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.

Callenbach, Ernest, Marcorelles, Louis. Jean-Luc Godard's Half-Truths. Film Quarterly, Vol. 17, No. 3. (Spring, 1964): 4-7. This article offers a brief analysis of Jean-Luc Godard.s film techniques. It breaks down Godard.s methodologies into three topics: Godard as a man of letters, Godard as Brechtian, and Godard and the .cinima direct.. The first topic discusses Godard.s love of language, which is made evident by the often poetic albeit unrealistic dialogue. Quoting Godard himself, the authors note that when Godard was a young boy (he was part of a large bourgeois family), his family would often read out loud together, which quite possibly fostered Godard.s love of recitation out loud. .Godard as Brechtian. refers to Godard.s use of Brechtian techniques which are marked by creating a detached feeling within the audience in order to encourage reflection and logical observation of what is occurring onscreen. Vivre Sa Vie demonstrates such a technique by separating the film into twelve .tableaux., which precludes any natural or realistic flow between scenes. Lastly, .Godard and the .cinima direct.. discusses Godard.s attempts to use the camera to seize everything that happens around him. Godard.s films often used varying amounts of improvisation. In the film Une Femme est une Femme, leading actress Anna Karina finished a scene in which she was crying and, while still on camera, made a candid comment about the beauty of a woman crying. Rather than cut this unintended comment, Godard left it in the film. The authors of the article conclude that, a much as Godard wanted to capture what happened around him, he never went to the .edge of truth.. The authors suggest that he had a fear of deranging the moral comfort of the viewer, or perhaps himself.

Gilfoyle, Timothy J. Prostitutes in History: From Parables of Pornography to Metaphors of Modernity. The American Historical Review, Vol. 104, No. 1. (Feb., 1999): 117-141. .Prostitutes in History. provides a brief historical delineation of prostitution as well as the historical study of prostitution and describes how both have evolved. Timothy Gilfoyle separates historians into two groups: those who study the social structure surrounding prostitution and those who study the symbolism of deviance and sin that prostitution carries. Gilfoyle notes that prostitution was not studied extensively until fairly recently. In the past, prostitutes were marginalized by historians, and even now historians complain about marginal subjects, such as prostitution, becoming a central area of study. Gilfoyle sees no need for such complaints, as he views the study of prostitution as a way of increasing understanding of history just as much as studies of gender, economy, and sexuality. Gilfoyle notes that historians who study the day-to-day lives of prostitutes often possess an empathetic view of prostitutes, viewing them as rational women who are forced into prostitution due to a need to survive. The article also focuses particularly on prostitution in France over the past several decades and how it has gone through periods of regulation and unregulation. This historical account provides insight on how prostitution has been viewed both throughout history and by historians.

Harrison, Jeffrey L. Jean-Luc Godard and Critical Legal Studies (Because We Need the Eggs). Michigan Law Review. Vol. 87, No. 7. (Jun., 1989): 1924-1944. Jeffrey Harrison draws an unusual comparison between law and the French New Wave cinema in his essay on critical legal studies. Critical Legal Studies is a new field of legal studies that is labeled .legal realism.. It centers around the view that law is not just a set of constant rules. Rather, laws exist in a state of constant contradiction, governing many hierarchies. By coming into conflict, laws are able to resolve themselves and synthesize, and then lead to greater conflicts. Harrison draws a connection between this movement in law and the French New Wave movement in film. Using Jean-Luc Godard as his focal point, Harrison points out how Godard.s films attempted to take cinema back to zero by breaking all rules and thus shattering all preconceived notions. Godard presented his films in irregular and often jarring fashions, by incorporating jump shots, meaningless narratives, and by paying close attention to seemingly meaningless details. Godard.s films have goals that resemble the goals of Critical Legal Studies: attempting to present reality in ways that ignore prior rules and precedents. Harrison.s article also lists the themes that Godard often covered in his films, and many of these themes can be found in Vivre Sa Vie, such as: free will vs. determinism, subjectivity vs. objectivity, and capitalism.

