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 out of her element, Katherine was thrilled at the prospect of educating some of the brightest young women in the country however, her image of Wellesley quickly fizzles after her first day of class, in which, was more like a baptism by fire. Her smug students flaunted their exhaustive knowledge of the text and humiliated her in front of a supervisor. However, Katherine, determined not to buckle under pressure, departs from the syllabus in order to regain the upper hand. She quickly challenged the girls’ idea of what constituted art and exposed them to modern artist not endorsed by the school board. She dared them to think for themselves, and explore outside of their traditional views. This form of art was unacceptable by the students at first however, overtime Katherine penetrated her student’s distain and earned their esteem.
The notable exception was the moralistic upper-crust brat Betty, who sarcastically challenged Katherine from day one, and who caused Katherine’s colleague and friend Amanda to be fired by revealing in a school newspaper editorial that the free-thinking faculty member was supplying contraceptives to the students. This was unacceptable according to the staff of Wellesley because the...
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...thing her mother told her, and took her beliefs very seriously. Giselle even talked about her parents splitting up after her father returned from the war. She explained that things just were not the same. Society was going through a tremendous change, and affecting the lives of everyone. “Mona Lisa Smile” is a great reminder of what it was like to live when a woman did not have a voice. However, if this movie were to take place on a campus today, society would not have played a factor in the movie. Both women and men would be equal on campus, and their educations would be held of equal value. In today’s society, it is very important for a female to educate herself and to have a career. We are a feminist society in that all people should be treated equally however, sometime we could all use a Katherine Watson in our lives, as a reminder that women do have a voice.
Katie’s teacher, Mr. Dubey, puts a very high emphasis on the students at Katie’s school about how important school is. Because Katie starts to feel bad for using David to get into Harvard, his attitude toward the topic changes and he tells that she should be self-serving and not really care what people say and to not "ruin the rest of your life just because you feel a little guilty right now"(74). All of these conflicting messages on what Katie should be like, how she should treat others an...
In “Girl,” Jamaica Kincaid’s use of repetitive syntax and intense diction help to underscore the harsh confines within which women are expected to exist. The entire essay is told from the point of view of a mother lecturing her daughter about how to be a proper lady. The speaker shifts seamlessly between domestic chores—”This is how you sweep a house”—and larger lessons: “This is how you smile to someone you don’t like too much; this is how you smile to someone you don’t like at all…” (Kincaid 1). The way in which the speaker bombards the girl overwhelms the reader, too. Every aspect of her life is managed, to the point where all of the lessons she receives throughout her girlhood blur together as one run-on sentence.
In one section of “Men and Women’s Studies: Premises, Perils, and Promise,” Michael Kimmel discusses how men have helped women to gain equal rights within the educational system (Kimmel, 26). He explains that as pro-feminists, men who made efforts to understand feminism and support women, as well as implement equal rights for women, realized the importance of women’s education (Kimmel, 26). According to his essay, many American men, as well as women, helped to create an educational system for women, which was seen as a “revolt” against inequality and the subordination of women (Kimmel, 26-27). Kimmel argues that pro-feminists tried to provide an opportunity for every woman to study; one such example is Henry Durant, an American pro-feminism activist, who established Wellesley College for
Allyson Jule’s article on feminism in conjunction with Mary Tyler Moore establishes that the show can be used to teach the American movement of second wave feminism (123). She looks at the show as more of a historical teaching tool rather than just a comedy. On the other hand, Willa Paskin explores another view of the show, the comedy.
Miss Desjardin, still incensed over the locker room incident and ashamed at her initial disgust with Carrie, wants all the girls who made fun of Carrie suspended and banned from attending the school prom, but the principal instead punishes the girls by giving them several detentions. When Chris, after an altercation with Miss Desjardin, refuses to appear for the detention, she is suspended and barred from the prom and tries to get her fat...
"Whilst some feminists have argued to be included in 'male stream' ideologies, many have also long argued that women are in important respects both different from and superior to men, and that the problem they face is not discrimination or capitalism but male power." (Bryson, 2003, p. 3). The feminist art movement is unclear in its description because some describe this movement as art that was simply created by women and others describe it as art with anti-male statements in mind. For the focal point of this paper, the goal will be to analyze several female artists and their works of art who influenced, and who are said to have made powerful influence both in the feminist art movement from a political and societal perspective, then and today. With that being said, we will start with the female artist Judy Chicago and a quote from her that calcifies her position as an artist. "I believe in art that is connected to real human feeling that extends itself beyond the limits of the art world to embrace all people who are striving for alternatives in an increasingly dehumanized
Leibovitz photographs women of remarkable accomplishment: senators, supreme court justices, astronauts, athletes, opera singers, firefighters, a philanthropist maid, basketball stars, movie stars, elementary school teachers, weightlifters, and performance artists, as well as those who happen to fall in the viewfinder, sitting in the back of a pickup truck playing with Barbie dolls, or seeking shelter from domestic abuse at the local YMCA. Viewing this seemingly objective portrayal of women, we must consider the statements being made. Carol Duncan, in her essay “The MoMA’s Hot Mamas,” describes the modern art museum and a vast array of modern art in general as “a ritual of male transcendence, if we see it as organized around male fears, fantasies, and desires (118).” One might assume that Leibovitz, a respected and established photographer, might take ...
