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Qiulan, I recently read the Laozi's Dao De Jing for class and I very much enjoyed it. The idea of "wu wei" in particular took a little bit of time to fully understand for me, but once I did I thought it was a very profound way of living one's life. It is translated as "to do nothing&q...

Qiulan, Just as a disclaimer, I am a man (Chris) so I am observing the feminist movement as somewhat of an outsider. That being said, it seems to me that often it is just as you said and that regardless of your gender, people will respect you and your work as long as you are capable. However, it wou...

Qiulan, I think it is very intriguing that you say America is the best known country for feminist successes, it feels like we ourselves have so far to go. For example, the attitudes seen in "Mona Lisa Smile" , such as woman should just be good wives, still very much exist in certain parts ...

Qiulan, I think you may be correct about people having more interest in cultures which are unfamiliar to ourselves. Now that you say that I think that is the reason I enjoyed "And the Spring Comes" and found "Mona Lisa Smile" boring; because the setting and story of "Mona Li...

Hi You, I like your analysis of the two movies' distinct endings and tones. I recognized this as well, that And the Spring Comes had a pessimistic ending where no one realized their dreams or potentials while Mona Lisa Smile is more optimistic where the characters do succeed. However my reasoning fo...

Hi Qiulan, I agree with your analysis on the color schemes of the two movies. I noticed this as well, the dim grey color scale in And the Spring Comes matches with its theme and tone. I am not sure about you, but I considered And the Spring Comes to be very pessimistic about the prospects of being a...

Hi Qiulan, I think you make some good points. Perhaps her "failing" as an opera singer and her lack of support is because the people of her city do not appreciate the fine arts in general and less because she is poor/unattractive. For example, if she was beautiful and sang in front of the ...

I agree with your analysis of the growth of characters in both movies. I think you are right that Wang and the ballet dancer grew by failing to reach their respective goals. I think this is an important theme of the two movies. Maybe failing is the wrong word, but characters in both movies grow by f...

Social Mobility for Women Seen in Different Cultures At first glance, the American movie “Mona Lisa Smile” and the Chinese movie “And the Spring Comes” seem to have little in common. Each provides insight into two different societies and the social mobility of each. Characters discover in both movie...