Mona Lisa Smile and the 50s Introduction; This film was set in the 1950s and revolves around a woman known as Katherine. This is a woman who has taken a teaching position in “History of Art” at Wellesley College. This is a women’s conservative college that focuses on liberal arts. Girls are sent to this college so that they can learn traditional values, good grooming, and respectable behaviors that are deemed to be appropriate in the society. This notwithstanding, however, Katherine wants to
Mona Lisa Smile. Dir. by Mike Newell. Columbia Pictures, 2003. In the movie, Mona Lisa Smile directed by Mike Newell, a new art history professor at Wellesley College teaches her female students alternatives to their seemingly preordained futures as wives and mothers. In this paper we will examine women's roles in the 1950's through Mona Lisa Smile and compare this film to actual experiences of Wellesley collage graduates. In 1953, a time when women's roles were rigidly defined, free-spirited
Chills traveled down my spine as my heart began to burst. I thought to myself, “How could a film be this powerful to my eyes?” Mike Newell’s “Mona Lisa Smile” hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not believe how well put this film was as the cried the last scene hearing lines such as “But not all who wander are aimless. Especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image. We will never forget you.” This 2003 film takes place in the 1950’s where everything was
professional careers. Mike Newell’s, Mona Lisa Smile begins his film with skepticism regarding the female students attending Wellesley College and Katherine Ann Watson, the art history instructor. The starting point of the film represents the female students as highly motivated but naïve. At the conclusion, the same Wellesley students uncover contemporary thoughts and feelings they were previously forced to repress. Despite the actuality of the characters in Mona Lisa Smile, the post-World War II era was
The movie, “Mona Lisa Smile” is an inspirational film that explores life through feminism, marriage, and education lead by a modernist teacher at the end of a traditional era. It begins by introducing the lead character, Katherine Watson (Julia Roberts), a liberal-minded novice professor from California, who lands a job in the art history department at a snobbish, all-girl college, called Wellesley, in the fall of 1953. Despite warnings from her boyfriend Paul that a Boston Brahmin environment was
The movie Mona Lisa Smile is about a woman, Katherine Watson, who is looking for a job as an art history professor. She ends up getting an opportunity at her first choice Wellesley College for women. She moves from California to teach there with full knowledge that the college is known for being conservative in nature and she is more of a radical compared to the ways of the 1953 culture. Throughout her first semester teaching on campus she had to fight to get her students to listen. They did not
Sequence Analysis: Dead Poets Society and Mona Lisa Smile The Behaviour of the Students: In both movies, we see a lot of how the students interact amongst themselves. In Dead Poets Society, we see the boys running around and being playful and friendly with one another. We also see them building a radio, having their “study sessions,” and, eventually, resurrect the Dead Poets club and attend the meetings that follow. The boys are friendly with each other overall, with little to no feuds in most
The movie Mona Lisa Smile is set in 1953; post-war and pre-feminism. Katherine Ann Watson, a progressive Art History teacher, is hired to teach at Wellesley. This selective all-women’s college is described in the opening scenes of the film as “the most conservative university in the country” (Newell, “Mona Lisa Smile”, 2003). Watson wants to teach at Wellesley in order to influence the next generation of women. Some of the brightest female students in the country attended Wellesley. Among these students
Joan, is another example of the smart students in Wellesley College are. She is a busy student who is the leader in many clubs including the poetry society, the debate team, co-captain of the tennis club, and she is also a founder of the horticulture league. She also has a boyfriend named Tommy Donegal a student from Harvard who loved her and allowed her to make her life choices. Although she is busy, she also excelled in academic as her grade is straight A until she joined the art history class
rebelling against their patriarchal societies as a heroic woman proves them that women are no less; no more than men. In Suffragette, a powerless mother and wife rebels from authorities of men to become an activist for women’s right to vote. In Mona Lisa Smile, a newly wedded wife rebels against stereotypical expectations of women among the elite society she was born into. In Thelma and Louise, a meek house wife joins her friend on a road trip as she rebels against the demands of her arrogant husband
