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Mona Lisa Smile

 Mona Lisa Smile
type
TVTItem
 Mona Lisa Smile
label
Mona Lisa Smile
 Mona Lisa Smile
page
MonaLisaSmile
 Mona Lisa Smile
comment
A 2003 drama directed by Mike Newell, starring Julia Roberts, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles.In 1953, a 30-something grad student from UCLA named Katherine Watson (Roberts) accepts a teaching position at a liberal arts college for women in Massachusetts. Katherine's teaching style is unorthodox, as is her ardent feminism, and while she is welcomed by some of her students and colleagues, she also ruffles a lot of feathers — particularly those of the college president and the head of the alumnae association.The film reads a lot like a gender-flipped Dead Poets Society.
 Mona Lisa Smile
fetched
2023-07-24T20:59:39Z
 Mona Lisa Smile
parsed
2023-07-24T20:59:39Z
 Mona Lisa Smile
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_11cdc5d8
type
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_11cdc5d8
comment
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant: Most of the characters in the movie except for Giselle and a briefly-seen black student (a non-speaking part). Justified since the setting is an Ivy League in The '50s so a multiethnic university is almost unthinkable.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_11cdc5d8
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_11cdc5d8
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_11cdc5d8
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_12e32c70
type
True Art
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_12e32c70
comment
True Art: A debate throughout the movie, with the traditionalists believing true art is perfectly straightforward and needs to earn the word "art" by "the right people," and Katherine believing the definition of true art should be expanded to include expressionism and other abstract schools.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_12e32c70
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_12e32c70
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_13556074
type
Brotherhood of Funny Hats
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_13556074
comment
Brotherhood of Funny Hats: The "Adam's Ribs" secret society, where the girls wear brightly colored beanies with "AR" in big white letters on the front. Note that this group averts many tropes common to Secret Societies: Meetings take place at 5 p.m. and its members speak openly about its existence in the hallway and on the quad.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_13556074
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_13556074
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_13556074
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1562fc00
type
Lessons in Sophistication
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1562fc00
comment
Lessons in Sophistication: Nancy's evening course in how to be a proper housewife is a non-royal, non-aristocratic version.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1562fc00
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1562fc00
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_1562fc00
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1b65dfad
type
The Cameo
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1b65dfad
comment
The Cameo: Tori Amos as the wedding singer.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1b65dfad
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1b65dfad
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_1b65dfad
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1c96f945
type
Wrong-Name Outburst
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1c96f945
comment
Wrong-Name Outburst: Katherine calls Paul "Bill" revealing that she's not into him anymore.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1c96f945
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1c96f945
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_1c96f945
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1d2400e9
type
Green-Eyed Monster
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1d2400e9
comment
Green-Eyed Monster: It's implied that Betty's reason to belittling and sabotaging Connie's relationship with Charlie is that she's jealous since Spencer actually doesn't love her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1d2400e9
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_1d2400e9
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_1d2400e9
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22a27b19
type
Alpha Bitch
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22a27b19
comment
Alpha Bitch: Betty is this until her Character Development.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22a27b19
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22a27b19
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_22a27b19
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22cf536c
type
Chekhov's Gun
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22cf536c
comment
Chekhov's Gun: Betty's mother would grab and shove her when she wanted Betty to conform to her standards. When she tries this at graduation, Betty breaks free just before telling her she was divorcing Spencer, symbolizing her freedom from her mother and her mother's expectations.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_22cf536c
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_22cf536c
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_25d95a37
type
Principles Zealot
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_25d95a37
comment
Principles Zealot: Katherine's feminism vs. Betty, Mrs. Warren, and Dr. Carr's traditionalism.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_25d95a37
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_25d95a37
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_25d95a37
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_28c1d543
type
Defrosting Ice Queen
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_28c1d543
comment
Defrosting Ice Queen: Both Betty and Katherine.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_28c1d543
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_28c1d543
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_28c1d543
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2a8a7ea6
type
Bury Your Gays
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2a8a7ea6
comment
Bury Your Gays: Amanda's long-term girlfriend dies offscreen before the film's plot starts.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2a8a7ea6
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2a8a7ea6
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_2a8a7ea6
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2af6bbeb
type
Break the Haughty
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2af6bbeb
comment
Break the Haughty: Betty and her journey as a Stepford Wife after a lavish wedding ceremony and a Fairytale Wedding Dress only for her hubby to neglect her and eventually cheat on her. She later divorces him and moves on with her life.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2af6bbeb
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_2af6bbeb
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2cac89cf
type
The Ingenue
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2cac89cf
