skw5377 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 3:24 am
Hello Lin,
I am glad to have the opportunity to participate in this exchange with you.
Hi Sarah,
I'm glad to recieve your reply. Let me give you an answer to the following questions about you.
You first mentioned the sentence quoted at the beginning of our article. This sentence is a line from the end of Mona Lisa Smile. After refinement and simplification, I used it at the beginning of the article. Because it was the original words in the movie, I didn't cite who said this. I'm sorry this may have caused a little trouble for your reading.
Then, you thought there is a lack of clear connection between the two paragraphs. Indeed, my transition part is not doing very well. I will fix this loophole in later revisions.
Additinally, after your reminder, I think the tonality of the movie is exactly what you said. The atmosphere of Mona Lisa Smile is more relaxed and cheerful. This also corresponds to the ending of the movie. Catherine finally embarked on the road of pursuing her dream, which is a relatively happy ending.
Thank you for your reply. I look forward to communicate with you again.
From,
Lin
I enjoyed reading your thoughts about the two films and how the expression of art was the connective tissue between the women protagonists and their ability to participate in society. This was the strongest part of your paper and it showed how there was a stark difference between women who fulfill the requirements of society and those who tried to reject it/failed to achieve it. Beauty was the most obvious form of it but the ability to create a stable family life was also shown as a challenge. There are a few technical recommendations that I have in regards to strengthening your paper. There are a few points where there are sentences with many commas and lengthy sentences. This shows you have multiple ideas in one sentence. I believe that if you separate those points and make them more specific, it may help give your paragraphs more clarity.
I'm looking forward to hearing more from you and what your thoughts are!
All the best,
Olivia Myers
I enjoyed reading your thoughts about the two films and how the expression of art was the connective tissue between the women protagonists and their ability to participate in society.
Hi Olivia,
Thanks for your cute reply.
I really like your further interpretation of my article. Through the communication with you, let me deepen my understanding of the film.
As for some of the technical suggestions you mentioned,I will take it seriously. In later revisions, I will add transitional words to some long sentences and a connecting sentence between incoherent paragraphs to make my article more complete.
I look for your reply again.
All the best, \（^-^）/
Lin
Hello Lin,
Thank you to responding to my comments on your paper.
Now that I am aware of what the quote is, I find it very appropriate in the paper. It is a great way to start the essay. It just might be helpful to state where this quote came from and who said it.
I am glad my comments were able to help you.
Another part of the essay that I really enjoyed was when you mentioned the music. Initially, I did not notice how much music played a role in setting the atmosphere for the movie, but you described it well. Both movies utilize music to manipulate the audience to feel a certain way. Your usage of a specific examples from both movies furthers your argument. Great job on your paper.
Let me know if you have any other comments or questions for me.
From,
Sarah Wu
1035143406 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 2:51 pm
Dear Zhang,
I'm very glad to hear from you, and I have my own views on feminism.
As far as I am concerned, in the context of the two films, American society at that time regarded women as vassals of men, and they believed that the purpose of women's high-quality education was only to better assist their husbands, and as said in the film, they are doing housework while looking at physics papers, and their lives are determined by their husbands. And China is also similar, the status of women is low, they can not get what they want, or even a happy marriage, but in that social context, not only women are not happy, ordinary men are also unable to realize their dreams, which may be the result of social class differences at that time.
The above is just my opinion. I am very glad to continue to communicate with you.
Yours,
Zhou hanying
Dear Zhou
I'm glad to receive your reply. Your opinion makes me understand your idea better. I think you can write about that. Besides, I think your idea that this is caused by "class differences" is wonderful. How do class differences contribute to this phenomenon? I think if you elaborate on this, it will make your article more convincing. Looking forward to further communication with you.
Yours
Zhang Peiyun
Dear Lin
Art has nothing to do with utility. Art is just a way to enjoy life.
When Mr. Hu wants to find Wang Cailing to fake marriage, just to cover up his life style that has always been rejected by the secular world,
Wang Cailing said no, she said: "you are out of line with the secular world, and I just don't want to be mediocre."
