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UNIT I ASSIGNMENT: MONA LISA SMILE
The movie Mona Lisa Smile provides us with an insight into the life of Katherine Watson
who took a History of Art position at an all-women's college called Wellesley College in 1953.
The beginning of the movie is narrated by Elizabeth Warren otherwise known as Betty as she is
known to her friends. Betty describes Wellesley College as one of the most conservative colleges
in the United States and states that Katherine came there not to fit in, but to make a difference.
Throughout the film we get to see how she comes to impact the lives of her students through her
creative lessons as she persevered through the negative criticism she faced.
As Katherine went through a slideshow in her very first classroom instruction, she realized
that the entire class had already memorized most of the syllabus which was created by another
professor, Dr. Staunton. She is thoroughly taken aback by the students' preparation prior to her
first day of class which really catches her off-guard; however, she comes back with a vengeance
the following day. She begins teaching off the syllabus and introducing modern art to the class
which is not in the textbook, forcing them to come up with their own ideas on each piece shown.
The new syllabus is based upon understanding what art is based upon their own interpretations
and not upon someone else's views. Even from this new beginning one can see the conflict that
arises some of the students criticism and rejection of her ideas, while others seem to respond to
the new instruction positively.
Katherine then begins to take the students on a journey through the world of art and tries to
inspire her students to think outside their comfort zones. This is displayed when Joan confronts
her about why she received a 'C' on a recent paper when she quoted what an art critic had stated
