This paper analyzes the French New Wave filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard's critique of commodification and the consumer society. It focuses on the commodification of people, ideas, emotions, and the indifference and violence that manifest themselves in Godard's films. These manifestations are interpreted as Godard's argument against the consumer society and what it does to the people who inhabit it. This paper also draws from other scholarly writing and primary sources to help substantiate the argument made by Godard.