Staples, Donald E. "The Auteur Theory Re-examined". Cinema Journal, Vol. 6. (1966 - 1967): 1-7.
Donald Staples chronicles the development of the auteur theory in this article. Starting with the birth of auteur theory in the 1954 Cahiers du Cinima article by Frangoise Truffaut, in which Truffaut attempting to criticize .screen-writers. cinema., in which the creative process essentially ended once the screen-writer finished writing the script. From that point, a director merely put the writing on film without leaving a personal creative imprint on the film. As a result of Truffaut.s article, critics began to put emphasis on auteur theory when writing their reviews. It became necessary for a director to use the film as a way of inventing a personal aesthetic and for each film to demonstrate a step in the overall progression of the director.s creativity. The French New Wave is always closely associated with the concept of auteur theory. Director.s who were part of the movement often took control over the creative aspects of their film and oftentimes films by French New Wave directors are particularly distinct in style to the point where a director.s trademarks become recognizable.
Burton, Emory C. "Sociology and the Feature Film". Teaching Sociology, Vol. 16, No. 3. (Jul., 1988): 263-271.
This article focuses on film and it use as an educational tool within the context of a sociology classroom. The article is meant to be informative and instructional for sociology professors specifically, however it offers insight as to how film can have a great impact on students and how it can teach said student sociological subjects. Emory Burton, the author of the article, bases his statements on the research carried out by numerous sociologists. This research supports the claim that movies are effective teaching tools because they allow viewers to vicariously experience the life or hardships of characters from different times, classes, and of different circumstances. Vivre Sa Vie is a film that presents a sociological issue and it is meant to stimulate serious thought and reflection within the viewer on a real life social problem. In that sense, this article relates directly to the film, because it discusses how film has been shown to be effective in stimulating such thought. Godard's film attempts to present the reality of a social issue in an intellectual manner in order to encourage critical thought.
Klawans, Stuart, Michelson, Annette, Peqa, Richard, Schamus, James, Turvey, Malcolm. "Round Table: Independence in the Cinema". October, Vol. 91. (Winter, 2000): 3-23.
This roundtable discussion features the five above-named film scholars who gathered to discuss independent cinema. Specifically, the scholars wanted to make an attempt at defining independent cinema and discussing how it came to be over the course of the past forty years. It is noted that in recent times, the film industry is more horizontally integrated than it several decades ago. For this reason, Richard Peqa argues that American cinema has really become a single body and that independent and .dependent. cinema are not truly separate entities, because the smaller studios that put out independent films are being absorbed by big name studios. James Schamus notes however that there are still tensions within the film industry that create distinction between these two types of cinema. The discussion turns to French New Wave cinema at one point and it is noted how the movement and how it spurred independent cinema by offering the public an alternative to the domineering American film industry. The movement was aided by the French government who offered subsidies to independent studios and rewards for directors making their first films. This governmental compensation drew a crowd of younger directors who, in turn, attracted younger audiences. On a large scale, the movement can be seen as a reaction or act of rebellion against the more streamlined big budget movies from big name American studios.
Margaret Soltan's essayistic article on the scholarly perception of prostitution is presented as a reaction to another article published in the journal Ethics, in which the author described prostitutes as being similar to nurses in that they carry out unpleasant but humane services for society. Soltan describes herself as being angered by the article and she concludes that this anger came as a result of a certain "affinity" that she feels towards prostitutes. The article was written after Soltan spent time in Paris for a fellowship and it often refers to her experiences and observations of prostitution in Paris. Soltan believes that prostitution comes as a result of a sort of self-alienation and commoditization and, also, that prostitution is rarely viewed as a real social problem - in support of this claim, she refers to the establishment of regulations and the systematization of prostitution in Paris via designated prostitution zones and medical tests for prostitutes. The problem of prostitution, Soltan says, is a result of a tendency for passivity among woman: they tend to desire freedom from responsibility and thus they turn themselves over to prostitution (all women, Soltan says, do this in a less explicit way by "selling" themselves in their daily lives).
Soltan's article examines prostitution as a real social problem in much the same way Jean-Luc Godard examines it in Vivre Sa Vie. Nana, the main character in Vivre Sa Vie believes that she is responsible for all of her actions, but Godard demonstrates the social constraints that led to Nana's descent into prostitution and portrays Nana as having little control over it. A similar critical view of society is reflected in Soltan's writing - a view of women being misled into believing they carry out prostitution in a detached manner without being mentally affected- and both Soltan and Godard refer to the regulatory laws on prostitution in Paris as attempts to streamline prostitution as if it were not a true problem.


