The main character, history of art teacher katherine watson, arrives at the conservative allwomen college of wellesley and tries to teach her really smart students not only art history but also independence. Analysis on the movie mona lisa smile essay sample. The film opens in the socially conservative setting of the 1950s drawn from the experience of. It works even with a good reproduction of that painting or of the mona lisa. Mona lisa smile is a smart and provocative period drama thats especially wellcrafted. The movie takes place in 1953 at wellesley college which is an all girls school. Mona lisa smile is a positive, thoughtful period film about the importance of education and a womans right to choose her own future.
The movie is based around the life of katherine ann watson, played by julia roberts. Film education resources film library mona lisa smile. The story follows an art instructor who comes to the elite womens college wellesley during the 1950s and. Gustav refers to sigmund freuds leonardo da vinci, a psychosexual study of an infantile reminiscence which describes a theory that leonardo was passionately in love with his mother. We have to be told several times that shes bohemian, for. No doubt she had a teacher as inspiring as katherine watson julia roberts, who trades in the bohemian freedom of berkeley for a crack at wellesleys future corporate wives.
Leonardo da vincis famous portrait of lisa gherardini, titled mona lisa, is one of the mostdiscussed works of art ever, partly thanks to the subjects ambiguous look. Analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile 2055 words 9 pages 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. Analysis of mona lisa smile in terms of social foundations of education. Mona lisa smile 2003 rotten tomatoes movie trailers. Jobe film analysis april 27, 2015 film analysis over mona lisa smile. We all have one of those movies that we call our favorite, a lifechanger that breaks and challenges the status quo of the contemporary in one way or the other. The mona lisas smile came not from some divine intervention. Joan brandwyn character analysis so the choice is yours, ladies. The movie has many scenes can be discussed based on functionalist and conflict theories. Im a julia roberts fan, and think shes smart and interesting in almost any film shes made.
The film mona lisa smile captures the essence of gender politics in the 1950s by telling the story of katharine watson played by julia roberts. The film shows a school which teaches, above all, that a womans duty is to stand by her man, and if clinton. She becomes the art history teacher and is pleasantly surprised by the girls on the first day of class. Mona lisa smile the movie mona lisa smile is set in the 1950s and deals with the starting feminists movement against traditional roles. A graduate of berkeley, watson longed all of her life to teach at wellesley. My grandmas really into buying bootleg dvds at the flea market and picked up mona lisa smile. The credits were still rolling for mona lisa smile, the new mike newell film set at wellesley college in the mid1950s, when norma solimene raffaele, class of 1954, weighed in. Mona lisa smile demonstrates us how a college can educate its students according to some functionalist ideas. Analysis on the movie mona lisa smile essay example. Mona lisa smile is a 2003 american drama film produced by revolution studios and columbia pictures in association with red om films productions, directed by.
Dr margaret livingstone, harvard neuroscientist, says smile of the mona lisa appears to come and go because as the observers eye moves from. She insists of putting together all of bettys wedding plans so that they will be acceptable to society. The movie sets in postwar period in which womens roles have changed into being good wives and mothers. The students are amongst the brightest women in the country and have absorbed the course readinglist before katherines first lecture. Mona lisa smile cert 12, 117 mins progressive teacher katherine watson arrives at the prestigious, conservative all women college of wellesley in the autumn of 1953 to teach history of art.
How mona lisas smile led to love affairs and suicides in 1516, when he was 64 years old, leonardo da. It begins by introducing the lead character, katherine watson julia roberts, a liberalminded novice professor from. The title is a reference to the mona lisa, the famous painting by leonardo da vinci, and to the song of the same name, originally performed by nat king cole, which was covered by seal for the movie. The movie begins by introducing the lead character, katherine watson, who is a free spirited art history teacher determined to make a difference at the. The film is about katherine watson, a college lecturer from liberalminded california, who manages to get a teaching position in the art history department at wellesley, a prestigious, conservative, and elite private womens college situated at the opposite end of the country in massachusetts. Instead, to our great astonishment, we found that da vincis original was. The other the herd is clearly represented by bettys mom. The films treatment of roberts is a primo example of what i like to call double datingthe way contemporary looks inevitably infect period. Mona lisa, oil painting on a poplar wood panel by leonardo da vinci, probably the worlds most famous painting. Analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile 2055 words 9 pages. Film analysis mona lisa smile teaching and learning. You can conform to what other people expect, or, you can i know. Mona lisa smile is a 2003 american drama film produced by revolution studios and columbia pictures in association with red om films productions, directed by mike newell, written by lawrence konner and mark rosenthal, and starring julia roberts, kirsten dunst, julia stiles, and maggie gyllenhaal.
Julia roberts, kirsten dunst, julia stiles, maggie gyllenhaal, ginnifer goodwin, dominic west, juliet stevenson, marcia gay harden, john slattery and marian seldes director. Abbey ginnifer goodwin as connie baker kirsten dunst as betty warren juliet stevenson as amanda armstrong julia stiles as joan brandwyn dominic west as bill dunbar maggie gyllenhaal as giselle levy summary of the movie in mona lisa smile, julia roberts leads an allstar cast of prominent young actresses including kirsten dunst, julia stiles, maggie gyllenhaal and. I find it hard to believe that wellesley college was as reactionary in the autumn of 1953 as mona lisa smile says it is but then i wasnt there. Using the notes you have just taken, answer the following question.
Mona lisa smile film analysis by mary shea on prezi. Analysis on the movie mona lisa smile essay 511 words. Like down with love earlier this year, this movie preaches. Everything from this movies doesnt make sense, to just feminist garbage. This movie is about a teacher named katherine watson, who gets a teaching position at wellesley college. We have been talking about seeing this movie for at least two months. She glides into mona lisa smile like a walking anachronism nice, but always a movie star. Mona lisa smile doesnt really try to get around that. A freethinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s. 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.
So, when a position opened for an art history class, she perused it until she was. Analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile. Analysis of the film, mona lisa smile 911 words 123. The sitters mysterious smile and her unproven identity have made the work a source of ongoing investigation and fascination. In 1953, katherine watson julia roberts travels from california to the new england campus of wellesley college to teach art history. Katherine watson is the central character of the movie.
Instead, it was the product of years of painstaking and studied human effort involving applied science as well as artistic skill. I was beyond excited to see a movie set in the 1950s, with all the neat outfits, the makeup, the hairstyles. The movie, mona lisa smile, was released in december of 2003. This is the novelization of one of my favourite movies mona lisa smile. This process is beautifully portrayed in mona lisa smile. Dead poets society, set a few years after mona lisa smile in the final.
The film mona lisa smile ultimately illustrates how certain expectations within gender roles, contraception, divorce, and marriage have changed over time, and some have remained the same. It begins by introducing the lead character, katherine watson julia roberts, a liberalminded novice professor from california, who lands a job in the art history department at a snobbish, allgirl college, called wellesley, in the fall of 1953. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to factbased news and analysis. History versus her story the readers guide feature. In a deeper analysis of the womans expression the smile of mona lisa by gustav kobbe explains its intrigue. Study reveals how people interpret mona lisas smile. Critical aggregate website rotten tomatoes gives the movie a 34% rotten rating based on. Essay on analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile. Film analysis of mona lisa smile in terms of sociological. Neither were the screenwriters, who reportedly based their screenplay on hillary clintons experience at wellesley in the early 1960s. Write one teel paragraph and use at least three examples of film techniques. With julia roberts, kirsten dunst, julia stiles, maggie gyllenhaal. The film is about katherine watson, a college lecturer from liberalminded california, who manages to get a teaching position in the art history department at wellesley, a prestigious, conservative, and elite private womens college situated at the opposite end of the country in. Sometimes movietonovel adaptions can be quite predictable or boring but this certainly wasnt.
Mona lisa smile katherine watson, an oakland state university ph. She is not an obvious choice as wellesley is an exclusive upper crust institution where its faculty, students and alumni generally look down upon state. The above dialogue summarizes the central theme of the 2003 film mona lisa smile, a feminist. Katharine is a sharpminded, intelligent, progressive woman who wishes to help mold the minds of the women at the allgirls prestigious wellesley college. The film shows a school which teaches, above all, that a womans duty is to stand by her man, and if clinton learned that, she also learned a good deal more. A freethinking art professor teaches conservative 1950s wellesley girls to question their traditional social roles.
Abbey ginnifer goodwin as connie baker kirsten dunst as betty warren juliet stevenson as amanda armstrong julia stiles as joan brandwyn dominic west as bill dunbar maggie gyllenhaal as giselle levy summary of the movie in mona lisa smile, julia roberts leads an allstar cast of prominent young actresses including kirsten dunst, julia stiles. How does the film mona lisa smile, directed by mike newell, challenge traditional views of gender conformity. In the movie, a vibrant and independentminded teacher shows her students a paintbynumbers kit for a van gogh picture to show them the difference between art that is insightful and meaningful and mindless repetition of pretty images. Unfortunately, in both films, the protaganist left with hisher tail between the legs. Analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile 123. Mona lisa smile 2003 official trailer 1 julia stiles movie duration. It is considered an archetypal masterpiece of the italian renaissance, and has been described as the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most. Mona lisa smile visual analysis 5 paragraph essay free essays. Essay on analysis of the inspirational film, mona lisa smile 2045 words 9 pages. The film is centered on the classroom of katherine ann watson julia roberts, a socially progressive art history. The movie takes place over a single year at wellesley college in. Mona lisa smile is a 2003 american movie that narrates the story of a freespirited art history teacher and her conservative female students at wellesley college in 1953.
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