Gender roles in Mona Lisa Smile and Dead Poets Society

Mona Lisa Smile and Dead Poets Society tell similar stories; both are about teachers with
unconventional or unorthodox methodologies, who come to Wellesley College and Welton
Academy respectively and generate important changes in their students. Furthermore, it is
important to note that both movies are located under traditional and very conservative
societies. Mona Lisa Smile (MLS) is temporarily located in 1953, and Dead Poets Society
(DPS) in 1959. It seems to be impossible to make a statement in which one film could be
presented as better than the other, as they both portray the same story but in different
contexts, with different students, with different rules and different gender worldviews.
Therefore, the comparison and contrast will be made on how gender roles are portrayed in
both movies and under 3 parameters; the presentation of the teacher and the students, the
teacher's and students’ relationship with the headmasters of the establishment, and finally
the relationship that exists among the students themselves.

To begin with, the presentation of both “rupturists” or “unorthodox” teachers is certainly an

aspect to be considered. In both cases, the teachers decide not to continue with the imposed
program. In the case of DPS, Mr. Keating teaches poetry, whereas Mrs. Watson teaches
history of art. An important difference to note has to do with how students perceive teachers.
In the case of DPS, the students seem to be expectant to what the teacher will do, and in
fact they commented among themselves if they found it interesting or not. However, in the
case of MLS, the students seem to be willing to challenge Mrs. Watson and even humiliate
her when she arrives. In this sense, the students feel threatened as they consider that with
her methodologies she disrespects her traditions.

A big difference between both films has to do with the classes that the students have. In the
case of DPS, the students have classes in football, rowing, fencing, among other things, but
in the case of MLS, the students have rowing and swimming classes as well, but they are
taught the importance of always smiling, in addition to having classes of speech, locution
and posture. The students at Wellesley College are taught to be good mothers and wives,
and what's more, they are taught to be good housewives. They have classes on how to act
in different situations that can occur during life in marriage through hypothetical exercises.
Aspirations for women are graduating, getting married, having kids and then just being
mothers and wives. The aspirations of the students at Welton Academy (DPS) were related
to following in their parents footsteps, following traditions and going to a good university. In
sum, in both cases the students are meant to fulfill their parents’ wishes.
Secondly, the relationship of teachers with the headmasters is different in both films. The
main difference is that in DPS there is a headmaster in charge of a men's boarding school,
and in MLS there is a headmistress in charge of Wellesley College for women. In the case of
DPS, the headmaster doesn’t seem to be very related to Mr. Keating, other than to scold him
for his methodologies and ask him to be more traditional, there is no greater interaction until
the moment he dismisses him and treats him in a humiliating way when he goes to get his
things in the living room. In the case of MLS, Mrs. Watson has a slightly closer relationship
(which doesn’t mean it is a good relation) with the headmistress, who also gives her a
warning for not following the program and because of her methodologies. However, the
teacher talks and complains with her when she feels overwhelmed by the students and even
criticizes her for how they have educated the students, which causes a temporary
suspension, until the moment the headmistress decides to invite her to continue teaching
under 3 conditions. There certainly seems to be a difference in the way in which the
headmasters relate with the teachers. The headmaster’s treatment of Mr. Keating is a
harder, more direct one, while the headmistress’ relation with Mrs. Watson appears to be a
more considerate, even delicate one, all this under a concept of discipline.

Furthermore, it could be possible to specify the relationship between the headmaster and the
students at Welton by mentioning the scene where the headmaster beats one of his students
to punish him, or in the case of MLS, in which Betty is in charge of some kind of editorial at
Wellesley college and writes comments, mostly gossip, about teachers and students without
any supervision, being even defended by the headmistress, who decides to fire a teacher
because Betty had written that she distributed contraceptives, a behavior that was
considered against the moral. In the case of DPS, it represents a patriarchal reality in which
the headmaster had almost the same power as parents over the students. Who would ever
allow their children to be beaten by the headmasters of the places where they study?. And in
the case of MLS, it clearly represents a reality in which gossiping between women has much
more weight than the truth, primarily due to the importance of appearances, discipline and
respect for "good customs".

Finally, the relationship between the students in the case of MLS is a competitive one.
During the movie there are almost no instances in which they study together, for example, as
is the case of DPS. In addition, in the case of Joan and Betty, both aspired to marry men
who were friends, in order to have children at the same time, be neighbors, raise their
children together, etc. They have several moments in which they humiliate and make fun of
each other for the way they see things. There is a representation of the stereotype of the
relationship between women, full of competition, envy and abuse. In the case of DPS, the
students seem to support each other on everything they do, they study together and help
each other in the most difficult subjects. It seems that it is a much friendlier relationship than
the one that exists in MLS.

All things considered, the reality portrayed is much harder and more complicated for women.
This essay has attempted to compare the gender roles representations in both films through
the presentation of the teacher and students, the teacher's and students’ relationship with
the headmasters of the establishment, and finally the relationship that exists among the
students themselves. The differences in gender and types of relationships in the movies are
abysmal. Finally, it is important to consider that since both films are located in the decade of
the 50s, these days almost nothing that these teachers did is considered “rupturist”.
However, during all years there will be something that will no longer be considered disruptive
and another behavior will appear and thus considered unconventional.