The Light and the Shadow

[Yijing F.]

The Light and the Shadow

180807 方艺静 Yijing Fan

Everyone knows the famous Mona Lisa painted by Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, but the paint’s eponymous film, Mona Lisa Smile is also a great film because of its impressive interpretation and attitude towards women’s rights. Every Chinese knows the beginning of spring in solar term, but the movie And the Spring Comes brought a deeper understanding of human nature and society. By the time I saw these two extraordinary films about humanity, I know they are truly something to behold and enjoy.
Mona Lisa Smile tells the story of an avant-garde female teacher in the 1950s’ US who dares to challenge the antiquated teaching system of a leading women's University. And the Spring Comes talks about a 1980s Chinese small town where Wang Cailing and other art young people fell in conflict between dreams and reality in the process of struggling.

Catherine Watson, who had received liberal reform ideas at the University of California, was determined to fight against the feudal darkness of Wesley. But Wang cailing and many other young artists who do not fit in with the small town are struggling under the scorching sun with their secret dreams. But in contrast to Catherine's success in rebelling against the traditional education system, those young people, led by Wang Cailing, were finally defeated by life: Wang cailing chose to adopt a child and reconcile with life; Hu Jinquan took the most extreme measure to fight back against social gossip; Huang Sibao repeatedly failed and after a one-night stand changed his mind to join the Shanghai Team; and Zhou Yu, the plainest and most anxious of all, is defeated by the most vulgar of emotional frustrations.

Even the plot development of the two films are similar to light and shadow – one is all its way to women’s rights, another is like a slowly unfolding scroll of that period in China. In Mona Lisa Smile you can see Catherine and several of her students moving toward their future after a series of interactions and agreements: Catherine still refused to compromise and left Wesley; she gave up her dream of becoming a lawyer and chose to pursue happiness with her lover, but Betty finally broke through the feudal prison Defying the stereotype of a mother who does what her husband tells her to do -- all the characters in the film seem to be having a relatively independent moment of reflection and action following this happy encounter. The characters in And the Spring Comes affect each other like blending watercolors, and its main character, Wang cailing, is particularly affected because she has a lofty self-confidence that is alien to this small town and even to her own appearance. So any of her association with those "mortals", can let her inner belief shake.

The themes of the two films are also different. Mona Lisa Smile not only repudiated the bondage of feudal thought to women, but also praised the leading role of feminist thought. But And the Spring Comes, however, aims to criticize people's attitude towards life through some unknown struggles in these societies, and to expose some realistic problems of Chinese art circles in the last century.

In my opinion both films are impressive but go in different ways, and I hope to see more films based on certain social phenomena like these two in the future

[Lauren S.]

Hi Yijing Fan,
Great essay! I made some comments in the document attached.
Thanks, Lauren Sonsteby

[Tierra P.]

Hello Yijing,

I thought you drew very good conclusion about the movies and made some great points. To strengthen your essay I recommend the following:

1. In the opening paragraph, you give a particular analysis about the main points of each movie, but after reading the paper fully, it seems as if there is not a thesis and you are making many different points. It seems as if your paper serves to compare and contrast the films and their cultural messages. --> Consider adding a thesis statement after talking about each film in your opening paragraph that prefaces your conclusion about the films similarities and differences.

2. Take the last sentence or two that essential begins a summarization of the films and move them to the opening of your second paragraph.

3. Avoid language that assumes the reader knows something. ex. "Everyone knows the Mona Lisa painting". Instead of assuming the reader knows what the Mona Lisa is, introduce it explaining what it is and be more explicit in how it relates. **I do think the use of this in the opening paragraph is very inviting to read!

4. In the final paragraph, you close with a simple statement about your impression on the movies. Use this paragraph to elaborate how your points come together and talk about what they mean.

5. In addition to my last recommendation, flesh out your writing by adding more analysis to the evidence you discuss from the movie, what that means for each movie, and how they relate to one another. The essay seems heavily summarized a this time.

