With
such good actors involved and such an important theme such
as female empowerment you would think you would be set for
an emotionally powerful and moving film. But you would be
wrong.
The frustration you will feel when you leave the film mirrors
Julia Roberts’ character in the film. Set in 1953-54,
she plays Katherine Watson a teacher excited to arrive at
the all female Wellesley College known to be made up of
the smartest students in the United States. She is extremely
disappointed to find that most of her students only see
the college as a stepping stone to landing a husband. Here
students measure their success only by how well they marry.
It is scary to see a film where a young brilliant girl doesn’t
go to Law School because she wants to be home to make dinner
for her husband every night. Maybe I just don’t want
to be reminded of how it used to be and prefer to think
of how far we have come. Leaving the film I felt as hopeless
as Katherine must have felt that the only road to happiness
seemed to be found only if you gave in to tradition and
society's pressures.
