Though I'm afraid I've never been able to connect with the films of Godard,
I'd like to offer a word of support for the idea that avant garde artists can
have lasting effects on the world.  I came at German Expressionism through
Robert Hughes's "The Shock of the New," where he makes the point that many
Expressionist artists expected to change German society for the better only
to find themselves swept aside by the Nazi juggernaut.  Many decades later, I
myself, and I believe many of my students, have found profound lessons in the
lives and the work of Felixmuller, Kollwicz, and many other Expressionist
artists.  Obviously many art forms have the potential to move people
deeply--politically as well as spiritually .  And, as we consider the role of
film scholars, we should note that the larger effort at scholarship in our
various disciplines often performs the function of making avant garde art
accessible to those who might at first be put off by its differences from
accepted practice.  Spend enough time on SCREEN-L, and I might even come to
appreciate Godard!  Ciao.  Dan.
 
Dan Gribbin
Ferrum College (VA)
 
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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite 
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