Romance. It’s not the same thing as Romanticism, but it’s often part of drama. It can, and often does, feature in horror. Tender feelings toward someone we really love seem to be a human universal, even if social structures don’t always support such feelings. Maybe I’m trying to make excuses for why I watched Mona Lisa Smile, but there is an underlying reason. More than one expert considers it an example of dark academia. I was curious, and honestly, it’s easier to get my wife to watch dark academia than it is horror (for that I’m on my own). This was a film I’d heard about many times, but hadn’t watched any trailers for, so I wondered what it was all about. In short, Wellesley. One of the seven sisters. But more than that—women struggling for equality in the 1950s.
A fictional Katherine Ann Watson takes up a post teaching art history at Wellesley, back in the day when a doctorate wasn’t required. In order to demonstrate her expertise to her very well prepared students (I never, in nearly 20 years teaching, had students show that level of eagerness for any subject) she introduces them to modern art. Traditional Wellesley isn’t prepared for that. Moreover, she encourages them to develop careers of their own in a period when the MRS degree was still a main reason for women to attend college. Watson’s own life isn’t without romance; a boyfriend back home in California and another professor at Wellesley both vie for her affections. Some powerful students, however, make her life difficult and despite her popularity as a teacher, the administration allows her to remain, but with severely clipped wings. She decides to fly instead.
Amid all the social commentary, a darkness remains. A large part of it is patriarchy, but academic politics—driven by money—is the main culprit. As Watson is essentially forced out, her students see her off with a display of camaraderie, making this, in some ways, quite similar to Dead Poets Society. There were a few triggers for me. Years ago I was indeed called into the Dean’s office and handed a letter to read. While not nearly as dramatic as either Dead Poets Society or Mona Lisa Smile, I had students demonstrate their support for me as I was forced out. Katherine Ann Watson seems to have had better prospects than John Keating, but both movies remind us that academic politics are dark indeed. Even if it’s couched in the genre of romance.
