Preview

Analysis of "Pleasantville"

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
445 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Analysis of "Pleasantville"
The film 'Pleasantville' is about two modern teenagers, David and his sister Jennifer, somehow being transported into the television, ending up in Pleasantville - a 1950s black and white sitcoms. David knows that they have to act like the 'real' characters as he definitely knows the world well, but soon he realises that it is impossible - that change is inevitable, which is the main theme of the movie.

The two characters from the modern world have the role of bringing 'evil' knowledge to the citizen of Pleasantville. They brought changes to the town, adding colours to it.

Change is an important element in this film. It shows that change is inevitable by introducing two characters into a never-changing world. Both are uneasy when they arrive. However, Jennifer threatens to rebel and states that "no one is happy in a poodle skirt and sweater set". The citizen of Pleasantville have only learned about the geography of two streets, the firemen have never seen a fire, and sex and double beds do not even exist. They live their lives according to their routines. "Where is my dinner?" Mr Parker asks when he is surprised that the dinner is not ready for in at quarter to six. Though, the curiosities of the people living in Pleasantville lead them to change. "What is outside Pleasantville?" some ask.

The people of Pleasantville are no longer innocent, and they are ready to change. This is shown by the shifting of people from black and white to colour. The people can only gain colours when they break their barriers, discovering the missing element in their lives. Some gain colour from having sex, Mary-Sue gains colour from reading books and Bud gains colour from getting into a fight. Pleasantville is no longer Pleasantville. The basketball team starts missing shots, and colours can be seen everywhere. Bud is horrified when he sees the changes, but soon realises that it is hardly life when all people do is to follow the robotic routines.

Not all people react pleasantly with

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The novel starts with an idyllic, natural scene. This creates a sense of peacefulness and calm. However, this scene is disrupted by George and Lennie’s arrival.…

    • 503 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Murray sheds light on Baldwin's use of light and darkness in the story to exemplify “man's painful quest for identity” ( Murray 354). In many cases Baldwin uses this imagery to draw an emphasizing image of his theme in the story. In multiple areas of the story Baldwin mentions light and darkness such as the subway encounter with one of Sunny's friends and the waitress at the pub. “All they knew were two darknesses,the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them , and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness (Baldwin 328). This excerpt from the story is one of the main examples of the use of darkness and light in the story. As can be seen here darkness is representing the bitter reality that is consuming the people living in Harlem. Yet they try to somewhat escape this by watching a movie which is ironically another darkness that is only taking their attention or entertaining them until the main darkness consumes them.…

    • 732 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    David and Jennifer are living in the age of negativity. The environment is going to hell, unemployment is going to rise, life just sucks in general. This doesn’t bother Jennifer, but David wishes his life was more like his favorite 50′s TV show, Pleasantville. He’s seen every episode to the point of memorization; so when a mysterious TV repairman gives him a remote that transports him and his sister, Jennifer, into the show; he’s thrilled, but she is not. David (now Bud) tries to get Jennifer (now Mary Sue) to play the role she’s been given in the show, and follow the plot, but she decides to change things up. Now, her modern influence starts changing the way Pleasantville citizens think, as well as changing the landscape from black and white to technicolor.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Happy Valley scene begins with a longshot of Rachel and Samuel sitting in the back of the police car, diegetic sound of the radio, the car and the rain add to the ever evident differences in johns powerful world and the Amish peaceful ways of living. “we want nothing to do with your laws” this successfully shows how powerful the police are in society as they are keepers of the law, and how this is not needed in the Amish world as there deep religious conviction means that…

    • 406 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Change In Pleasantville

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Pleasantville showed how change is a hard thing to conform to, but when everyone tries, the world becomes a better place. People are happy, and everything you know becomes more special. Things can’t stay the same forever, because if they did, no one would see the beauty in life. Everything would be “grey”. It just takes a brave person to begin the time of…

    • 616 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Themes In Pleasantville

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Pleantville is David's fantasy and he doesn't want it to change in any way, “maybe it needs to be messed with” said by Jennifer demonstrates her opposing views. This gives the audience the knowledge that things are going to change. These changes are caused when the relationship between Jennifer, “Mary Sue” and Skip, captain of the basketball team, begins to advance. The beginning of change is depicted by a red rose in the alternate black and white world. Colour is very symbolic in “Pleasantville”, it signifies not only physical change of pleasantville but also the inner journeys each character undergoes. The values of Pleasantville also change with the physical changes. Individuality is not tolerated and these changes increases the characters ability to have their own thoughts and beliefs. David and Jennifer have remained black and white, even though they have been the cause of all the changes in pleantville, this symbolises that they are also in need for change. The intolerance for individuality is demonstrated when Betty, mother of Bud and Mary Sue, feel the need to hide the fact that she has also become coloured to conform to the norms of society, “I cant go out there looking like this” the grey make up is juxtaposed with the colour. Betty's personal inner journey deals with her appreciating her individuality therefore her colour. Her values as a housewife are also…

