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Hi W/J,

I am so happy that my comments are helpful to you! Maybe you can focus on one statement or difference between the two films, such as What do the characters in the two films think of their dreams? What are their differences between the pursuit of life and the pursuit of self-worth? You also can discuss them in from a rhetorical point.

Hope my suggestions can help you and hope you have a good day!

Sincerely,
Yuhang Liu

Revision
The sorrow of women in the old age
Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of the United States in 1953, when the times are changing. Catherine, who graduated from the Open University of Berkeley, went to Wesley women's traditional college to teach history of traditional art. However, Catherine, who is full of ideals and enthusiasm, boldly challenged the stale teaching system.

And the Spring Comes is a drama film directed by Gu Changwei, starring Jiang Wenli, Zhang Yao, Li Guangming and Jiao gang. It was released on April 11, 2008. The film tells the story of Wang Cailing and other young artists struggling in the contradiction between dream and reality in a small county in China in the 1980s.

From the perspective of the background, the movie of Mona Lisa Smile reflects the United States in the 1950s, when the World War II just ended and the great depression occurred. Because in World War II, men went to the front, the government called on women to work on their own. But after World War II, when men returned home, they found that the previous job opportunities had been seized by women. Therefore, the government called on women to return to their families and take care of their husbands and children, which was their born responsibility and mission, which led to the return of the once liberal liberation discourse to the conservative discourse. This kind of discourse change first permeates into the school education system. Catherine hopes to change such an education so that girls can learn to live and study for themselves.

And The Spring Comes opens with a panorama of bicycles and crowds. The scene is crowded, the people don't know where to go, the transportation is mainly the bicycle, all these reveal to us that the film unfolds in the era -- the late 1980s and early 1990s, when eastern and western ideas meet and the economy develops rapidly. Such a historical period is the background and premises for the film's mission to be constantly squeezed into the gap of destiny. Aided enormously by naturalistic photography and wide shots that illustrate how impersonal the city is, the film quietly depicting the blandness and uniformity of life in provincial China and in ultimately accepting small triumphs found in existing within one's means.

From the perspective of character image and fate, Catherine deeply influences her students with her avant-garde thoughts and independent character, which makes the most outstanding women in the country have independent thoughts, independent pursuit and independent character. Back in the movie, Catherine, who was stimulated in her first class, and then studied each student's information and background. The second class, Catherine prepared extra-curricular knowledge, this time these learning bully girl ignorant, they look through the textbook also can't find this picture and answer the questions fluently. Catherine began to ask questions, what is art, what is good art? She began to guide these excellent girls to think, to find and to feel. Originally, she thought of changing herself in the new environment. However, the traditional concept, instead of changing her, made her stick to her own point of view, so gradually changed others. At the end of the movie, when Katherine left school, the students all rode their bikes to see her off, showing that Katherine's avant-garde thoughts have gradually affected these girls, because their own experiences have changed their original ideas.

And The Spring Comes is about a tale of traditional values clashing with western art, and all the human ties and emotions that comes with it. Plain but supremely gifted opera singer Wang cailing has settled for a teaching job in a run of the mill industrial town. She refuses, however, to give up her aspirations at becoming a star with the national theater. As she navigates her lonely, routine life, she comes into contact with other frustrated artists: Would-be painter Sibao, singer Zhou Yuan dancer Hu. Everything about cailing's life is disastrous, from her lack of romance and sex to her white lies about Beijing connections to her assorted humiliations. Further humiliations await until Wang accepts her fate as a mere provincial teacher and finds peace under limited horizons. But there’s little implied criticism, and by eliminating transitions, Gu turns Wang’s story into a series of vignettes, as she and those she comes in contact with pass from one pipe dream to another.

From the different attitudes of China and the West towards new ideas, when an idea goes against the tradition, although the Westerners don't understand or even reject it, they don't deny it, let its interpretation develop, let people observe it and make their own judgments, while China will only reject it blindly. Betty used to be the most determined leader and practitioner of the "marry and have children" line under the guidance of her mother. She even spared no effort to fight with Miss Catherine in class and in the school journal. Joan seems to have a higher pursuit. On the one hand, she wants to live a marriage like Betty, and on the other hand, she wants to continue her studies at Yale Law School. At the end of the film, there is an unexpected ending for the two people. After an unfortunate marriage, Betty bravely chose to divorce and began her new life. She chose to go to New York to study instead of living under the influence of her mother.

And the Spring Comes is a story of disillusioned dreams that does not point to a path to success, nor does it dramatize personal ideals. A large number of long shots depict the artistic pursuit of a group of small characters, showing the dazzling loneliness of individuals and groups, and the warmth flowing behind the loneliness. Opera, oil painting and ballet, even today, are still not appreciated by the general public, not to mention the small cities in the early 1980s. So the three people’s persistent pursuit of art in the film is doomed to be ignored by those around them. Art, which was supposed to be the lifeline of their poor lives, ends up "killing" them.

In an environment where an artistic passion stronger than death yet unable to triumph over the secular pressure to which the heroes belong, we may only see the regret and sad beauty of wearing cloth shoes and standing on tiptoe in prison, rather than the blooming of art.

In contrast, the film Mona Lisa Smile is comparatively more gentle. It is also in the face of concepts that against tradition, where people do not understand them either but not deny it. Instead, they let it be explained and develop and adjust their judgements. What we lack is such an environment.

The characters in two films all failed, but the spring in turn comes. There is no real sign of spring, but the wind changes suddenly. Maybe in the near future, Mona Lisa will wear a real smile.

Reflection：
1) What were your expectations for the border -crossing activity? Are your expectations met?
Why or why not?
I hoped that I could learn different perspectives of looking at things and improve my ability of cooperation and communication in this activity. I think all my expectations have been met.
2) Do you think the activity is beneficial to you in terms of knowledge gains or skill enhancement? If so, please elaborate. If not, please explain why.
Yes. Through this activity, my analytical ability and communication ability have been exercised. In continuous rewriting, I’ve learned to better collect and integrate information and organize language.
3) Could you provide three adjectives to describe the activity? Please explain your choice.
The three adjectives I would use to describe this activity would be fun, insightful, and intelligent. I chose fun because this activity was fun for me; I like to analyse things and this gave me an outlet to do so. I chose insightful because I think everyone offered great insights into the films. I chose intellectual because this was a very academic-centred activity.
4) Could you provide three adjectives to describe your feelings about the activity? Please explain your choice.
The three adjectives I would use to describe my feelings would be excited, thought-provoking, and thoughtful. I chose excited because this activity made me have a chance to communicate with native American students. I chose thought-provoking because this activity allowed me to learn new ways about how people from other cultures view different topics. I chose thoughtful because this activity made me think a lot.
5) Any additional comments, suggestions, and observations you would like to make to better help us assess your performance in this activity?
I wished there was a little more engagement (which is on me because I did not check in on this forum as often as I probably should have) but I felt that what was said was productive and interesting.