Yes, art is out of line with the secular world, while literary youth just feel that they are different from others and think they are special.
Literary youth may even find some "singing", "Dancing" and other things related to art to decorate themselves for their differences from others.
From
Shuyou Xiao
skw5377 wrote: ↑Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:13 pm
Hello Lin,
Thank you to responding to my comments on your paper.
Now that I am aware of what the quote is, I find it very appropriate in the paper. It is a great way to start the essay. It just might be helpful to state where this quote came from and who said it.
I am glad my comments were able to help you.
Another part of the essay that I really enjoyed was when you mentioned the music. Initially, I did not notice how much music played a role in setting the atmosphere for the movie, but you described it well. Both movies utilize music to manipulate the audience to feel a certain way. Your usage of a specific examples from both movies furthers your argument. Great job on your paper.
Let me know if you have any other comments or questions for me.
From,
Sarah Wu
Dear Sarah Wu,
I'm glad you understand what we think of the benefits of music. In fact, not only music, but also tones and photography techniques play an important role in rendering the atmosphere and setting off the theme. For example, in the smile of the Mona Lisa in the movie, one of the scenes that impressed me was Catherine's first class. In the face of the difficulties of the female students, the projector showed one art picture after another at a very fast speed, and finally ended with a blank picture. At this time, the camera turned to Catherine's nervous and bewildered face, in this scene, the haste of the music and the rapid slide shows reflect Catherine's bewildered heart. I think this is where music and photography add benefits to the film.
Finally, I am glad that you can put forward your ideas and opinions, and hope to communicate with you again.
Yours,
Zhou
1578267199 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:37 am
Dear Lin
Art has nothing to do with utility. Art is just a way to enjoy life.
When Mr. Hu wants to find Wang Cailing to fake marriage, just to cover up his life style that has always been rejected by the secular world,
Wang Cailing said no, she said: "you are out of line with the secular world, and I just don't want to be mediocre."
Yes, art is out of line with the secular world, while literary youth just feel that they are different from others and think they are special.
Literary youth may even find some "singing", "Dancing" and other things related to art to decorate themselves for their differences from others.
From
Shuyou Xiao
Dear Xiao,
I'm glad you gave me a new way of thinking.
As you commented below in Sarah's article, Mr. Hu is a real artist. But I think Wang Cailing is also a artist. After all, she was duty-bound to pursue her dream. She wants to have a Beijing household, because with this, she may well stay in the Central Art Troupe. With this first step, she can slowly get closer to her ideal. However, Wang Cailing is also a woman who yearns for love. She gave up the opportunity to gain a foothold in Beijing for a false love. It is a pity for her.
On the contrary, Huang Sibao may really be just a literary youth who wants to be famous and make himself look different.
From,
Lin
Dear Zhou,
I really appreciate your example of music in "Mona Lisa Smile." Because "And the Spring Comes" is about a singer, I noticed the music a lot more in that movie instead of Mona Lisa Smile. This scene from Catherine's first is a good example of how music is also utilized in "Mona Lisa Smile" as well. Typically when watching moves, I do not notice such specific details, but because were are analyzing and comparing these movies, I notice things I typically would not before. For example, in my essay I discuss the lighting of the movies. The American movies seemed to have brighter and lighter colors, which gave the movie a more positive feeling. In the Chinese movie, the colors were darker and the scenes had many grey tones, which gave the movie a more sad feeling. Even the weather played a part. "Mona Lisa Smile" consisted of some nice sunny days, whereas "And the Spring Comes" had snowy and rainy scenes. Aside from music, so many other factors also play a part in making the movie what it is, and I never really noticed this until watching these movies.
I'm glad were are able to have this exchange and share our opinions on these things. Let me know if you have any other questions of comments for me.
From,
Sarah
Revised draft
"Not all who wander are aimless, especially not those who seek truth beyond tradition, beyond definition, beyond the image!" For Mona Lisa Smile, director Mike Neville shows a shift in the self-pursuit of contemporary independent women. Against the background of American society in 1953, the film tells the story of Catherine, who graduated from the University of Berkeley, went to Wellesley Girls' College to teach art history, which leads to the collision between liberalism and traditionalism. Catherine infected students in her own way and challenged traditional schools and society. And the Spring Comes is a feature film directed by Gu Changwei and co-starring Jiang Wenli and others. The film tells the story of Wang Cailing and other young artists in a small county town in the 1980s, struggling in the contradiction between dream and reality.
