Film Analysis: Mona Lisa Smile

Femininity has greatly changed over the decades. In today’s society, women are just objects of desire and are worth nothing more than a mere glance from a man. It seems as though the only thing they are good for is to come running when the man gives her the nod. I believe that femininity just goes in a huge circle, slightly changing with the times. In Mona Lisa Smile, the setting is back in the fifties, a time when women were meant to be seen and not heard, much like today. The only right that women had back in that decade was the right to cook, clean and tend to her family. It was looked down upon if she wished to get a job versus being married. This movie was about how girls at the very and prestigious Wellesley College begin to go against conformity when a strong-willed teacher (Julia Roberts) graces campus with her presence as well as her modernized ideals of femininity.
The main idea of this movie was to show the shift from conformity to the new wave of femininity that exuded independence as a woman. This is where Mona Lisa Smile relates back to the class readings. Throughout the semester we discussed femininity and this film is filled with examples of changing the definition of what it means to be a woman, more specifically changing the roles of women in the early fifties. One example that can be found being discussed in both the readings and in the movie was the part where Julia Roberts’s character, Ms. Watson, encourages Jane to apply to Yale Law School. It had been Jane’s dream of going to law school ever since she was a little girl, but women of that time were expected to go to college and get married. Not to have a career of her own. But going against the grain, she applied anyways, knowing that she was taking a path that not many women of her time would have. This example portrays the beginning shift from conformity on the Wellesley campus. Another example that can be seen in this movie is the ideals that Julia Roberts’s character is trying to portray to her students. She wishes for her students to lead the world and not just live a simple life as a housewife to some man. She preached about not conforming to the female stereotype of their time and felt that her students were meant for more than to just adapt to being a wife and a mother solely based on idea that other people have for them. These ideals that she believed in and preached about are very intertwined with the ideals that our readings were discussing.
Taking a look at the film from a perspective simply based on the production and artistic sense, I have to say that I really enjoyed it. They characters were played very well by the actresses and the dialect, style of dress, lighting, etc. was very well depicted in production. I believe that the assumptions about gender and body image were quite obvious to see in this particular film. The script is my proof. Throughout the film, the script was constantly talking about moving away from conformity and creating a new, independent woman which made the writers perspective on such issues very plain to see. Overall, I loved this movie and thought that it was a great portrayal of such a strong and inspirational message.