MovieChat Forums > Mona Lisa Smile (2003) Discussion > "It Wasn't Supposed to Turn Out Like Thi...

"It Wasn't Supposed to Turn Out Like This. . ."

posted 9 years ago by v_anzaldua
10 replies | jump to latest

That's what Nancy says to Katherine at Betty's wedding reception after revealing that her ex-sweetheart hadn't really died in WWII but, rather, married someone else and had kids with her. In other words, she was supposed to have a husband, house, and kids. Yeah, supposed to. Nancy's remark was another sad effect of 1950s America: many, if not all, women felt they had to live up to the mythical housewife ideal without even considering that maybe there were other life paths they could take, paths they were really meant to take. And by the end of the movie, we see that the students--well, at least Joan and Betty, anyway--do realize that they can chart their own paths in life without having to live up to someone else's ideals.

[–] joanneguy1967 9 years ago

I'm glad I wasn't born then !! ?

[–] electrictroy 8 years ago

After witnessing the chaos and bloodshed of the Great Depression andWwar (half-a-billion dead) many girls & guys simply wanted a slow, peaceful life. They threw-away the uniforms and bought a home.

[–] fiatlux-1 9 years ago

Sadly, it seems that women are RETURNING to this set of beliefs...albeit in a slightly different way given the times.
I am female myself, and 9 out of 10 women I meet treat me oddly (or even stop being interested in talking with me!) when I mention I am not married or don't have children!
I thought we as so-called strong women had moved past this outdated nonsense.
But it seems not.

I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus.
Didn't he discover America?
Penfold, shush.

[–] v_anzaldua 9 years ago

Normally, as the years go by, we're supposed to move forward as people, but instead, we're moving backwards. That's sad and it's because we have people like the religious conservatives who are trying to send us back there. That's why we have to make sure that we keep moving forward, in the figurative sense.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] v_anzaldua 9 years ago

Oh, you know, those people who are trying to defund Planned Parenthood or refuse to issue marriage licenses to gays or bomb abortion clinics or actually make Christianity the national religion (yeah, let's forget about the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment)--stuff like that. And all perpetuated by religious nuts like the ones you apparently champion. And don't fool yourself: they're every bit as nutty as their Middle Eastern counterparts.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] komninosm 9 years ago

John Lennon troll alert...

[–] electrictroy 8 years ago

As a man I have witnessed the same. It's because people with families don't know what to say to childfree adults. There is no common ground. They want to talk about homework, toys, and soccer matches which we know nothing about
.

[–] LovesConfusingJoy 8 years ago

I think that's mostly bull