Aristotle once claimed that, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” Artists, such as Louise-Elizabeth Vigée Le Brun and Mary Cassatt, captured not only the way things physically appeared on the outside, but also the emotions that were transpiring on the inside. A part no always visible to the viewer. While both artists, Le Brun and Cassatt, worked within the perimeters of their artistic cultures --the 18th century in which female artists were excluded and the 19th century, in which women were artistically limited-- they were able to capture the loving relationship between mother and child, but in works such as Marie Antoinette and Her Children and Mother Nursing her Child 1898,
In history, there were two paintings that were very similar yet different. One was called the “Mona Lisa” which was painted by one of the most famous artists of the renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci. The other painting was called “Portrait of a Lady” by the flemish artist, Van der Weyden. They both were a huge influence in the art world during their lifetimes. And even after their deaths, their lives and works continue to inspire the minds and hearts of each generation.
“There is a double standard here that shapes our perceptions of men and women in ways that support patriarchy as a system. What is culturally valued is associated with masculinity and maleness and what is devalued is associated with femininity and femaleness, regardless of the reality of men’s and women’s lives”,( Johnson 64). In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Betty’s mother was pressurizing Betty to make her husband read a poem at the wedding not just to act like he enjoyed the marriage but mainly because it was a tradition for men. When Betty said she didn’t care about it, her mother refused and still insisted that she should do it. Women are looked down upon when it comes to the assignment of gender roles and this is because of labels that the society has placed on the female gender. In a home, the father is always the head of the home, providing food and clothing for every family member but there are some women who like to be independent and would also love to work and make money and cater for the family. In the 19th century, women were told they were home makers and were not allowed to endeavor further in higher educational studies. Wellesley College was a college built to raise future wives and not future leaders meaning that society had already placed women below the ladder without any intention or thoughts of them climbing back
This paper will include the analysis of the movie Hope Floats. It will start with a short summary of the movie describing the characters and the plot. It will then discuss the family dynamics that are shown in the movie based on the class discussions and the readings. It will also include a variety of issues that are shown throughout the movie. This paper will discuss three key family system’s issues that includes the family concepts, assessing one from Bowen’s concepts, one from Minuchin’s concepts, and one from General Systems Theory/Anderson and Sabatelli concepts. There are many different scenes and examples in this movie that will give a better understanding of the many different family dynamics, family issues, and family system concepts.
The world before her is a film of hope and dreams for Indian women. We examine two girls with different paths but one goal in common, empowerment. This term conveys a wide range of interpretations and definitions one of them being power over oneself. Both Prachi and Ruhi manifest a will for female empowerment but both have distinct views on how this is achieved. Prachi believes the way to achieve empowerment is through her mind and strength, while she still confines to tradition views of Indian culture. Ruhi desires to achieve female empowerment by exposing her beauty in a non-conservative way while maintaining her Indian identity.
According to Jeffords, Disney changes the fairy tale in its film version of Beauty and the Beast. This film has had countless number of changes since this fairy tale first came out. One major change was inanimate objects came to life. This is a difference because in the older versions of Beauty and the Beast, the Beast is isolated in his castle and he fulfilled all of Beauty's need by enchanted magic. I believe that this change is significant in this film. This is because it takes away from the Beasts power. In the older versions this shows that the Beast really cares about Beauty and will do anything to help her fulfill her needs. In Disney's version they took this out. They made it so the Beast was less powerful, making him come off as week.
As a result actresses have empowered young women to become something more than just the average girl. According to the article, Feminists call Katharine Hepburn...
Amelie is a young French woman who finds pleasure in life by rearranging the lives of others to fulfill them with happiness, yet she has become so preoccupied fixing the lives of others that she has detached herself from finding her own happiness. Amelie’s detachment from pursuing her own happiness is no surprise. In the film she is depicted as a quiet female who was raised by her father who never taught her to have a voice for herself. Amelie’s character can be categorized along with other characters from other films/television that would demonstrate similar scenarios filled with scenes portraying inequality towards females. The film Amelie itself took a different approach and decided to take a stand against female inequality by persuading