Masculin, Feminin- Sex Relations

Godard has no problem breaking nearly every cinematic convention in Masculin, Feminin. He doesn't bother with attempting to immerse us in the film; in fact, he uses several abrupt devices to remind the viewer that we are watching a movie, not living a story. During a conversation between Paul and Madeline, the camera movement (or lack thereof) makes the viewer painfully aware that the scene will not use shot-reverse-shot, and the long lags in dialogue force the viewer to analyze each and every line. 

The conversation has several idiosyncrasies which drove me mad, the first being a lag in responses during the conversation. The term awkward silence doesn't even begin t address what happens here; it seems like whenever one of them speaks, the other waits about 20 seconds before responding. This makes the vieer do a few things:

1. It makes the viewer realize that Madeline does her hair and makeup about 1453 times during this one scene.

2. It makes the viewer really consider what Paul and Madeline are saying to each other.

With all of this time to contemplate the lines, the viewer starts to notice a few trends between the male and female gender which can then be reapplied to the entire film. Just briefly;

1. Women are concerned with giving their bodies to someone who will appreciate and value them, as well as American consumerism, cosmetics, etc.

2. Men like boobs. (exaggerated and sarcastic, but still a rather effective summary)

This gets revisited several times throughout the film:

1. The conversation between Catherine and Paul's friend (boobs)

2. Anytime Madeline talks about being a singer (american pop star)

3. The event with sugar cubes in the cafe (boobs)

Just this small exchange between Madeline and Paul represents several of the gender conflicts which can be traced throughout the film.

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