Mona Lisa Smile was a movie that made for a class as Body Image vs. Reality. It touches on every perspective of different women and issues that they face in the time they are in. Although these issues are set in the early 19th century, they are still issues that present in today’s culture.
Mona Lisa Smile is about a young teacher, Ms. Watson from California, who comes to Wellesley a prestigious women’s college in the east. Ms. Watson is an art history teacher and very extrinsic and passionate about her work. She soon finds out that at Wellesley, the only reason women go to college is to by time to find a husband and get married and be the perfect wife. Wellesley teaches the women how to become the best wife, the best host and the best at being a lady. On the first day of class all of the young women have already read the whole book and learned all the art for the section. This shows Ms. Watson that these girls are as close to perfect as they come. As the class continues throughout the year Ms. Watson befriends and influences the class, but four girls especially.
The four girls that are central to the story are Betty, Joan, Giselle, and Connie. Betty is from a high class upbringing and is in the middle of planning her wedding, which she believes is the most important thing along with being the best wife. She is very set in her ways and dislikes Ms. Watson for her non-traditional ways. Betty gets married but soon realizes that marriage is not all it’s supposed to be and she finds herself trapped in what Betty Friedan would call the Feminine Mystique. She then realizes that her husband is cheating on her but her parents tell her that she just needs to be a good wife and keep her mouth shut and he will come back to her. Much to Ms. Watson’s surprise Betty leaves her husband and applies to Yale Law School. Joan is a very bright student who has all the potential in the world to be something great. She comes from the same upbringing and has the same ideals of what women are supposed to be. While taking the class Ms. Watson convinces her to apply at Yale Law School, where not very many women are accepted. Joan is accepted, but when her boyfriends asks her to elope with him she agrees and says that she understands what is in front of her but she wants to be married. Giselle is a young woman who tries to find out who she truly is throughout the movie. The only way she thinks this is possible is to date/sleep around with older men and sometimes married men. She feels this is the only thing that will complete her and make her feel better about herself and feel wanted and accepted by men. Giselle does finally realize that she is better than having to sleep around. Connie is a sweet girl but has self esteem issues because she is a little over weight compared to the other girls and she did not have the upbringing as the rest of them did. Out of all the girls Connie knows who she is and won’t change. She finds a man that is of high class and he loves her.
This movie related too many of the readings for this course. The one that I think it matched almost to a T was the Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan. This reading was all about how women were suppose to act in the 40’s and 50’s. How they were supposed to be good wives and mothers and have dinner ready for the husband when he got home and how she was supposed to keep her mouth shut. I think that the direction and production of the film was great and it really showed what life was like in that time for women. The cast was great for the roles that they played. The movie portrayed the women as only good for one thing, being a wife. This is the struggle that women still have to face today, in that men still expect women to be the best wife possible and women are still expected to be also. Although this is theory is not that prominent anymore, it is still in the back of the mind of men and women.
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