Cultural Essay
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 8:21 pm
Max Schultz
And the Spring Comes and Mona Lisa Smile are two films that deal with similar subject matter and deal with very similar themes. Each protagonist, Katherine Watson in Mona Lisa Smile, and Wang Cailing in And the Spring Comes, face central conflicts related to issues related to individuality, feminism, and the general challenging of societal norms. By treating each film as a case study in the addressing of such issues, much can be learned about the similarities and differences between eastern and western culture and cinema.
Mona Lisa Smile is a classic depiction of the dominant conservative societal gender roles of America in the 1950s, when women were largely expected to perform as housewives and were strongly discouraged from entering the workforce to fill the same roles as men. Professor Katherine Watson teaches at an all-women’s Wellesley college, characterized by the prominent cultural clash of the time between the school’s prestigious reputation and its students’ conflicting focus on landing a successful husband rather than trying to equip themselves to actually forge success of their own. This provides the basis for Watson’s central act of rebellion, that is, eschewing the pre-approved syllabus in favor of her own and encouraging her students to think and act for themselves. While individuality is absolutely a major motivating factor in Watson’s actions, the story is most directly rooted in feminism. Her enlightened teaching methods coupled with her own personal aversion to marriage creates a story that is thematically a story of classic feminist rebellion against conservative social norms.
In And the Spring Comes, protagonist Wang Cailing embarks on her own personal journey for individual fulfillment, and she too wrestles with incompatible societal expectations. She dreams of becoming an opera singer, but despite her talent, it is accepted that her lack of physical attractiveness is enough to preclude her from achieving her goals. The film details Wang Cailing’s struggle for individuality in a society that instead expects its members, particularly women, to focus on the collective instead. And the Spring Comes differs from Mona Lisa Smile in that it is not designed primarily as a period piece, or a depiction of a certain time period. And the Spring Comes can instead be taken as an artifact of modern Chinese society, as it takes place much more recently. It is painfully apparent throughout the film that Wang Cailing does not adhere to many major norms and expectations of her society, with its dialogue and cinematography making clear that she does not “fit in” as a part of her social environment or her city. And the Spring Comes also generally feels more realistic than Mona Lisa Smile; its characters seem less stylized and exaggerated. The end result is a movie that feels more true to the culture that created it and less like a societal caricature, allowing viewers to connect with the central character on a more personal level.
These two films approach similar topics through substantially different lenses. Each details a female protagonist on her own search to break dominant societal trends for the better. Thematically, the story of Mona Lisa Smile skews its focus more heavily toward feminism, while And the Spring Comes is most purely a story of individuality. However, there is substantial overlap between these films and their themes, and each can be used as a tool to learn about the culture of the place in which it was produced.
And the Spring Comes and Mona Lisa Smile are two films that deal with similar subject matter and deal with very similar themes. Each protagonist, Katherine Watson in Mona Lisa Smile, and Wang Cailing in And the Spring Comes, face central conflicts related to issues related to individuality, feminism, and the general challenging of societal norms. By treating each film as a case study in the addressing of such issues, much can be learned about the similarities and differences between eastern and western culture and cinema.
Mona Lisa Smile is a classic depiction of the dominant conservative societal gender roles of America in the 1950s, when women were largely expected to perform as housewives and were strongly discouraged from entering the workforce to fill the same roles as men. Professor Katherine Watson teaches at an all-women’s Wellesley college, characterized by the prominent cultural clash of the time between the school’s prestigious reputation and its students’ conflicting focus on landing a successful husband rather than trying to equip themselves to actually forge success of their own. This provides the basis for Watson’s central act of rebellion, that is, eschewing the pre-approved syllabus in favor of her own and encouraging her students to think and act for themselves. While individuality is absolutely a major motivating factor in Watson’s actions, the story is most directly rooted in feminism. Her enlightened teaching methods coupled with her own personal aversion to marriage creates a story that is thematically a story of classic feminist rebellion against conservative social norms.
In And the Spring Comes, protagonist Wang Cailing embarks on her own personal journey for individual fulfillment, and she too wrestles with incompatible societal expectations. She dreams of becoming an opera singer, but despite her talent, it is accepted that her lack of physical attractiveness is enough to preclude her from achieving her goals. The film details Wang Cailing’s struggle for individuality in a society that instead expects its members, particularly women, to focus on the collective instead. And the Spring Comes differs from Mona Lisa Smile in that it is not designed primarily as a period piece, or a depiction of a certain time period. And the Spring Comes can instead be taken as an artifact of modern Chinese society, as it takes place much more recently. It is painfully apparent throughout the film that Wang Cailing does not adhere to many major norms and expectations of her society, with its dialogue and cinematography making clear that she does not “fit in” as a part of her social environment or her city. And the Spring Comes also generally feels more realistic than Mona Lisa Smile; its characters seem less stylized and exaggerated. The end result is a movie that feels more true to the culture that created it and less like a societal caricature, allowing viewers to connect with the central character on a more personal level.
These two films approach similar topics through substantially different lenses. Each details a female protagonist on her own search to break dominant societal trends for the better. Thematically, the story of Mona Lisa Smile skews its focus more heavily toward feminism, while And the Spring Comes is most purely a story of individuality. However, there is substantial overlap between these films and their themes, and each can be used as a tool to learn about the culture of the place in which it was produced.
