Movie Review: Mona Lisa Smile

The movie Mona Lisa Smile is about a liberal art professor, Katherine Ann Watson who is played by Julia Roberts, who comes to an all girls university (Welsly), and challenges the conservitive ideals of the faculty and students. This movie is set in the 1950's when there was so much oppression towards women. Women were only expected to go to a University and get an education in order to find a husband. An example of this from the film was when Betty (Kirsten Dunst) got married she went from the top of the class and one of the most challenging students, to missing classes so that she could have dinner on the table. When miss. Watson asked where she had been, Betty said that most of the faculty turn their heads when a married girl misses a few classes. This just goes to show what people thought was most important to women in the 50's, being domestic and submissive rather than being stong and educated.
When Miss. Watson did try to challenge these stereotypes and help the students become strong and independent on their own, at first they ritaculed her for it and did not accept her ideals. One example is when Joan (Julia Stiles) has the oppertunity to go to Harvard then she turns it down because her husband and family did not want her to go.
In the end, most of the characters when through a transformation and were more excepting of something other than the stereotypes they have been held to all their lives. Katherine Watson also went through a transformation and learned not to be so critical of the conservitive views of the students.
This film's main themes are shared in The Feminie Mystique reading. In the reading BettyFriedan writes about how many housewives in the 50's felt empty and unfullfilled and could not figure out why, and it was totally unexeptable to reject the role of housewife and mother only. Their lack of autonomy and independence and strength was the reason but no one would except that, not men or women. This stigma is reinforced throughout the entire film.
I really enjoyed this film. I feel that the direction, production, and artistic sense where all right on point and it really convayed the Feminine Mystique in an interesting way.