Mona Lisa Smile -a film review

In the film "Mona Lisa Smile", Julie Roberts plays the new-minded (for the early 1950s) art professor Ms. Watson. Watson is a strong feminist who thinks that the greatest thing she could do for her students is instill in them the idea that they can do as they please and pursue careers. This strikes up opposition from almost everyone at the school from the faculty to the other professors to the students. The faculty and other professors find her opinions too new for the time and dangerous to the students she is teaching. They also find her teaching methods too progressive, as Watson initially resorts to modern art (due to her students knowing everything there is to know about the older art pieces) and then settles in on this type of art to help express her progressive opinion of women’s roles (using the modern art as an analogy). Of her class, there are four specific girls who the film follows. The first is the character played by Julia Stiles, Joan. Joan has a brilliant mind and as she grows closer to Ms. Watson, she confesses a desire to pursue a law degree. This brings both excitement and frustration to Watson for as she tries to encourage Joan to pursue that dream and her marriage (despite society telling Joan she must choose either a career or a marriage), Joan chooses the lifestyle of a housewife. Ms. Watson is at a loss as to what to do and Joan has to step in and force her own opinion about choosing marriage and not both, showing Ms. Watson that Joan is not just blindly following society and brings her a peace about it. The second girl, played by Maggie Gyllenhal, is Giselle. Giselle plays an interesting role in the university as one of few Jewish students and one of the most sexually loose girls on campus, having an overt relationship with a professor even. Many of the girls look down on her for her lifestyle choices, yet some do respect her for her confidence and can-do-anything attitude. Giselle is the first girl to warm up to Ms. Watson, probably because the two are the most similar in their feminist values, as Ms. Watson also had an openly sexual relationship with two different men in the film with no desire to marry either one. Giselle, also like Ms. Watson, becomes the make-shift hero of another girl, Connie, played by Ginnifer Goodwin. Connie suffers from insecurity about her slightly larger weight, confounded greatly by several of the other girls in the story (especially the character of Betty). Giselle is constantly coming to the defense of Connie. Through Connie’s admiration of the confidence of Giselle and Ms. Watson, Connie eventually breaks through her inaccurate body image and finds her self-worth (and a boyfriend in the process). The final, and most transformed girl, is the character of Betty. Betty is a strongly opinionated girl and staunchly opposes Ms. Watson’s values and teaching styles, Giselle’s lifestyle, and Connie’s search for self-worth. She is a strongly pompous, rude, snob who ridicules and downgrades many of her classmates. She even personally attacks Ms. Watson in her editorial in the school paper. Betty wants nothing else than to conform to society and get married and be a housewife. That is exactly what she does, but sadly her husband is unfaithful to her. Betty is the most transformed because, after her husband cheats on her, she finally begins to understand Ms. Watson’s message of not conforming to society. She eventually divorces her husband, despite it creating strong conflict with her mother. In the end, Ms. Watson is threatened with being terminated from her job, but chooses to leave instead, to the dismay of her students. In the final scene of the film, the true influence Ms. Watson had on her students is seen by all of them following her car as she drives away from the school for the last time.

Two prominent points come out from this film that relate very well to the course. The first is the issues that Connie goes through with her body image. She is convinced that until she gets smaller and prettier that no guy with ever look her way. She fails to realize that her worth does not come from others or the outside. Her worth is from within and she is worth very much. This is very similar to many of the essays in Body Outlaws like “Conquering the Fat” by Regina Williams and “Sizing Myself Up” by Kate Dillon. Both of the essays share the personal stories and feelings of two girls coming to terms with their weight and realizing they should be a body outlaw and take what they have an flaunt it. Both essays also point out that each girl found her worth when they stopped trying to be beautiful by the world’s standards, and worked on their own beauty as they are. The second point is seen in the character of Betty as she learns that she does not have to conform blindly to society, especially if society is wrong. The book “The Beauty Myth” talks a great deal about this topic too. In fact, one could argue that Naomi Wolf’s whole point in the book is that women should have the right to live how they choose, do not have to conform to society, and should encourage other girls to act on their choices more adamantly. Both of these issues are very relevant for girls in the 50s and today.