comment
The Ingenue: Connie, and that's why Betty usually picks on her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2cac89cf
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2cac89cf
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_2cac89cf
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2d7ef923
type
Mistaken for Cheating
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2d7ef923
comment
Mistaken for Cheating: Betty believes her cousin Charlie is cheating on his fiancée, Deb, with Connie. As it turns out, he and Deb broke up before he met Connie and their relationship was completely innocent the whole time.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2d7ef923
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_2d7ef923
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2fd1d68a
type
Cool-Down Hug
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2fd1d68a
comment
Cooldown Hug: Giselle gives one to Betty when she finds out that her husband cheats on her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2fd1d68a
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_2fd1d68a
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_2fd1d68a
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_32e279c4
type
Humans Are Flawed
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_32e279c4
comment
Humans Are Flawed: Bill tries to play this card after Katherine finds out that he lied about being a war hero. He even goes as far as comparing his situation to Joan's. It doesn't work.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_32e279c4
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_32e279c4
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_32e279c4
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_34889673
type
Gender Flip
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_34889673
comment
Gender Flip: Of Dead Poets Society, according to some reviewers.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_34889673
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_34889673
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_34889673
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_377effa6
type
My Own Private "I Do"
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_377effa6
comment
My Own Private "I Do": Joan and Tommy elope quietly, since the prospect of a big wedding terrifies him.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_377effa6
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_377effa6
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_377effa6
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3a967286
type
Handsome Lech
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3a967286
comment
Handsome Lech: You'll never see Bill Dunbar without a chick on his side.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3a967286
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3a967286
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_3a967286
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3b113b7
type
Character Development
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3b113b7
comment
Character Development: Betty Warren starts out as a sort-of Academic Alpha Bitch in her finishing school who firmly believes in the expectations for women of the 50’s, and sniffs at the more liberal and feminist views of others. She even writes an article critiquing Katherine for trying to encourage her class to be independent and stating that women are destined to Stay in the Kitchen and become mothers. However, after a lifetime of following the rules, Betty finds her husband is cheating on her, and many of her friends who have gone against her traditional values are much happier. Betty regrets how she treated Katherine and changes her own views, choosing to divorce her husband and have a career and life of her own, the very lifestyle that she openly opposed through most of the film.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_3b113b7
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_3b113b7
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_401d4116
type
Broken Aesop
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_401d4116
comment
Broken Aesop: Joan decides to get married rather than go to Yale and is happy to have done so. She tells Katherine that being a housewife doesn't mean that she doesn't have any depth or value. That's a fair point, although it might have worked better coming from a character other than Joan, a straight A student and Extracurricular Enthusiast who actually wanted to "have it both" and had been implied to repress the desire to continue her education in order to fit the conventional role of a stay-at-home wife. In this context her final decision seems more like conforming than anything else and her husband's jokes about how it was impossible for Joan to go to Yale because then the dinner wouldn't be at 5 don't make it any more comfortable.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_401d4116
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_401d4116
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4376f049
type
Career Versus Man
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4376f049
comment
Career Versus Man: Betty, more than any other character, believes this is a zero-sum proposition. She mocks Katherine for never having been married and fears Joan will destroy her prospects of marriage by going to law school.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4376f049
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1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4376f049
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_4376f049
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4781adbb
type
Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4781adbb
comment
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Gisele may be a bit snarky, and she has a tendency to go after married men, but she still cares very deeply for her friends, and supports Katherine's ideas through and through. Plus, in the end she even helps Betty get back on her feet, when the latter's husband cheats on her, and she has no place else to go.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4781adbb
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_4781adbb
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4e3decd5
type
A Friend in Need
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4e3decd5
comment
A Friend in Need: Giselle and Betty for most of the movie are at each other's throats until Giselle finds out that Spencer cheats on Betty. Not only doesn't she mock her, but she's the one who comforts her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_4e3decd5
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_4e3decd5
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_56515a39
type
Artistic License – History
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_56515a39
comment
Artistic License – History: When the film came out, Wellesley College alumnae were not happy about how their school was portrayed, insisting that while it was indeed typical at the time to get married after you graduated, the overall environment at the school was not as snobbish and politically conservative as in the film and they did not wear girdles to class or attend lessons on "poise and elocution".
