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Lucero Regalado

And the Spring comes and Mona Lisa Smile both have the theme of Women’s empowerment throughout their films. There is use of pathos along with the choice of clothing that the characters wear through-out the movie. Cai-ling embodies women’s empowerment in the film And the Spring Comes by her ambition to become an opera singer. Cai-ling shows her feelings through her music. She sacrifices and ignores the pleas of her parents and society to settle down and get married. She decides to focus on her desire to sing. Cai-ling faces a moment where she wants to give up, after being rejected and humiliated by the artist in the beginning of the movie. She disregards the pressure of being a single Chinese woman. Cai-ling dresses very conservatively and modest. Cai-ling does not follow any of the fashion trends or dresses very feminine. Her neighbor pities her, for not having a husband. Cai-lings neighbor dresses starkly different than her. The neighbor dresses very feminine with dresses and wears makeup. She be-friends a gay dancer who offers to marry her, so they will face no more criticism for being single. He is an outsider who catches the sympathy of the audience through pathos and his clothing. He wears feminine clothing, which draws attention to him that he is different. She does not even waver when she is offered marriage by her good friend. She rejects him and he resorts to assaulting a woman in order to go to prison. He feels free in prison, where he is able to live without judgement. It is inferred that being single after a certain period and being gay was not something that was accepted in the Chinese culture at that time. Cai-ling proves that she does not need a man to be successful. She does not even need a man to have a child. She adopts a beautiful little girl, who she spends time raising while not chasing after her dream of singing.

She makes a living as a butcher, in order to support her daughter. She gives up her opportunity in Hong Kong, she is rejected by the opera company, and humiliated at a talent show. Cai-ling faces these obstacles and still manages to get through it and succeed in her life. I think that Cai-ling embodies women’s empowerment by the message of vanity. Her looks are brought into question through out the movie. This is the reason to blame for why she is not married and does not have success in being a singer. She proves that she should not be married to be accepted. She proves that her ability alone as a singer should and is enough to achieve success.

Similarly, in Mona Lisa Smile, the main women characters embody women’s empowerment. Katherine inspires and encourages her students to think more for themselves than finding a husband with a stable income. She wants those women to be inspired to provide their own income. Having a husband should not be a woman’s ambition in life. She uses pathos to inspire the women as well as logic. A woman can do anything a man can as long as she puts her mind to it. Katherine wears clothing for her own comfort. She does not put on excessive makeup like the other women because she makes decisions for herself. In one scene, she is even wearing pants which was not a ladylike clothing to wear during her time period. Amanda supports women’s right to a choice in contraception. She empowers the women letting them know they have a choice in order to protect themselves from having children. This breaks that old mold of American society where a woman was only seen as a housewife and a mother to a man’s child. Betty is stuck believing in this is all her life could be until she finds her husband is having an affair. After the betrayal of her mother telling her to stick by her husband regardless, Betty begins to see and understand Katherine. Katherine wants women to be themselves and live for themselves. She wants them to have the choice in their own lives. Though Amanda’s choice to be with her husband, rather than pursue a law degree points to that being a choice as well. Being a housewife is okay, and acceptable, as long as the woman knows it is a choice. Katherine’s class inspired women to think of themselves as something more. Cai-ling does the same by ignoring society’s expectations of her and doing what she wants to do.

Hi，Lucero！
I think this essay of yours is well written. Firstly, the article points out that the common theme of the two films is female empowerment. Secondly, the article analyzes the characters of CAI ling and Catherine through the clothes they wear, which I didn't think of. This Angle is very novel and detailed. The article not only tells the main characters, but also analyzes some examples of supporting characters, which not only enriches the content of the article, but also makes the image of the main characters more vivid.
Of course, there are some minor problems with this article. Although it is novel to analyze the characters from the perspective of costumes, the article is rather stiff in the process of narration. In the last paragraph, Catherine chooses to wear comfortable and unladylike clothes to express her support for the idea that women should be themselves. But in a sudden change of voice, the article began to describe Amanda's support for women's right to choose contraception. Here the conversion is a bit abrupt, perhaps can add some cohesion sentence appropriately.
All in all, I think it's a good article. From the article, we can feel the efforts and struggles of women in the two films for their own rights, dreams and freedom. I really enjoyed this article. Thanks！