Overall the film was great. The director expressed things very tastefully and not too liberally, so that even conservative viewers like myself were comfortable viewing it in its entirety. The only part that could have been better expressed could have been the lesbian professor friend of Ms. Watson. It was not very clear that she was in fact lesbian at first. It was as if at first the film was going to just hint at it, but the hinting was too subtle and I did not understand that until they came right out and said basically that she was lesbian. It almost would have been easier for the viewer to have had that expressed plainly from the beginning, but one could also argue that the film makers were trying to express it how it may have been done in the 50s- subtle at first then the realization of the truth as a big shock.

The film seems to come from the perspective of the third wave feminist movement. This movement strongly supported a woman’s right to choose certain things about her life, her lifestyle, and her life choices. In the actual time of the third wave (post 1970s), women focus on what they choose to be focused on and to make whatever choices they themselves deem right. For example, the third wave feminist movement brought about the female right of abortion. This third wave is seen in the film as the women in the films, especially the characters of Giselle and Betty, make their choices independent of the rest of the world. They do what they deem right and worthwhile, as Betty divorces her unfaithful husband and Giselle continues in her “loose” lifestyle.

As for a rating, I would give this film an A-minus. Despite having a more conservative viewpoint and disagreeing with several of the more liberal lifestyles and opinions of several of the characters, I found the movie very thought provoking and moving. It also opened up my eyes to several of the issues women faced in the early 50s that I knew existed but I had never fully realized until they were depicted in front of me. After viewing, I even found myself recommending it to several of my other highly conservative friends.

Blog #10

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/18505498379

Given above is the link to a playlist I have created for a good body image. Included in the list are the following songs. First is the song Crazy by Simple Plan. This song consists of the singer wondering what is going on in the world with women. The singer wonders with women dieting trying to look like the women on tv, have they all gone crazy and with everyone going crazy, is there going to be anyone to save him if he starts to go crazy? This is a good point. The point being that this idea of looking like society's women is crazy and that if we are all so focused on trying to conform to "something that's wrong" we won't be able to help anyone else.
Second is the song Big, Blonde, and Beautiful from the musical Hairspray. In this song, Queen Latifah is singing about how being big and eating what she likes does not make her unbeautiful. In fact it does the opposite. Queen Latifah argues in this song that people want "the whole tree" instead of just a "twig" implying that a full-figured woman is worth more than a skinny woman. She makes this point in several other analogies also.
Third is the song Video by India Arie. This song is all about how no matter what a girl does on the outside from shaving or not shaving her legs to looking like a supermodel, it doesn't make her any thing but who she is. India Arie says that who a person is is far more important than what they look like on the the outside. Furthermore, because she has learned that her worth does not come from outward adornment, she has learned to love herself for who she really is.
Fourth is the song Anthem by Superchick. This song is a power anthem about different types of girls, from skateboarding girls to guitar indie girls to opinionated girls. This song is meant to invoke certain images and styles of girls and empower the girls in those styles and enlighten others that these girls are powerful and worthwhile.
Fifth is the song One Girl Revolution by Superchick. This song is also a power anthem but this time from the girls in the different styles. In this song, the girls themselves are declaring that "the super doesn't stand for model, but that doesn't mean I'm plain. If all you see is how I look, you miss the superchick within." The song is meant to show people that, again, what is inside a girl is more important that what the world says about what's on the outside.
Sixth is the song So Beautiful also by Superchick. This song shares the same meaning as One Girl Revolution and Anthem encouraging and empowering, yet also warning the world that they are coming and they will be themselves and look themselves no matter what. Both messages important ones to present and hear.
Seventh is the song Big and Chunky from the Madagascar 2 soundtrack. This song is a song sung by a male who likes bigger women. This song is very similar to Big, Blonde, and Beautiful except sung from the perspective of the outside gaze of a man. This song is good because it can tell women that not all men are attracted to skinny women as shown in most films.
Eighth is the song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera. She sings about how everyone is beautiful no matter what others say and that each person shouldn't let other drag them down. This can be related to looks, body size, body type, clothing style, personality, everything. Christina tells every one who hears this song that they don't have to take what others tell them and to remember that they are beautiful just as they are.
Ninth is the song Big Girl by Mika. Mika sings here simply that they (big girls) are beautiful. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, big girls have more fun and are more beautiful because of their curves.
The last song on the list is a Korean song by the singer/actress Kim Ah Joong called Beautiful Girl. This song is a girl singing with confidence about her looks and how she can use her confident looks as a weapon. Having confidence in your own looks and lead you to be confident in life. This song also has a very funny music video that goes with it with a chubby girl sucking it all in and walking around using her beauty weapon only to loose it at the end and be herself despite someone seeing her. A good visual representation of what the singer should have been doing the whole time with what she was singing about.