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_56515a39
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_56515a39
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_617f0563
type
Heel–Face Turn
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_617f0563
comment
Heel–Face Turn: Betty spends the entire beginning of the film insisting women observe their place as wives and mothers, even publicly attacking Amanda Armstrong and Katherine Watson for not having the same standards. After her marriage fails, she changes her standards by divorcing her husband and renting an apartment with Giselle. She even was considering law school, something she was against when Joan was considering it.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_617f0563
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_617f0563
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_617f0563
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_644eca71
type
Rich Bitch
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_644eca71
comment
Rich Bitch: Mrs. Warren and her daughter Betty. Betty gets better, though.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_644eca71
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_644eca71
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_644eca71
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_6d892421
type
Teacher/Student Romance
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_6d892421
comment
Teacher/Student Romance: Giselle had an affair with Mr. Dunbar, and clearly she's still quite smitten. She has an affair with a married man who is said to be a psychoanalyst but it isn't stated whether or not he's a teacher. While Giselle is the only one openly mentioned to be part of Dunbar's affairs, it's heavily implied he has slept with other students as well.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_6d892421
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_6d892421
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_72f83d04
type
School Nurse
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_72f83d04
comment
School Nurse: Amanda Armstrong, who is quite forward-thinking in discreetly supplying contraceptives to the students.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_72f83d04
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_72f83d04
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_72f83d04
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7426582d
type
Token Minority
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7426582d
comment
Token Minority: Giselle is the only Jewish student we get to see, and it's implied that it's one of the causes of her being an outcast.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7426582d
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7426582d
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_7426582d
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7aa858c1
type
Consummate Liar
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7aa858c1
comment
Consummate Liar: Bill turns out to be one.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7aa858c1
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_7aa858c1
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_7aa858c1
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_80621707
type
Arranged Marriage
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_80621707
comment
Arranged Marriage: It is implied that the marriage of Betty and Spencer is this. It's clear Spencer does not love her as he never sleeps with Betty and spends his time in New York having an affair. Betty divorces him within a few months of the marriage and completely changes her tone about her traditional values.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_80621707
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_80621707
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_80621707
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_83a903f6
type
Stepford Smiler
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_83a903f6
comment
Stepford Smiler: "Is Mona Lisa happy? Who cares? The important thing is that she smiles..."
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_83a903f6
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_83a903f6
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_83a903f6
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_856a425a
type
TheFifties
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_856a425a
comment
The '50s: The story takes place in the early years of the decade, which suffer an heavy influence from post World War II policies.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_856a425a
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_856a425a
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_856a425a
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8748f851
type
Brainy Brunette
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8748f851
comment
Brainy Brunette: Both Katherine and Giselle, respectively.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8748f851
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8748f851
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_8748f851
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_875615dd
type
Truth in Television
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_875615dd
comment
The hoop rolling. This is Truth in Television as Wellesley students still do this, although it is no longer said that the winner will be the first to marry. In fact, according to one Wellesley alum, it is now said that the winner will be the first in the class to become a CEO!
