A perpetual innovator who indelibly altered the nature of his craft, French director Jean-Luc Godard stood at the forefront of the French New Wave, the late-1950s movement that included Fran'ois Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, and other former film critics from the journal Cahiers du Cinema who refracted the

Citational, Collage, Deconstructive, Existentialist literature, Expansive, French new wave, Intimate, Minimal, Open-ended, Quiet, Self-reflection, Social revolution

His artistic avocations were many -- poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, actor -- but Jean Cocteau's work as a filmmaker distilled his creative vision with a special lucidity. In film he could bring his Surrealist language and imagery together, making the dreamlike palpable and present

Existentialist literature, Horror, Surreal, Surrealist film, Surrealist literature, Surrealist photography, Trippy

From an early age, Joyce disdained what he saw as the shabby Philistinism of his birthplace, Dublin, rejecting the Catholicism that dominated Irish culture in favor of a literary faith and a rebel's stance. Absolutely convinced of his genius, Joyce left for self-imposed exile in Europe in 1904, and b

Composed, Excessive, Expansive, Formless, Layered, Modernist literature, Moody, Playful, Postmodern fiction, Profane, Religious, Sprawling, Subtle

Though he became identified as the voice of the Beat generation, Jack Kerouac was always haunted by the knowledge that the voice he was famous for was not really his own, but something that he couldn't and wouldn't live up to. Ultimately, the schism between who Kerouac was and who the world wanted hi

Beats, Bloomsbury, Event, Excessive, Improvised, Loose, Open-ended, Sprawling