Time Period

Mona Lisa Smile perfectly, in my opinion, portrays the time period of the 1950's that I had always imagined. I always imagined it as an I Love Lucy or a Happy Days kind of life. Growing up I pictured everyone being happy and easy going, not having a worry. Everyone got a long and there was nothing wrong with the world. But now by reading and studying examples of the 1950's, I realize that in reality all of these shows and the media was just one big cover up. They were covering up all of the bad things that were wrong with the world. Segregation, Nuclear War, assassinations, civil wars, etc. all plagued the world during this time, and it frightened people. Nobody really wanted to deal with it. 

When the men came back from World War II, they kicked the women out of the factories and expected them to go back to their old roles in society; a homemaker. And the women excelled at this greatly. The men started to teach the women that having a family and taking care of a home was their only purpose in life, and that it was very important that they do so. Women started to take it very seriously. I get a lot of this from the movie that we watched in class. 

In the movie, Mona Lisa Smile, the students (specifically Joan and Betty) both exemplify aspiring women "home makers." They explain to their teacher (Julia Roberts) that after they graduate, they are going to get married, and that's it. Julia Roberts' character is very frustrated throughout the movie with how they students of the college act. They were merely acting as sheep, and doing what society had told them to do.

I think that this movie is a very good example of how the society was. It seemed all very fake, just like many marriages were, and it seemed quite boring and unlively. Some of the characters in this movie are very boring and unlively. Take Betty, for example. She is in a "happy marriage." But in reality, she does not really love her husband, she likes the idea of him. This movie really does make you think about the society in the 1950's.