Hi, Lucero. I like the front of the article on the “And the Spring Comes” in the analysis of Cai-ling. She expresses her feelings through music, which we have not discovered yet. The article also analyzes the clothing styles of her. She is no more fashionable than the general public. The gay dancer, which is Cai-ling’s friend, had to be in prison to be free, and his behavior was a reflection of how sealed old Chinese culture was. This point is also mentioned in the article. What’s more, you mentioned that Cai-ling proved herself in the end. Even if her appearance was always questioned, she still insisted on proving herself until the end.
In the film of Mona Lisa's smile, you mentioned that Catherine used her logic to inspire the students. She broke the old pattern of American society and wanted to stimulate and change her students. Catherine and Cai-ling are actually different.
At the end of the article, you mentioned Amanda's choice. I think that's a good point of view. “Being a housewife is okay, and acceptable, as long as the woman knows it is a choice.” I admire this sentence. What Catherine and Cai-ling have in common is that they both want to live their lives to the fullest and not be bound by others.
Your analysis of the two films was excellent and many of your views were not thought of me when I saw the films, which also benefited me a lot.
Sun Apr 19, 2020
Xu Yiheng

Lucero Regalado
And the Spring comes and Mona Lisa Smile both have the theme of Women’s empowerment throughout their films. There is use of pathos along with the choice of clothing that the characters wear through-out the movie. These movies appeal to the audience emotionally. Cai-ling embodies women’s empowerment in the film And the Spring Comes by her ambition to become an opera singer. Cai-ling shows her feelings through her music. She sacrifices and ignores the pleas of her parents and society to settle down and get married. She decides to focus on her desire to sing. Cai-ling faces a moment where she wants to give up, after being rejected and humiliated by the artist in the beginning of the movie. She disregards the pressure of being a single Chinese woman. Cai-ling dresses very conservatively and modest. Cai-ling does not follow any of the fashion trends or dresses very feminine. Her neighbor pities her, for not having a husband. Cai-lings neighbor dresses starkly different than her. The neighbor dresses very feminine with dresses and wears makeup. She be-friends a gay dancer who offers to marry her, so they will face no more criticism for being single. He is an outsider who catches the sympathy of the audience through pathos and his clothing. He wears feminine clothing, which draws attention to him that he is different. She does not even waver when she is offered marriage by her good friend. She rejects him and he resorts to assaulting a woman in order to go to prison. He feels free in prison, where he is able to live without judgement. It is inferred that being single after a certain period and being gay was not something that was accepted in the Chinese culture at that time. Cai-ling proves that she does not need a man to be successful. She does not even need a man to have a child. She adopts a beautiful little girl, who she spends time raising while not chasing after her dream of singing.
She makes a living as a butcher, in order to support her daughter. She gives up her opportunity in Hong Kong, she is rejected by the opera company, and humiliated at a talent show. Cai-ling faces these obstacles and still manages to get through it and succeed in her life. I think that Cai-ling embodies women’s empowerment by the message of vanity. Through-out the movie you are rooting for Cai-ling. Her hardships, and relatability appeal to the audience.
Her looks are brought into question through out the movie. This is the reason to blame for why she is not married and does not have success in being a singer. She proves that she should not be married to be accepted. She proves that her ability alone as a singer should and is enough to achieve success.
Similarly, in Mona Lisa Smile, the main women characters embody women’s empowerment. Katherine inspires and encourages her students to think more for themselves than finding a husband with a stable income. She wants those women to be inspired to provide their own income. Having a husband should not be a woman’s ambition in life. She uses pathos to inspire the women as well as logic. A woman can do anything a man can as long as she puts her mind to it. Katherine wears clothing for her own comfort. She does not put on excessive makeup like the other women because she makes decisions for herself. In one scene, she is even wearing pants which was not a ladylike clothing to wear during her time period. Katherine has a free-spirited mind that is unlikely in her time. She chooses to wear pants and reject her boyfriend’s proposal because she does not want to be tied down. In her class, there are characters that are different from her, but come to understand Katherine’s way of thinking. One of the characters that has more modern thinking is Amanda. Amanda supports women’s right to a choice in contraception. She empowers the women letting them know they have a choice in order to protect themselves from having children. This breaks that old mold of American society where a woman was only seen as a housewife and a mother to a man’s child. Betty is stuck believing in this is all her life could be until she finds her husband is having an affair. After the betrayal of her mother telling her to stick by her husband regardless, Betty begins to see and understand Katherine. Katherine wants women to be themselves and live for themselves. She wants them to have the choice in their own lives. Though Amanda’s choice to be with her husband, rather than pursue a law degree points to that being a choice as well. Being a housewife is okay, and acceptable, as long as the woman knows it is a choice. Katherine’s class inspired women to think of themselves as something more. Cai-ling does the same by ignoring society’s expectations of her and doing what she wants to do.