Growth and Success: Impressions of And Spring Comes and Mona Lisa Smile

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Fei Yang

Mona Lisa Smile is a plot film produced by the American Revolutionary film studio in 2003. The film tells the story of America in 1953. The time is changing. Catherine, who graduated from the Open University of Berkeley, went to Wesley women's school to teach art history. However, Catherine, who is full of ideals and enthusiasm, boldly challenged the old teaching system. The movie And the Spring Comes tells the story of Wang Cailing and other young artists struggling in the contradiction between dream and reality in a small county in 1980s, but after experiencing multiple heavy setbacks, she finally recognizes the reality and lives a normal life.

Both of the films reflect human’s growth and success, which could give some implications for our own life development.

First of all, I want to talk about something about growth. In the movie Mona Lisa Smile, Joan has an ideal of studying at Yale University to become a lawyer, but later she gave up this ideal and returned to the path of housewife. On the surface, Joan sacrificed her studies, gave up her ideal of becoming a lawyer, and became a victim of traditional ideas. But this is only a representation. The most important thing is Joan has already known what she does and what she wants. Love and career are sometimes hard to reconcile. Joan gave up her dream in order to marry her lover. But in fact, Joan's abandonment reflects her awakening of feminism. She has learned to think independently and can pursue what she wants. She got her growth.

In sharp contrast to her is the role of Hu Jinquan in And the Spring Comes. Hu Jinquan is a dance teacher in the local mass art museum. He loves ballet, but as a man, people have a lot of prejudice and discussion about him. In order to prove that he is not a homosexual, Hu Jinquan proposed the idea of marrying Wang Faye. After being rejected, Hu faked to rape a female student to prove himself, and finally ended up in prison. When Wang Cailing visited him in the prison, Hu Jinquan said that he felt good in the prison, and the prison leaders agreed to let him lead the team to teach everyone to rehearse dance programs, so long as he could dance, he would be very happy. He seemed to get the freedom he wanted, but the fact is that he just retracted his protective shell, and he was not compatible with the secular life. Facing the test of life, he didn't choose to grow, but chose to shrink.

Then comes the success. In And the Spring Comes, Wang Cailing is eager to cutting a conspicuous figure, because she holds the belief that she deserves it. On the one hand, she does have a outstanding voice, which gives her confidence and pride. But this idea also gives her an illusory imagination, which is the reason why she fails eventually. The distinct pay gap between town and county is cruel and realistic, but she insists in earning the Beijing permanent residence by hook and rock, which entails her life harder. Everyone longs for success, but the dream must be rooted in the reality. Not all good things will be suitable for their own, life is the most important. Being ourselves is also successful. This movie reflects the hardships and difficulties of the people at the bottom of the society to pursue their dreams. Although this is a tragedy, there is no denying their pursuit and persistence of dreams. Seemingly insignificant characters are strong and powerful on the path of pursuing dreams. At the end of the story, Wang Cailing went to the marriage agency and adopted an orphan. She finally gave in to life, and her dream became a mirage. The ordinary life is her final destination.

Katherine, the protagonist, grows up in rural California, enjoying the sun, beach and freedom. She always faces the obstacles with her own strong and efforts to resolve the difficulties, which makes her an utterly successful woman. Students think they know a lot about the history of art, and she uses the new perspective of contemporary art to lead students away from the narrow definition of art. Therefore, she gains the students' affection and confounds those traditional teachers who despise her. On the way to meet with success, she stick with herself bravely and cleverly. There's the reason why she achieves her goals.

Life is full of ups and downs. Even some difficulties may break us down. Firstly, we must face them straightly, and then try to find solutions with all possible ways. Remember that the dream should be the power to push us forward. Secondly, do not forget the beginner's mind, and you will reach the bright end.

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At first, they give a brief introduction of the two films, this is good. After that, it can be seen that they want to compare the two films from the perspective of personal development. However, after reading their work, I can't catch the main idea clearly. On the one hand, the article lacks paragraph summary, on the other hand, the branch theses in the article seem contradictory. While saying that Joan gave up her ideal for her husband, they said that it was Joan's awakening of feminism. There are also low-level grammatical errors in this article such as"which is why she fails eventually". The whole article looks confusing and chaotic, it is the largest problem of this work.

[jbb5635]

I like the writer's focus on the films' portrayal of success and growth, as they are important themes throughout each narrative. The writer's main idea can be further expanded by describing why the movies focus on success and growth, and also how both cultures approach said themes. While the author presents good examples from each film in supporting their point, such as Joan's plight and Hu's desire for normalcy, more can be said regarding the purpose of their decisions. For instance, the author illustrates that Joan chooses to become a housewife in order to support her husband as opposed to doing it for the sake of tradition. This is a good point, however, why does the movie have Joan choose something that goes along with tradition? What is the movie saying about a character who willingly chooses to follow tradition? Is it tradition or is it something else? I think by answering these questions, the writer can provide an interesting analysis of the film's outlook on what it takes in order to personally grow as a person. Furthermore, the paper can become stronger by adding more concrete examples from the movies. For example, the writer suggests that And the Spring Comes reflects "the hardships and difficulties of the people at the bottom of the society to pursue their dreams," but they do not provide any examples that support their line of argument. Personally, I think the scene with Ms. Wang singing at the talent show and people not being impressed would be a good example that supports the writer's point about peoples' hardships in achieving their dreams. Lastly, the author ends their paper by describing how life has its ups and downs and that dreams push people through difficult moments. The author's personal opinions about not giving up are great, and I think that both movies are trying to express the idea of focusing on one's dreams while also being realistic about them at the same time. As such, I think that the idea of the movies' focusing on success and growth through dreams may be a good way to flesh out the author's main point and help them in creating an even better analysis of both films.