All of these song choices I chose because they either emphasize being yourself, having confidence or providing real person singers who argue for the opposite of mainstream media (Big and Chunky, Crazy, Big, Blonde and Beautiful). Also interesting to note is that depicted in the playlist are many different ethnicities and both genders. This seems to say that body image is an issue for all of the world and that there are people all over willing to try and do something about it.

This is very similar to the two essays read at the beginning of the week, "I See the Same Ho" and "Tip Drills" which talk about the prevalence of oversexified women and single body types of women. "Tip Drills" specifically talks about the objectification of women in the music video Tip Drills and the author's attempt to effect change through her connections in the music industry. Both essays were very interesting to read as they showed that not everyone in their own respective ethnicities agrees with how they are represented in media. Now if only more people would act upon their disagreement, then maybe society's narrow perspective could be widened and more women shown that it is alright to be who they are.

Positive Ads

In light of the oppression of negative ads towards women in the pop culture, there has been the start of more positive ads. These types of ads portray more body types, less stereotypes, and more identity in women than ever before. Ads like this one above clearly have the potential to promote a healthier lifestyle and more acceptance of the body as a whole.

This ad is an ad from the magazine Self, and is an ad for the website The Body Shop, which sells cosmetic type items such as perfume, make-up, and bath oils. Reading the words in the ad they clearly read “There are 3 billion women who don’t look like supermodels and only 8 who do.” The Body Shop website truly believes this. They sell cosmetic items, yes, but this ad emphasizes that women do not, or have to, fit into the mainstream image that the media gives us. This ad gives hope and reality to every girl that sees it.

Look at the image. It is a spoof of a Barbie doll. Barbie, as all know, is a very tall, usually blonde, anorexically skinny doll for young girls. Barbie instill this ideal image of what women should be at an early age, as most girls get their first Barbie at the young age of about 3. Even on most kids’ television stations, like Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network, young girls are being repeatedly shown images of Barbie, as she is marketed as the perfect woman and perfect girl’s toy. This ad takes that idealized image and gives in a better and realistic light. They show a fat Barbie with poofy, instead of poker straight, hair. From an initial visual perspective, as most viewers will see the Barbie before the words, they begin to break down the stereotype of the ideal woman built up by pop culture in the minds of women everywhere. They then further the tearing down of that stereotype with the words at the top. Most women do not realize that most other women around them do not look like models until someone tells them. This ad does just that.

In her essay, “Sizing Myself Up: Tales of a Plus-size Model,” Kate Dillon shares her personal experience in the modeling industry. How it tried to force her to be a specific body size as “at five-eleven and 125 pound, I was ordered to lose ten or twenty pounds…I’d try to sleep all day so I wouldn’t eat…after one show season…I’d been living on coffee and cigarettes.” She explains how she finally snapped and left the industry and got healthy again, only to magnificently return as a plus-sized model, and had a very successful career at that. Dillon, much like this ad, gives women hope, courage, and reality that they are beautiful just as they are. That they don’t have to conform to the model ideal to be considered beautiful.

Susan Gilman offers the same opinion in her essay, “Klaus Barbie and Other Dolls I’d Like to See.” In this essay she describes Barbie as being, “torpedo-titted, open-mouthed, tippy-toed… if you didn’t look like Barbie, you didn’t fit in.” This is becoming more and more forced upon the younger generation of women with the rise in reality shows like America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway, where the models are literally the size of the tiny store mannequins and are chided often if they grow even 5 pounds bigger than that. What is a young girl to do with values and images like this being pounded in to her head, but to being dieting and eating less trying to conform to the world’s standard of “beauty?” This ad tries to do the opposite and should be praised for it.

