Cultural Essay
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 3:05 am
Megan Covone
Both movies, Mona Lisa’s Smile and And The Spring Comes, are concerned with women’s empowerment. The main characters strive to meet their goals that break traditions (li) and are not considered appropriate actions for women (yi). In Mona Lisa’s Smile, Professor Watson breaks traditions by attempting to talk young females out of marriages and convincing some to continue their education. Professor Watson is also not considered an appropriate professor because her teachings break traditions. In And The Spring Comes, Professor Wang breaks tradition because she wants to become a famous opera singer even though her looks are not considered beautiful enough to be taken seriously. Professor Wang is also unmarried and it seems to be inappropriate for women not to be married at her age. By showing the desires and goals of the main characters, both movies bring attention to women wanting to be more than housewives.
Professor Watson studies art history and teaches at an all-female college. She is supposed to be teaching from a syllabus that has already been written, however, she decides to teach her own lessons. Professor Watson’s unique classes make the female students think about their place in society. Unlike Professor Watson, Professor Wang studies opera and music. Both of these professors are respected for their talents. However, they both need to overcome the obstacles of breaking tradition to meet their goals. Professor Watson must break the traditions of teaching female students to be good housewives, while Professor Wang tries to get famous without having the typical “beautiful” appearance. Professor Wang must put on plenty of makeup when she performs in public. Professor Watson ends up leaving the university because they won’t let her teach the way she wants to. Both of the main characters had to adjust their lives in order to meet their career and lifestyle goals.
Both of the main characters are expected to follow the tradition of marriage and reproduction. When Professor Wang visits her parents, they ask her if she has met anyone to marry in the upcoming year. Professor Wang even goes as far as telling Huang, the artist, that she would drop her dreams to support him in marriage. Similarly, Professor Watson’s students are all very concerned with her plans to be married. One of her students runs into her at a bar and notices her engagement ring. Even though Professor Watson doesn’t want to be married, her student still tells the rest of the class and they all congratulate her. They are shocked when Professor Watson tells them she doesn’t want to be married and the engagement is over. Unlike Professor Watson, Professor Wang did want to marry. However, the adoption of a child seems to fulfill that need. Professor Watson proves she doesn’t need a husband by refusing to marry her fiance, and Professor Wang proves she doesn’t need to marry to have a family.
In Mona Lisa’s Smile and And The Spring Comes, the main characters break tradition (li) and act inappropriately (yi) in order to achieve their goals. In both American and Chinese cultures, women were expected to marry and raise a family. Careers and higher education were difficult to achieve. As women, these main characters were expected to give up their dreams to be housewives. However, because they broke traditions and acted inappropriately, they changed their own lives and positively affected others.
Both movies, Mona Lisa’s Smile and And The Spring Comes, are concerned with women’s empowerment. The main characters strive to meet their goals that break traditions (li) and are not considered appropriate actions for women (yi). In Mona Lisa’s Smile, Professor Watson breaks traditions by attempting to talk young females out of marriages and convincing some to continue their education. Professor Watson is also not considered an appropriate professor because her teachings break traditions. In And The Spring Comes, Professor Wang breaks tradition because she wants to become a famous opera singer even though her looks are not considered beautiful enough to be taken seriously. Professor Wang is also unmarried and it seems to be inappropriate for women not to be married at her age. By showing the desires and goals of the main characters, both movies bring attention to women wanting to be more than housewives.
Professor Watson studies art history and teaches at an all-female college. She is supposed to be teaching from a syllabus that has already been written, however, she decides to teach her own lessons. Professor Watson’s unique classes make the female students think about their place in society. Unlike Professor Watson, Professor Wang studies opera and music. Both of these professors are respected for their talents. However, they both need to overcome the obstacles of breaking tradition to meet their goals. Professor Watson must break the traditions of teaching female students to be good housewives, while Professor Wang tries to get famous without having the typical “beautiful” appearance. Professor Wang must put on plenty of makeup when she performs in public. Professor Watson ends up leaving the university because they won’t let her teach the way she wants to. Both of the main characters had to adjust their lives in order to meet their career and lifestyle goals.
Both of the main characters are expected to follow the tradition of marriage and reproduction. When Professor Wang visits her parents, they ask her if she has met anyone to marry in the upcoming year. Professor Wang even goes as far as telling Huang, the artist, that she would drop her dreams to support him in marriage. Similarly, Professor Watson’s students are all very concerned with her plans to be married. One of her students runs into her at a bar and notices her engagement ring. Even though Professor Watson doesn’t want to be married, her student still tells the rest of the class and they all congratulate her. They are shocked when Professor Watson tells them she doesn’t want to be married and the engagement is over. Unlike Professor Watson, Professor Wang did want to marry. However, the adoption of a child seems to fulfill that need. Professor Watson proves she doesn’t need a husband by refusing to marry her fiance, and Professor Wang proves she doesn’t need to marry to have a family.
In Mona Lisa’s Smile and And The Spring Comes, the main characters break tradition (li) and act inappropriately (yi) in order to achieve their goals. In both American and Chinese cultures, women were expected to marry and raise a family. Careers and higher education were difficult to achieve. As women, these main characters were expected to give up their dreams to be housewives. However, because they broke traditions and acted inappropriately, they changed their own lives and positively affected others.