First of all, as for the identity of the heroine, Catherine and Wang Cailing, as art teachers, both have a deep pursuit of art, and both express their character characteristics that they are not willing to be mediocre and have the courage to pursue dreams and freedom through art.
However, since the women portrayed in these films have a lower status in society compared to the men, they have a limited ethos. Ethos is essentially one's credibility as a speaker and therefore is the society does not value the speaker, they will not have any credibility/ethos even if they have the skills. So they need to rely on some external conditions to get others to believe them and do what they say. For Mona Lisa Smile, Catherine was a new, female professor that believed in herself outside of the conservative views of the school. This caused many students and staff to have doubts about her credibility. For And the Spring Comes, Wang Cailing is respected by others because others can benefits from her. She does not really gain respect. Therefore, what these two films have in common is to tell us that we should judge a woman based on her own talents, not on her wealth and beauty, and on whether the man she marries is good or not.
Subsequently, the theme of both films would be showed. In Mona Lisa Smile, the social view at that time was that women should yearn for their family, and give everything for them, even freedom and future. All the classes and activities in Wellesley College are to teach female students how to be a good wife and mother. But Catherine refused this way, through works of art to tell students how to think. Under her influence, these students have changed a lot. The Mona Lisa's smile was mysterious. Betty asked her mother, "She is smiling. Is she really happy?" It also alluded to the social reality that women were not satisfied with their gorgeous appearances and seemingly happy families at that time. Therefore, the theme of this film is to liberate the traditional minds of women. What women really pursue is not the so-called work independence, but self-choice, whether they are lawyers or housewives, it should depend on what they really want to do, and they should have more choices.
In And the Spring Comes, a group of quasi-artistic youth living in a small city. They were originally marginal people living at the bottom of society, and life had not been easy for them, but unfortunately they still have dreams, and the dreams even are unachievable dreams, the huge gap between dream and reality makes their pursuit of dreams doomed to tragedy. And Wang Cailing is the portrayal of this group. When Hu Jinquan asked Wang Cailing for a fake marriage, Wang Cailing said absolutely: "I am different from you. I just don't want to be mediocre, but you are incompatible with here. I really can't hold on any longer. As soon as I gnash my teeth, I find someone to marry." Wang Cailing was unwilling to be mediocre and refused ordinary daily life, which led her to struggle in the ordinary life.
What’s more, the two films are different in the handling of tonality. Mona Lisa Smile had a more light and uplifting atmosphere than And the Spring Comes. Although both films did consist of dark and sad scenes, Mona Lisa Smile still had many happy and light moments with brighter lighting, which presented a positive atmosphere. This also corresponds to the ending of the movie. Catherine finally embarked on the road of pursuing her dream, which is a relatively happy ending.
Additionally, the interspersed background music also sublimates the effect of the films and makes the image of the characters more plump. The music at the end of Catherine's first class in Mona Lisa Smile perfectly reflects her embarrassment at that time. A sentence from the opera sung by Wang Cailing in And the Spring Comes, "but in this desperate moment, why, God, why ruthless to me "is an accurate expression of the hostess's dissatisfaction and resentment against her tragic fate after being rejected by the opera house.
At the end of the film, Catherine finally chose to leave school and embarked on the journey to Europe to pursue her thought and freedom. Wang Cailing's dream was shattered; she left school to become a butcher, and finally adopted a little girl to live as an ordinary woman. Although both of them fight hard for their dreams and pursuits, their destinies are diametrically opposed, and this is also the difference in the way the two films express their thoughts. Catherine's beautiful ending in search of herself to Europe implies a bright future for unconstrained women, thus calling for women's liberation. While Wang Cailing's ordinary ending is a compromise to her life. This little tragic ending to stimulate women's determination and action to pursue themselves.