[1595877752]

I like the writer's focus on the films' portrayal of success and growth, as they are important themes throughout each narrative. The writer's main idea can be further expanded by describing why the movies focus on success and growth, and also how both cultures approach said themes. While the author presents good examples from each film in supporting their point, such as Joan's plight and Hu's desire for normalcy, more can be said regarding the purpose of their decisions. For instance, the author illustrates that Joan chooses to become a housewife in order to support her husband as opposed to doing it for the sake of tradition. This is a good point, however, why does the movie have Joan choose something that goes along with tradition? What is the movie saying about a character who willingly chooses to follow tradition? Is it tradition or is it something else? I think by answering these questions, the writer can provide an interesting analysis of the film's outlook on what it takes in order to personally grow as a person. Furthermore, the paper can become stronger by adding more concrete examples from the movies. For example, the writer suggests that And the Spring Comes reflects "the hardships and difficulties of the people at the bottom of the society to pursue their dreams," but they do not provide any examples that support their line of argument. Personally, I think the scene with Ms. Wang singing at the talent show and people not being impressed would be a good example that supports the writer's point about peoples' hardships in achieving their dreams. Lastly, the author ends their paper by describing how life has its ups and downs and that dreams push people through difficult moments. The author's personal opinions about not giving up are great, and I think that both movies are trying to express the idea of focusing on one's dreams while also being realistic about them at the same time. As such, I think that the idea of the movies' focusing on success and growth through dreams may be a good way to flesh out the author's main point and help them in creating an even better analysis of both films.

Dear joe, thank you very much for your suggestions, which is turly thoughtful. You pointed drawbacks in my writing with detailed examples, and rendered me some usseful writing perspectives. And I will revise my writing according to your advice.

[jbb5635]

Dear Fei,

I'm so glad that my comments were of some help! I hope that it not only helps you in revising your paper but that your future writing will improve as a result! I actually have a quick question about your paper, and I am curious on your thoughts. You mention how both films focus on success and growth, and I agree that both Cailing Wang and Katherine Watson are examples of failure and success respectively.

Since both films hail from different cultural backgrounds, do you think that Chinese and American cultures have different expectations regarding what it means to be successfull. In my opinion, I think it has to do with the time period. In Mona Lisa Smile, the story takes place the height of the Industrial Revolution, where women were encouarged to become a good house wife. I think that Katherine grew up in this period, was taught that her value was to only serve men, but decided that there was more to her than being a subserviant housewife. May also be the reason why she decides to not be a wife, though the movie does not expressly say it otherwise.

While I do not know much about the historical context of And the Spring Comes, it does seem that Beijing is much like New York, in which people who want to make it big are better offf going to the biggest city that they can. So perhaps Cailing Wang's environment told her that she can only be big if she makes it in Beijing, but by the end of the film, she decides that she does not need to rely on her worldivew to tell her that she has done well or not. One look at her adopoted son tells Cailing that she has made the right choice.

Once again, thank you for reading my comments and I would like to discuss this question further, if you desire. Have a great rest of your day!

[1595877752]

Dear Fei,

I'm so glad that my comments were of some help! I hope that it not only helps you in revising your paper but that your future writing will improve as a result! I actually have a quick question about your paper, and I am curious on your thoughts. You mention how both films focus on success and growth, and I agree that both Cailing Wang and Katherine Watson are examples of failure and success respectively.

Since both films hail from different cultural backgrounds, do you think that Chinese and American cultures have different expectations regarding what it means to be successfull. In my opinion, I think it has to do with the time period. In Mona Lisa Smile, the story takes place the height of the Industrial Revolution, where women were encouarged to become a good house wife. I think that Katherine grew up in this period, was taught that her value was to only serve men, but decided that there was more to her than being a subserviant housewife. May also be the reason why she decides to not be a wife, though the movie does not expressly say it otherwise.

While I do not know much about the historical context of And the Spring Comes, it does seem that Beijing is much like New York, in which people who want to make it big are better offf going to the biggest city that they can. So perhaps Cailing Wang's environment told her that she can only be big if she makes it in Beijing, but by the end of the film, she decides that she does not need to rely on her worldivew to tell her that she has done well or not. One look at her adopoted son tells Cailing that she has made the right choice.

Once again, thank you for reading my comments and I would like to discuss this question further, if you desire. Have a great rest of your day!

Dear joe，
First of all, to Wang, rather than just going to Beijing, she wants to go to a bigger stage where someone understands her. She wants to become successful and famous, but in her original town, people don't understand her and are not interested in her hobbies, so she wants to go outside and go to a place where she can show her talents.
Then, from my own perspective, her adoption of a girl is a rejection of her ideals. She has no hope for the realization of her dream, and has finally decided to compromise to life. She has chosen to take responsibility - to meet the parents' expectations for the happy life of their children, and to adopt a harelip girl.
Very glad to discuss with you, and hope you have a nice day,
Fei