Jenness, Valerie. From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem. Social Problems, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Aug., 1990): 403-420. This article from the journal Social Problems provides an overview of the initiatives taken by the organization COYOTE (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), a prostitutes. rights advocacy group. The group believes that prostitutes simply use their skills to make money in the same way lawyers use their knowledge to make money, artists use their creativity to make money, and ballerinas use their bodies to make money. The group was formed in the 1970.s in the wake of changing views on prostitution. According to the article, society began to view prostitution less as debaucherous behavior and more as a legitimate career (though this view was not necessarily fully adopted). COYOTE was founded by Margo St. James, a former prostitute, who led the group to legitimacy along with other persuasive leaders. Among the most prominent initiatives being pursued by the group is protection from police, the establishment of benefits, and the overall formation and regulation of prostitution as a legitimate career opportunity. The organization believes that laws against prostitution only perpetuate the social problems surrounding it, such as abuse and the spread of disease. The most explicit way this article relates to Vivre Sa Vie is in its view of prostitutes as conscious and completely free decision makers. This is the view that Godard examines in his film, as it is the view expressed by Nana. The article also provided more insight on how some believe the regulation of prostitution can be a way of reducing the negative effects of outlawed prostitution. Godard seemingly questions this view by blurring the line between a conscious decision and a seemingly inevitable downfall for the woman who chooses to become a prostitute.

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.

Maslin, Janet. High-rolling Boy Meets Street Walking Girl. New York Times. March 23, 1990. Section C, p 20. This film review of the 1990 movie Pretty Woman offers a glowing report on the movie's escapist plot and likeable actors. Janet Maslin, the reviewer, describes the film as a modern day fairy tale and she offers many compliments to the leading actors Julia Roberts and Richard Gere for offering audiences an enjoyable diversion. The movie's plot follows Vivian (Julia Roberts), a young, attractive prostitute, and Edward (Richard Gere), a wealthy workaholic who both strike up a deal in which Edward pays Vivian $3,000 and lavishes her with luxurious treatment in return for one week of her companionship. The film follows the exploits of these two characters who eventually fall in love. This movie offers a view of how the subject of prostitution can be presented in a manner that is wildly different from the one presented in Vivre Sa Vie. Pretty Woman could perhaps be seen as the opposite extreme to Godard.s film, as every film element described within the review is vastly different from the film elements within Vivre Sa Vie. Pretty Woman is a film that apparently requires .wishful thinking. on the part of the audience, and its ultimate goal is to entertain and divert viewers, offering a very pleasant, but unrealistic story of prostitution.

Soltan, Margaret. The Lost Narrative of Lost Women. Feminist Studies. Vol. 1, No. 3. Autumn, 1989: 563 572. 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.

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.

Waller, Bruce N. Neglected Psychological Elements of Free Will. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology. Volume 11, Number 2, June 2004: 111-118. This journal article by Bruse Waller offers both insight on the psychological elements behind free will and criticism of contemporary philosophers who, according to Waller, ignore concepts of psychology that are necessary for fully understanding free will. Free will is apparently based on external factors, as well as two factors within the human mind: a locus of control, and a belief in self-efficacy. A locus of control is essentially a belief that one.s choices control the path of one.s life. A belief in self-efficacy is a belief in one.s competency or ability to make good, informed decisions. Waller criticizes existentialists and philosophers, both of whom fail to grasp both the concept of locus of control and self efficacy. Existentialists, Waller says, believe that free will requires a complete locus of control, and absence of self-efficacy. Therefore if individuals want to have free will they must fully believe in their ability to control their lives, but all decisions must be made with complete uncertainty because individuals must not have self efficacy. Philosophers, on the other hand, believe that humans with free will can possess confidence in their self-efficacy, but realize that their lives are controlled by external factors, and thus they must lack a locus of control. Waller is of the belief that both a locus of control and self-efficacy are necessary for a person to have free will and therefore philosophers should study these elements more closely. If a person lacks one element, then he or she will either surrender to external factors or be paralyzed by the uncertainty of his or her decisions. Waller.s article covers one of the main themes within Vivre Sa Vie. Godard explores an individual woman who believes she possesses free will, but who, in reality, is controlled by external factors. Waller brings up an example of such a person: someone who possesses a free will, but is completely lacking control. Waller states that this is an especially cruel scenario and draws a metaphor of a child being given a toy steering wheel and being told it controls a vehicle that is, in reality, completely out of the child.s control.