Thank you so much for sharing your work and giving me the opportunity to work with you. Best of luck!

[Yijing F.]

Hi Yijing Fan,
Great essay! I made some comments in the document attached.
Thanks, Lauren Sonsteby

Thank you for correcting my article!

For your third note asking for more detail about the sentence "So any of her association with those 'mortals', can let her inner belief shake" ,I'm here to elaborate it.

Wang cailing used to thought herself as an untouchable woman who can sing at the Palais Garnier. And she thought that the people around her did not have such talent and lofty dream as her did, thus disdaining with them. In fact, she was even more afraid of the fact that if she could not achieve her dream, then she would be just like them. But she was forced to talk to these people for a living, and to use them as a mirror to look into her heart. Why do I have to make this dream come true? Would it be easier if I tried to live like them?

Humans always interact with each other. But in the lofty Wang cailing and "vulgar" others, this kind of influence actually becomes the one-way conduction like heat transmission under the director's highly concentrated narrative technique. Hardhearted Wang cailing contacts the secular in those who have the warmth of mortals and human natures, which makes her cold heart melt little by little and eventually take on a human touch.

That's what I'm trying to convey in that sentence. I hope I've made myself clear. If you still have any problem, it's appreciated to ask me!

[Yijing F.]

Hello Yijing,

I thought you drew very good conclusion about the movies and made some great points. To strengthen your essay I recommend the following:

1. In the opening paragraph, you give a particular analysis about the main points of each movie, but after reading the paper fully, it seems as if there is not a thesis and you are making many different points. It seems as if your paper serves to compare and contrast the films and their cultural messages. --> Consider adding a thesis statement after talking about each film in your opening paragraph that prefaces your conclusion about the films similarities and differences.

2. Take the last sentence or two that essential begins a summarization of the films and move them to the opening of your second paragraph.

3. Avoid language that assumes the reader knows something. ex. "Everyone knows the Mona Lisa painting". Instead of assuming the reader knows what the Mona Lisa is, introduce it explaining what it is and be more explicit in how it relates. **I do think the use of this in the opening paragraph is very inviting to read!

4. In the final paragraph, you close with a simple statement about your impression on the movies. Use this paragraph to elaborate how your points come together and talk about what they mean.

5. In addition to my last recommendation, flesh out your writing by adding more analysis to the evidence you discuss from the movie, what that means for each movie, and how they relate to one another. The essay seems heavily summarized a this time.

Thank you so much for sharing your work and giving me the opportunity to work with you. Best of luck!

Thanks a lot for providing me such practical advice!
My teacher's requirement was to find out one certain similarities of two films and describe, but finally I messed it up to find the differences. When I watch films I am used to pay more attention to the plots rather than the deeper meaning, how superficial of me!
I will take any changes you suggest to my article, but there is one point I want to make clear. Chinese students often use sentences like "as we all know" in their compositions, which are also written in some non-textbook reference books for highschool students. I rarely used this sentence before, but I added it considering that the Mona Lisa is indeed a world famous painting. But since such sentences are not popular with readers, I won't use them again. THANKS FOR THE CORRECTION!

[Tierra P.]

Yijing,

It's very interesting to learn the different styles of English writing taught in your country. You can definitely say those kinds of things if you feel it is beneficial. In my opinion, there is no wrong or correct way to write. Instead, its beneficial to one's writing skills and abilities to learn and understand many different ways to convey written communication for a specific purpose. That being said, this kind of language can be beneficial to your writing. I recommend considering your audience when deciding which style you feel is best to write in to serve that audience's needs. For example, an art student will almost certainly know what the Mona Lisa painting is, but can you assume that any person that has viewed these movies knows? Its definitely something to consider. I tend to keep my writing clear, and concise. That is my general style. I encourage you to discover your own style through all of the different ways of writing you learn. Write in a way that works best for you, makes you happy to write, and feeds your passion for the written word! It has been a pleasure

Best,
Tierra