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_875615dd
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_875615dd
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8c170cb1
type
Ethical Slut
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8c170cb1
comment
Ethical Slut: While Giselle has affairs with older, often married men, she's the one who discovers Spencer is cheating on Betty and even helps make it right. Despite her liberal views, she is not a bad person.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_8c170cb1
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_8c170cb1
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_957e5fc2
type
Villainous Breakdown
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_957e5fc2
comment
Villainous Breakdown: Betty lashes out at Giselle after Giselle returns from sleeping with her new lover. Betty screams how hard it must be to pine from a man who hates her, Giselle knows Betty is upset about Spencer and gives her a Cooldown Hug, comforting her over her failing marriage.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_957e5fc2
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_957e5fc2
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9cbf01d6
type
Stay in the Kitchen
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9cbf01d6
comment
Stay in the Kitchen: The generic expectation is that the college will prepare the girls for their future role as housewives and when it's not blatantly stated, it's strongly suggested.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9cbf01d6
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9cbf01d6
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_9cbf01d6
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9fd7b395
type
MRS Degree
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9fd7b395
comment
MRS Degree: Katherine complains that she thought she was educating the leaders of tomorrow, not their wives, as some her students are highly capable but have no personal ambition.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9fd7b395
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_9fd7b395
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_9fd7b395
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1b0a35
type
Elegant Classical Musician
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1b0a35
comment
Elegant Classical Musician: Connie is a gifted cello player, which gives out her truer passionate nature.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1b0a35
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1b0a35
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1b0a35
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1e30d8
type
Red Scare
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1e30d8
comment
Red Scare: Downplayed—the only direct reference to Communism is Nancy's jocular (or thoughtless) assumption that Lucille Ball might be a Communist—but in this very restrictive and conservative environment, it's not uncommon to throw around McCarthyist-style accusations of subversion. Amanda Armstrong is basically fired for the deemed-"subversive" act of providing contraceptive pills, and in a climate like this, it's only a matter of time before someone as liberal and bohemian as Katherine, with her unorthodox teaching methods and focus on abstract and modern art, gets accused of subversion too. (Ironically American modern art was itself weaponised by the CIA itself as anti-Communist propaganda to counter Soviet social-realist art.)
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1e30d8
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_ac1e30d8
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ad442f6c
type
Rituals and Ceremonies
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ad442f6c
comment
Rituals and Ceremonies: The matriculation ceremony at the beginning of Wellesley's fall term: The hoop rolling. This is Truth in Television as Wellesley students still do this, although it is no longer said that the winner will be the first to marry. In fact, according to one Wellesley alum, it is now said that the winner will be the first in the class to become a CEO!
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ad442f6c
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ad442f6c
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_ad442f6c
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ae3d6438
type
Deadpan Snarker
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ae3d6438
comment
Deadpan Snarker: Giselle and Amanda.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ae3d6438
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ae3d6438
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_ae3d6438
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b11ac9f5
type
Abusive Parents
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b11ac9f5
comment
Abusive Parents: Betty's mother. She forces her daughter into this marriage, even forcing her to do as she wants for the wedding, refuses to let her come home so that Betty will be unable to leave Spencer even when he abuses her and tries to pressure her to stay in the marriage so she won't damage family reputation. Betty eventually stands up to her by divorcing Spencer anyways and moving to New York.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b11ac9f5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b11ac9f5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_b11ac9f5
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b352e864
type
Sexless Marriage
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b352e864
comment
Sexless Marriage: Betty and Spencer. Betty made the excuse before their marriage that it was because Spencer was too much of a gentleman but it turns out that he hates Betty and cheated on her the whole time. She later breaks down to Giselle over this, who comforts her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b352e864
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_b352e864
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_b352e864
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb18a227
type
It's All About Me
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb18a227
comment
It's All About Me: Betty's mother concerning Betty's marriage to Spencer. She insisted that Betty be the perfect wife and refuses to take her back when her marriage goes south. After Spencer cheats on Betty, she tells Betty to try and make her marriage work for a year and not to tell anyone so that it doesn't damage her mother's reputation. Betty eventually tells her off and divorces Spencer anyways.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb18a227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb18a227
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb18a227
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb9b52f3
type
Extracurricular Enthusiast
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb9b52f3
comment
Extracurricular Enthusiast: In addition to being a straight-A student, Joan is "president of the Poetry Society, captain of the debate team, co-captain of the tennis club, [and] founder of the Horticulture League."