    • 1340 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    From a functionalist perspective, the occurrences in Pleasantville would not be ideal because the intensity of social change negatively affected the connection throughout the community. As more residents discover their full potential and true selves, the more organic this otherwise mechanical society becomes. This adds complexity and enhances the gap between the interaction of the individual and the group as a whole because the residents in color are consequently polarized from their black and white…

    • 739 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ross also portrays and somewhat satirises an unchanged society's people to be ruled by their own mindlessness, and in their epiphany, translates to the viewer that change can come from within or from outside one's self but is different for everyone. Dark overtones are used to parallel the Pleasantville to a society under fascist rule. However, in the end, change will always affect everyone and this new understanding will help to overcome the changes encountered in the future that may seek to detriment the society. The three scenes which will be discussed in relation to the filmmaker's attitude towards change are the breakfast scene, the classroom scene, and the rain scene.…

    • 2172 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    What exactly is freedom? Is it the ability to think for yourself, to speak without the fear of consequences, to be able to vote in federal elections or is it something much more? Ambrose Flask attempts to unravel the true meaning of freedom in his short story “The Strangers That Came to Town.” This story outlines the journey of the Duvitch family as they rise from the depths of oppression to obtain a sense of equality and acceptance from their society. In his short story, “The Strangers that Came to Town”, Ambrose Flack is showing that true freedom is about being accepted. First of all, the Duvitches’ dark, mysterious past helps bring a deeper meaning to their tale and highlights their longtime struggle for freedom. Additionally, their treatment from the townspeople truly exemplifies the meaning and Euphoria granted by freedom. Finally, the character development of other characters in the story shows that freedom is received when it is given. In “The Strangers That Came to Town,” it is proven that the true meaning of freedom is being accepted through the Duvitches’ dark past, the Duvitches’ treatment from the townspeople, and the character development shown from characters in the story.…

    • 1126 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    I have recently read the novel The Giver, by Lois Lowry, and watched the movie Pleasantville. These works focus on making perfect societies. The Giver is about a boy named Jonas who lives in a community with many rules. He is assigned the job of the Receiver of Memory and goes through great amounts of pain and happiness during his training. Pleasantville is about David and his sister Jennifer who goes into their TV to a show called Pleasantville. This town is supposedly peaceful and pleasant. Although The Giver and Pleasantville are both about perfect societies, their characters, setting and the symbolism establishing their greater involvement.…

    • 598 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    We are shown a scene where the college counselor is talking to high school students about their future following a montage of teachers talking to students, in this montage the students seem very uninterested and bored as the teachers talk about the hazard that may occur to them. The main character(David) also seems isolated as he is shown watching the show “pleasantville”where everything is perfect as well as knowing exactly what the characters say showing that he's intrigued and as if he's connected to pleasantville and he is one of the characters. Later we meet another main character whose david's sister (Jennifer) who is a completely different person than her brother as she is more of a 90s stereotypical party kid and more popular as well…

    • 138 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Laughter, let downs, memories, and regrets are all aspects of life itself. Explaining these aspects is the hardest part. When is laughter present? When are let downs expected? Where can memories lead? How do these all affect someone in the long run? The poem “Schoolsville” does a great job of representing life itself. It points towards life in general and explains the comical, serious and memorable, then poignant parts of life.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This movie revolves around a young woman named Susanna in the 1960s who is experiencing mental issues and ends up in a mental institution. Her journey focuses on her relationship with several of the other patients and nurses. At first she doesn’t believe she is ill, and resists her treatment, instead befriending another patient, Lisa, who takes her on many adventures inside and outside of the hospital. Lisa leads her down the wrong path which ends in the death of a former patient. This event leads Susanna down the right path and she dives into focusing on making herself well.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Lottery

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An ironic ending is also foretold by the town's setting being described as one of normalcy. The town square is described as being "between the post office and the bank;" every normal town has these buildings, which are essential for day-to-day functioning. The townspeople also establish a normal, comfortable setting for the story. The children are doing what all typical kids do, playing boisterously and gathering rocks. The woman of the town are doing what all stereotypical females do, "exchang[ing] bits of gossip." The men are being average males by chatting about boring day-to-day tasks like "planting and rain, tractors and taxes."…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gatsby’s wealth came from a desire to be rich, and this desire to be rich derived from his need for materialistic items and belongings. For example, Gatsby is known for having one of the most luxurious houses in his respected home town. This house represents more than just a fancy show for people to gawk at, it provides Gatsby with a sense of fulfillment and happiness. A new member of the Egg islands, named Nick Carraway, has moved next door to Jay Gatsby and describes his house as the following, “The one on my right was a colossal affair by any standard… with a tower on one side, spanking new under a thin beard of raw ivy, and marble swimming pool” (Fitzgerald 5). The owner of this house, Jay Gatsby, lives alone and only uses his house for…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays