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And here's my reflection on the assignment. It's been great talking to all of you! Border Crossing Reflection 1) What were your expectations for the border-crossing activity? Are your expectations met? Why or why not? Prior to this assignment, Mr. You told us that, generally speaking, people of diff...

Hi all. This is my finalized draft of this assignment, based on your feedback. I'll post my reflection of this assignment by tomorrow or Thursday. The American movie “Mona Lisa Smile” and the Chinese movie “And the Spring Comes” tell different stories of success, with the definition of success being...

Hi again, Yingying! I have a few small nitpicks about your current draft. You said in your intro that "And the Spring Comes tells about what happened in society, and Mona Lisa Smile tells about school." Both movies actually deal with societal issues, they just do so in different settings. ...

Hi Shilei! To my understanding, the Taoist idea of "free will" is this: Since we are constantly influenced by outside factors, and interact with other things while making decisions, true autonomy or "free will" is impossible; and, knowing this, it's better to let things happen as...

I actually never thought about that before. You bring up a good point with Joan - the theme of "Mona Lisa Smile" is to think independently, which Joan does, even if her actions weren't in line with what Kathryn wanted for her. I think I get what you mean about Wang's dream being "wove...

Hi，Aaron！ Catherine and Wang are actually two very different roles. Catherine is more brave than Wang. Wang does make me feel sympathetic because she returns to dullness after pursuing no results. But their attitude towards love is the same, not compromised, not casual. I think this is also an impo...

Hi all! Thank you for your responses. I do think I should build on what I meant by "free will" in this article, and discuss more in-depth how the concept is portrayed in both movies. Thank you Shilei L. for this suggestion. Going off what Yingying L. said: looking at the movie again, I agr...

Hi, Yingying Li! Very well-written work here. The main characters of each movie are similar – women going against the grain of society – but they exist in very different settings. What’s interesting is your example with Hu Jinquan in “And the Spring Comes.” In contrast with Wang, Hu tries to fit in,...

Hello, Shilei Li! You’re right - films are about the main characters being “fishbones” in their surroundings, trying to find acceptance in their societies. Your article is very well-organized and gets its main point across clearly and effectively. I would personally like to see you write more about ...

Aaron Kane The Philosophical Meaning of Success in “Mona Lisa Smile” and “And the Spring Comes” The American movie “Mona Lisa Smile” and the Chinese movie “And the Spring Comes” tell different stories of success, with “success” being relative to their respective culture’s philosophical background. “...