This ad not only presents a more realistic body type for Barbie, it also points out the outrageous difference in real body type rates as opposed to what the media would tell women. In doing these two things, it offers more than a realistic look at life and a woman’s body, it gives women hope that one day, no matter what size they are, they will realize they are beautiful and that others will regard them as such. All it would take would be more ads like this that encourage women to be who they are in their body size, and for women to pick up on that message.

Negative Ads

Many of today’s ad campaigns oppress the viewer with overbearing levels of sexual content, violence, stereotypes, all portraying negative aspects of our culture. Jean commercials emphasize the sexiness of women. Diet pill and weight loss programs are at least a quarter of all commercials. These are just a few examples of what people see everyday in the commercials and ads presented in front of them. In glancing through a magazine, no doubt one could find an ad like the one above.

This is a simple ad for an alcoholic beverage. In general, alcohol commercials and ads do not have a good reputation for their representation of women (with beer commercials showing men’s paradise and scantily clad women rush toward them and share their drinks with them, for example). But this ad itself crosses many other lines. Lines like objectification and sex that should never be crossed. This ad also involves several body image issues that can greatly affect the wellbeing of the viewer.

In the first line, the line of objectification, the woman here has become no longer a woman. She has been reduced to the “important” part of her body: her sex area. This image here has cut off her personality, her nature, and her identity. She has been completely subjected to the male gaze. She is no longer a person in this ad, but a sex toy. She has become an object for male views and male action; she has been put on display. Objectification leads to the lack of acknowledgement that the object is a person with real feelings and real senses. When the acknowledgement fails, dehumanization and violence toward whatever is objectified (in this case women in general) are sure to follow. Furthermore, this ad could be categorized as soft porn. See that pale looking bikini she’s wearing? That’s not a bikini- there is nothing there. That paleness is her tan line from getting herself that dark. The woman, even more of a sex object now, is naked.

Looking more into the position of this naked object in the ad, consider the crossing of the object’s legs. Is this not a subtle indicator that though she is naked and laying down (i.e. ready to be used as a sex toy), the leg crossing means she is unattainable? This is one of the many necessary items for a “perfect girl” according to the media as described by Jessica Valenti. Valenti describes this availability but unattainability as “she’s totally unattainable but simultaneously available for consumption. No guy who reads the magazine will ever meet her or talk to her- but he gets to look at her half-naked and jerk-off to her if he wants.” Now, look at where the alcohol bottle is placed. It is not in the object’s hand or near the objects mouth, where a normal beverage would be found. It can be found between the unclothed legs of the objectified woman, no more than six inches from her most private area, almost as if to give the men viewing the ad an invitation to try things with her. But, as her legs are still crossed, she is still unattainable.

The saddest part about this ad is the effects it can have on any woman who views it. First, with the woman allowing herself to be depicted in this way, she probably was not thinking about herself becoming an object for men’s desire. She was probably doing it in an attempt to show her own strength, much like Brittany Spears did in her music video for Womanizer. In doing this, she has herself become a Female Chauvinist Pig, a woman who has “made sex objects of other women and herself… with empowering mini skirts and feminist strippers.” Furthermore, if other women, especially young women were to view this ad, they would be told many lies about beauty.

Women who saw this ad could come to think that being exceptionally dark and thin was the way to be considered beautiful. But this darkness in skin color is not natural. Artificially causing one to be dark is dangerous and increases the likelihood of developing skin cancer. Eating very little in order to be very thin, can lead to eating disorders, malnourishment, and even death. Not to mention the confusion that can be caused by the overemphasis to be thin, yet the flooding of ads and commercials revolving around food.