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb9b52f3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb9b52f3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_bb9b52f3
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bec0417c
type
Happily Married
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bec0417c
comment
Happily Married: Joan and Tommy. Averted with Betty and Spencer; she is certainly happily married at first, but this breaks down in short order.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bec0417c
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bec0417c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_bec0417c
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bf1255fa
type
Really Gets Around
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bf1255fa
comment
Really Gets Around: Giselle has a quite lively love life, with a preference to older men as her Freudian Excuse.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bf1255fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_bf1255fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_bf1255fa
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c099ca1a
type
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c099ca1a
comment
Real Women Don't Wear Dresses: Katherine's attitude borders on this till she gets a "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c099ca1a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c099ca1a
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 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_c099ca1a
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c145f69b
type
Subverted Trope
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c145f69b
comment
Actually subverted, as she gets drunker and admits he dumped her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c145f69b
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c145f69b
featureConfidence
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 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c145f69b
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c3782352
type
Exiled to the Couch
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c3782352
comment
Exiled to the Couch: Katherine's boyfriend, Paul, is most displeased at being forced to sleep on the couch due to Nancy's house rules.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c3782352
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1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c3782352
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hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c3782352
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c4ee877a
type
Assimilation Academy
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c4ee877a
comment
Assimilation Academy: While the school provides young women with an education, it is portrayed as ultimately grooming them for the role of proper upper-class housewives.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c4ee877a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c4ee877a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c4ee877a
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c673210e
type
Informed Judaism
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c673210e
comment
Informed Judaism: Giselle's last name is Levy, but her Jewishness is not relevant to the plot outside being brought up by racist Mrs Warren who disapproves Betty's friendship with her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c673210e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c673210e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c673210e
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c675d08c
type
Compliment Backfire
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c675d08c
comment
Compliment Backfire: Nancy compliments Connie's skills in domestic economy saying that she reminds her of herself at her age. Given that Connie struggles with finding a significant other, she's not flattered at all.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c675d08c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c675d08c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c675d08c
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c868a42a
type
Freudian Excuse
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c868a42a
comment
Freudian Excuse: Betty accuses Giselle of having an Electra Complex. Rather ironically, Giselle herself uses it as an excuse for her developing a taste for older men. Somewhat lampshaded by Giselle herself since she states she cannot blame her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c868a42a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_c868a42a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_c868a42a
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ca39ac3e
type
Troubled Abuser
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ca39ac3e
comment
Troubled Abuser: Betty, after her husband starts cheating on her and even before. She tends to bully people who don't fit in the society as well as her, but is in turn treated similarly by her mother. It's also implied that even Mrs. Warren, a bitch as she is, had a miserable married life herself and that's the reason she's constantly pressuring her daughter into trying even harder to fit the ideal.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ca39ac3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ca39ac3e
featureConfidence
1.0
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hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_ca39ac3e
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_cd8aa3e8
type
Smoking Is Glamorous
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_cd8aa3e8
comment
Smoking Is Glamorous: The Camel ad that Connie reads implies that a woman must achieve certain milestones in order to be worthy of their product.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_cd8aa3e8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_cd8aa3e8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_cd8aa3e8
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d5d265ec
type
Housewife
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d5d265ec
comment
Housewife: Betty writes an article for the Wellesley paper exhorting her fellow students to accept "the roles they were born to fill," claiming they have an "obligation" to be homemakers.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d5d265ec
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d5d265ec
featureConfidence
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 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_d5d265ec
