The daughters of Pepsi and the pill: de-dramatising abortion in the French New Wave

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article examines the representation of abortion narratives in the work of a selection of directors associated with French New Wave cinema. In 1960s France, reproductive rights were high on the agenda for many women’s rights movements and feminist activists. Rhetorical strategies of advocates for abortion law reform often involved underpinning the state of danger and disempowerment that criminalisation of abortion led to for multitudes of women across the social spectrum of France, and cultural representations of abortion in film and literature tended to use it as a dramatic plot point inspiring sympathy for women characters as victims. Whilst such pathos was often highly impactful, it also constructed a monolithic way for women to experience abortion which was built upon victimhood and disempowerment. Sex, unexpected pregnancy and abortion continue to be explored as themes by New Wave directors, but the movement’s rejection of the film-à-thèse meant that such representations were less emotionally and morally didactic. This article examines how representations of abortion by New Wave directors can offer more diverse and nuanced expressive possibilities for women’s reproductive experiences that move away from typifying ideas of victimisation, looking particularly at films by Chabrol, Truffaut, Godard, and Moullet and Pizzorno.