蒙娜丽莎的微笑英文影评

Film Review

--Be ourselves

The story took pace in 1953, when the second women's liberation gradually arisen. However, some educational institution in American, expecially Wellesley College, the most conservative college in the nation, still tenaciously performed the mission that male society endowed: to cultivate women with both moral integrity and professional competence. When Katherine Watson, a first –year teacher from Oakland State, who always sought truth beyond tradition, got a position in the Art History department in Wellesley College, contradiction between her feminist thought and students under the influence of male chauvinism was stirring.

Most of students in Wellesley College were well educated with fine family background. They gave Katherine a caution in the first class. In their mind, the definition of success was to marry a good man and the role they born to fill was to be a good wife. In this conservative situation, Katherine tried to open her students’ mind to do whatever they want. She encouraged her students to be themselves, to become professionals in field they loved, to improve their economic futures.

It seemed that she used her art teaching as a vehicle to put across her opinion to the young women that women were not born to become housewives and mothers. Katherine wanted to make a difference and do more things in life rather than solely adopt the roles of wives and mothers.

I can never forget she showed her students carcass by Soutine 1925, and said, “There’s also no textbook telling you what to think”. In those girls opinion, the carcass can not be called art; “there is something aggressive about it and erotic”. I asked myself, what is art? Can a conservative artist become a successful artist?

I can never forget, in one scene of the movie, she showed her students four newspaper ads, and asked what future scholars would think of the idea that women were born to be housewives and mothers. From her tearful eyes, I can see indignation, perplexity, and helplessness.

I can never forget she introduced Van Gogh, who refused to conform his ideals to popular taste, who refused to compromise his integrity, to her backward-looking students. When Van Gogh alived, no one thought Sunflower was a art, but after his idioctonia, the Sunflower became world-famous. Katherine was just like another Sunflower, who was resisted by standpatter. If she was not tenacious enough, she would be strangled.

There was no doubt that Katherine’s ways of teaching were contrary to school’s directors, who believed firmly that Katherine should just teach art instead of using class to spread her point of view. The conservative headmistress warned Katherine she would lose her job if she not change herselve to fit in Wellesley. There were numerous unreasonable pacts in Katherine new contract, including “you can teach only the syllabus as outlined by the department; all lesson plans must be submitted at the beginning of every term for approve and revision; you shall not provide counsel beyond her own subject for any student at any time; you will agreee to maintain a stricty professional relationship with all members of the faculty”.

Katherine choosed to leave finially, but her independent, creativeness, adamancy, and loving heart indeed made a difference. It was Katherine that helped students in Wellesley College shake off the yoke of traditional Feudalism. I am happy to see that Betty marched toward her own life bravely, and no longer was in the charge of her mother.