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d85c505
type
Racist Grandma
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d85c505
comment
Racist Grandma: Or mother in this case. Betty's mother referred to Giselle as a racial slur for being Jewish.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d85c505
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_d85c505
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_d85c505
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_da12bcfb
type
You Can't Go Home Again
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_da12bcfb
comment
You Can't Go Home Again: When Betty's marriage goes wrong, her mother doesn't want to take her back so that she can trap Betty into her marriage. She eventually calls her mother out on that and tells her she is renting an apartment in Greenwich village with Giselle, someone her mother can't stand.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_da12bcfb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_da12bcfb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_da12bcfb
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_dae4a87
type
Seemingly-Wholesome '50s Girl
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_dae4a87
comment
Seemingly-Wholesome '50s Girl: The most prominent example is Giselle, a straight-A student by day, and a Femme Fatale by night.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_dae4a87
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_dae4a87
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_dae4a87
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_deecc9eb
type
Awful Wedded Life
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_deecc9eb
comment
Awful Wedded Life: Betty and Spencer, as it turns out he's a cheater and emotionally distant. Betty's parents are implied to have a cold marriage, while Giselle's eventually divorced.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_deecc9eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_deecc9eb
featureConfidence
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 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_deecc9eb
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_e1ec301
type
Cover Drop
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_e1ec301
comment
Cover Drop: The official movie poster pictured here is almost identical to a shot of the girls examining a Jackson Pollock painting. The biggest difference is that Betty (Kirsten Dunst) was not actually present in that scene.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_e1ec301
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_e1ec301
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_e1ec301
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ec40626
type
Love Martyr
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ec40626
comment
Love Martyr: Giselle knows full well what kind of a man Bill is, but can't get over him and would be willing to take him back if he was interested.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ec40626
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_ec40626
featureConfidence
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 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_ec40626
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_efadc8dd
type
Bridezilla
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_efadc8dd
comment
Bridezilla: Played with. It's actually Betty's mother, not Betty herself, who obsesses over every detail of her wedding and happily browbeats everyone into pulling it off her way.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_efadc8dd
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_efadc8dd
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_efadc8dd
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f4a8142d
type
Victorious Loser
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f4a8142d
comment
Victorious Loser: Katherine at the end of the movie. She lost her job, her romance with Bill went up in smoke, but she remained true to herself and her principles. As a bonus, her disappointment in Joan settling for life as a happy homemaker, is balanced by the knowledge that she helped Betty, who throughout most of the film had been her most inveterate and effective opponent and upholder of the social status quo, to muster the strength to build her own life in defiance of the rigid norms of the early 1950s.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f4a8142d
featureApplicability
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f4a8142d
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Mona Lisa Smile / int_f4a8142d
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f6972f9d
type
The Mourning After
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f6972f9d
comment
The Mourning After: Nancy gets drunk at Betty's wedding and reveals how much she mourns her boyfriend who died in World War II. Actually subverted, as she gets drunker and admits he dumped her.
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f6972f9d
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_f6972f9d
featureConfidence
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 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_f6972f9d
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
type
ItemName
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
comment
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
featureApplicability
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 Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
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 Mona Lisa Smile
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Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
 Mona Lisa Smile / int_name
itemName
Mona Lisa Smile

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Career Versus Man / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Chick Flick / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Cool-Down Hug / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Dances and Balls / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Ethical Slut / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
MRS Degree / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Meekness is Weakness / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Nouveau Riche / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Oscar Bait / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
School Stories / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
The '50s / int_f11210ae
 Mona Lisa Smile
hasFeature
Trophy Wife / int_f11210ae