All of these issues affect the view, the doer, and the innocent bystander. The viewer sees the ad and makes assumptions about what the perfect girl should be and about the purpose of women (objects of sexual pleasure). The doer, or person depicted, can be degraded in their own self-image if they ever discover what truly occurs in a man’s mind upon viewing them in the ad. And the innocent bystander would be a person who stumbled upon the ad, especially young women still trying to understand that their beauty truly comes from within themselves. All of these people suffer from ads like these. No one can succeed if everyone suffers.

Blog #9

In my life, I’ve been inundated with pop culture. However, my dealing with is came at a much later age than most. In my house growing up, we did not have cable, we did not have any gaming systems other than the original Nintendo (complete with its sub-par graphics), and we did not get any magazines other than a conservative news magazine. My brother and I also were either home schooled or attended private Christian schools. Because of my parents’ attempts to shelter me and my brother, we became less affected by the pressures of pop culture. We were freer to explore whatever we deemed worthy and did not have to answer to others telling us we should pursue other things. Words cannot express my gratitude to my parents for this early growing environment. My brother and I, despite our sheltering, never had the issues and dealings of the world hidden from us. In fact we were encouraged the other way, to learn about the world from all angles and decide what was right. My parents, in sheltering us, didn’t shelter us from the world, just the pressures to conform to it. But I would be lying if I said that pop culture has no effect on how I see gender roles.

Everywhere in pop culture you see few categories for every gender. For women, they are given three options. One, they can be overly sexified like the porn industry. Two, they can be quiet and submissive, never voicing their opinions to others. Or three, they can be over-opinionated, rude, backbiters. None of these options are worthwhile goals for women, nor are they characteristic of women as a whole. Sure as the sun rises and falls, there are women who or moments when women fall into one of these categories, but in general, most women are a unique combination of all three and more. For men, they are also given three choices. One, they can be nerdy home-bodies who read and play video games a lot. Two, they can be overly muscular and buff, and often narcissistic in the process. Or three, they are compassionate, understanding, and gay. Heaven forbid a man be a combination of these or that he be understanding and not given the (in this case) negative connotation of being “gay.” And who’s to say that a gay man could not be nerdy, or muscular? Seeing these limited choices, I myself often wonder what category I fit into and often find myself judging others based on these pop culture categories. Judging like this, without even looking past the surface or a particular moment in time, can only lead to isolation with yourself and hurting of others, neither on a good choice. People, at least 95 times out of 100, are not like the way we first judge them, nor do they fall strictly into a pop culture category.

Seeing culture’s representation of race and class has had a similar effect, as I see pop culture portray certain parts of the country and parts of the world with specified stereotypes (examples: people from the south being cowboys or rednecks, African American people as animalistic in ads, Middle Eastern people are convenience store owners). Again, I’m guilty of failing the battle sometimes to resist the representation of different classes and races. But it’s a fight that I try harder to fight than the gender issue, honestly. For example, my lack of race issues became very evident to me this past election. With an African American now in the highest possible leadership position in this country for the first time, one would think I would have reacted in huge excitement and shock. And while I am proud of the steps that brought this about, I made far less of a big deal about it than almost everyone I know. I saw him for who he was: a man with a family running for a political office.

When I see things in media that seem sexist to me, I usually won’t say anything about it unless it’s shockingly that way, meaning it has to take something extreme for me to say something about it. Most of that is simply due to the fact that I don’t notice. I tend to not read magazines or watch many commercials (or if I do to tune them out), and I don’t notice until someone brings it up to me. At that point, I’ll usually pay more attention and then have something (usually very strong) to say about it. Also, when I hear the word “feminist” most of the things that come to my mind are negative stereotypes like harshly-opinionated, butch, hosses, male-haters. Most of the stereotypes revolving around feminists I know are NOT true, but I also know that a lot of my experiences in life involving women who would claim the name “feminist” have been more negative and have greatly affect my opinion. As a woman who wants to stay home and raise kids as my career, I’ve faced a lot of negativity from women who would call themselves “feminists,” which I’m sure has tainted my general view of feminists. But to be sure, I would classify myself as one. But only to the extent that I feel that women should have equal rights, pay, and leadership positions; that they have the right to choose or not choose any of that and not be looked down on because of their choice.