Mona Lisa Smile is a movie about an art history teacher named Kathrine Watson and her struggle to be accepted as a teacher at a very traditional, conservative school. The movie takes place in 1953 at Wellesley College. It is Watson’s first year as a teacher at Wellesley and on the very first day she quickly learns that all of her students have already learned all of the information in their textbook. She felt very discouraged by every student already knowing everything she has to teach; Watson then
In both Mona Lisa Smile and A Thousand Splendid Suns, women were devalued in marriage and education. While, both depicted marriage where men were in control and a woman's place was in the house. They also showed the double standards that women face in marriage. Education was ridiculed, but in the end, its importance was depicted. Marriage in both contexts is beneficial to men because they were in control of the relationship. The woman barely had any say in the decisions. In A Thousand Splendid
Mona Lisa, who was she? Why is the painting of her so famous? Has the original production enhanced because of her recognition, and how do advertisers use her fame for themselves? All of these questions deserve an answer. The Mona Lisa is a masterpiece painted by Da Vinci in the 19th century. It is a not so unique portrait, of a not so unique woman, set before a blurry landscape. I would like to try and explain my beliefs behind Mona Lisa’s reputation, the enhancement/diminishment of the original
The oil wood painting, “ Mona Lisa” by Leonardo da Vinci is one of the most famous paintings from the Renaissance. The painting is a portrait of Lisa Gherardini who was the wife of wealthy Florentine silk merchant Francesco del Giocondo. Apparently, the painting was to celebrate the birth of their second son, Andrea. The author created a mysterious mood through his use of sformato, mute color, and the setup of the portrait. The Mona Lisa is an example of Vinci’s mastery of the sformato, the technique
early Renaissance used an abundance of linear perspective, literal qualities, and symbolism exactly as Leonardo da Vinci did. The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper depicts not only realism, but also the time, efforts, and talents of Leonardo himself. Representing the Renaissance, these masterpieces illustrate
(“Boundless”). For instance, we have the Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, which is definitely Humanistic Art. It is also one of the most well known paintings around the world. The Mona Lisa’s form of art came about during the Renaissance Period when free thinking and re-establishing human values and concerns while rejecting religious belief prevailed. Till this very day, it is unknown if the woman who posed for the painting was real or not, but everything that the Mona
name, Mona Lisa, you will not be unfamiliar. She is a woman in the portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci, becoming a household person. Mona is the Italian abbreviation and respectful address in Renaissance, so the literal translation of the portrait, Mona Lisa, should be "Mrs Lisa". This painting represents the highest artistic achievement of Da Vinci, succeeded in shaping an urban middle-class lady's image in the rising period of capitalism. Her posture in the painting is elegant with subtle smile; mysterious
When people hear the term “Renaissance” two things generally come to mind The Mona Lisa and Leonardo da Vinci. The Mona Lisa is one of the most well-known paintings of all time and Leonardo da Vinci, its creator, is one of the most recognized painters, engineers, inventors and scientists of all time. There are much mystery and awe concerning The Mona Lisa but to fully understand where the awe and mystery surrounding this painting originated one must first understand a few things about the man who
and one in particular became the most loved and treasured work of all time; The Mona Lisa. The masterpiece is done with such an exquisite technique that involves perfect shading that is almost impossible to replicate, and now it is the most recognized painting in the world. In spite of the technicalities, this Mona Lisa mania has little to do with the painting itself, but rather more about its dubuous nature. The Mona Lisa is an instantly recognizable face and has become a household name. It is the
If someone where to ask you to name a famous painting, what would you say? I would answer The Mona Lisa, possibly the most prominent painting there is today. For my research project, I will be analyzing, retelling, and exploring the Mona Lisa. I chose this piece of artwork because I love art and was just interested in why the Mona Lisa is such a well-known painting. The Mona Lisa was created by Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci. It was started in approximately c.1503 in the town of Florence