Duke University, English Composition 1, Dr. Comer

               
Professor Comer
English Comp1
July 28, 2020

The problem of feminism in the film "Mona Lisa Smile" (2003, USA, directed by Mike Newell).

Living by a stencil or finding your way ...


Part 1


"Sunflowers" by Van Gogh, 1888.

"He portrayed what he felt, not what he saw ... His paintings were considered childish daubs ... Years passed and people were able to understand the essence of his technique. To see that it moves is his night sky ... But he is not I was able to sell not a single work ... Now everyone can               
draw his sunflowers using a stencil ... What did we do with a person who did not give up ideals, originality, who did not adapt to other people's tastes? We put him in a box and offer to copy ... So the choice is yours: live by templates, adapt to everyone, or remain yourself and look for your own path in life ...» (pic 1).
With such a fresh whirlwind, Katherine Watson, a Berkeley graduate and lecturer in the Department of Art History, burst into the measured life of the graduates of the privileged Wellesley College.
The students became interested in a young, outstanding, bright personality. And Miss Watson was surprised and fascinated by the erudition, intelligence, brilliance of aristocratic youth. But the more difficult and non-trivial the lecturer set tasks for the students, the more sharply the disagreements were manifested and the conflict between them was brewing. The conflict between tradition and teacher innovation.
Miss Watson was disappointed with patriarchal views on the life plans of her students, who dreamed only of quiet family happiness. “I did not expect to teach at the Institute of Noble Maidens under the guise of a college, I dreamed of preparing enlightened leaders, not their wives,” she complains to her friend.
The film brighter traces the fate of two girls - Betty Warren and Joan Brandwin. Betty only recognizes family life, soon gets married, and Joan, with the help of Catherine, applies for admission to the Yale University School of Law. Soon, a conflict between Katherine and married Betty is brewing over missed classes, who, in her column of the student newspaper, criticizes the feminist views of her teacher, which are also disapproved by the college leadership. Betty accuses Catherine of imposing subversive political doctrines against the sacred ordinance of marriage, so that the students will abandon their birth calling.                               
In response, Katherine gives a lecture on contemporary art, presented by absurd advertisements, where girls with excellent education spend their lives on household chores. The teacher strongly advises female students to acquire a profession that they may need in later life (pic 2).
The film culminates in a meeting of the college administration, which does not mind renewing the contract with the bright and independent Katherine only on condition of strict subordination and control over her teaching style, to which Katherine does not agree and leaves the college.               
The patriarchal academic council was not ready for Miss Watson's innovative ideas, but young students fell in love and appreciated the uncommonness, talent and intelligence of their beloved teacher (pic.3). By the way, it was the rebellious Betty, who filed for divorce, who decided to continue her studies at the university. She was grateful to Catherine for lessons in independent critical thinking and the ability to cope with any situation in life.
“My teacher, Catherine Watson, lived by her own laws and did not want to give up on this, even for Wellesley's sake. I dedicate my last editorial to an outstanding woman who lived without changing her ideals, and who made us look at the world in a new way. When the article appears in print, Katherine will be on her way to Europe, and there will be walls that she will crush and ideas that she will breathe into people ... They said that she gave up, that she is inclined to               
aimless wandering, but not all wandering is aimless, especially wandering those who are looking for truth beyond tradition, beyond foundations, beyond the visible ... "
  Miss Watson in search of truth is as mysterious and inexplicable as the smile of Gioconda Leonardo, as any true work of art ...

Part 2

For a more detailed visual analysis, consider a specific scene from the film (picture 1), depicting a lesson by teacher Catherine Watson, dedicated to the work of the artist Van Gogh. The action takes place during the daytime in the college student auditorium.
In the foreground we see Catherine with a Van Gogh reproduction "Sunflowers", surrounded by female students, sitting at a study table with books and albums with reproductions of Van Gogh. The girls listen to and record the teacher's lecture with interest. In the background are tables and bookcases with textbooks, a table lamp, an armchair, and a window shaded from the sun. The students are tastefully dressed, fashionably combed and well-groomed, which emphasizes their wealth, and intelligent faces speak of their aristocratic origins. These two arguments point to the privilege of college. The interior dates back to the mid-20th century.
It would seem that a subject far from feminism is the history of art, creative Katherine presents, unexpectedly for students, innovatively. Using the method of influence of artistic creativity, Miss Watson forms students' independent, creative thinking, teaches them to defend their position contrary to generally accepted norms.
The lecture is dedicated to the work of Van Gogh, his famous "Sunflowers". There are several variants of works depicted on different backgrounds, stored in different museums. Van Gogh's contemporaries did not take his work seriously, they considered them "childish daubs". So, this                               
picture of him was criticized. The artist depicted sunflowers against blue, turquoise, blue-green and yellow backgrounds. It was an unexpected fact: yellow sunflowers on a yellow background became the artist's innovation. "Sunflowers" by Van Gogh have become his trademark. “The paradox was that still lifes were always considered among painters not as 'elite' as portraits or landscapes. And now the "secondary" still life has become one of the most recognizable paintings in the world. He became the most expensive masterpiece. " (1) His innovation consisted: in the use of bright colors. Thanks to him, the end of the 19th century is considered one of the turning points in the history of painting. “He did not strive for a photographic depiction of reality, but chose shades that would more forcefully convey the mood, emotions, and state of mind of the artist. This was facilitated by the invention of the "finished paint", so the artist could use rich yellow colors. “I put smears without any system. I scatter them all over the canvas at random and leave them as they are. Thick strokes, pieces of an unwritten canvas here and there, completely unfinished corners, corrections, roughness, and the result, it seems to me, is so restless and challenging that it will not please people with preconceived notions of technology ”(2). This is how Van Gogh wrote about his technique of writing "impasto". Contemporaries criticized and called those sunflowers "fancy" (unreal), "with a very tiny dark center, framed by a double row of thin tubular flowers. It turned out that such mutant sunflowers do exist in the population, but they are rare, since this mutation is not fixed, but the gene failure is regularly reproduced. Geneticists, as a result of crossing different varieties, managed to bring out almost exactly the same double flowers as in Van Gogh's paintings, and they named this decorative variety "Teddy Bear" (3).
Miss Watson correlates Van Gogh's innovation with the need to find his own path in life, to defend his identity and independence.                               
In conclusion of the essay, I would like to say that the film raises many questions on the research topic - the struggle of women for their rights. In the countries of Europe and the USA, Russia, the issue of acquiring a profession by a woman has not been controversial for a long time, however, it is still relevant for many Asian countries with patriarchal views on life. Now the issues of unequal wages for men and women, and the problem of domestic violence are coming to the fore. There are many sociological works devoted to these problems.


Links:
1). https://www.arts-dnevnik.ru/podsolnuhi-van-goga/
2). https://8-poster.ru/onenews/1527/
3). https://dombusin.livejournal.com/93295.html