In Pleasantville, the main two characters were David as Bud and Jennifer as Mary Sue. These two teens are from the 1990s and get taken back to the 1950s sitcom “Pleasantville”. When they are taken back into time, the two teens took back with them modern day ways and alter the universe in “Pleasantville”. David and Jennifer didn’t try to stir up things for the town intentionally. David wanted to keep things the same so they can go back home and keep things in “Pleasantville” pleasant. Jennifer wanted to go back home as but as long as he had to stay there. She wasn’t going to do right like her brother want her to. Jennifer felt differently. She felt like they were too boring for her and wanted to shake things up a little bit. She wanted to bring the 1990s into the 1950s and kind of stirred things up. As time was going by and things started to change day by day; some of the older folks didn’t want the change. They wanted things to stay the way they have always been. The dad played as George was your standard dad that went to work every day and came home and expected to have his wife waiting on him hand and feet with dinner cooked. The mother Betty was your typical mother that got the kids up, fixed breakfast, ironed, had dinner cooked, etc. When David alerted the fireman that there was afire but had to say cat. That was when things started to change. The other teenagers wanted to know how he knew about the fire. They wanted to know what was outside of “Pleasantville” and for once the books had words and they wanted to know more. They were intrigued to learn new things and wanted to know more. They weren’t afraid to venture out & absorb new things and experience life.
David was a kid that was shy and afraid. He never went for the things he wanted in life. Back at his school in the 1990s he was afraid to ask out this girl he had a crush on. He stood from afar and watched while another guy was talking to his crush and asked her out instead of him asking. He never built up enough courage to talk to her or anyone else. At school he felt very out of place. He was an outsider. When he was in “Pleasantville”, he felt at home. He knew the storyline and he knew everything was going to be the same way every day and never change. As the movie went on he tried to keep things just as they were but that was hard because his sister kind of stirred it up a little. As time was passing by, he began to wonder why his color never changed while others around him were changing. His time didn’t come so sudden because he still hasn’t figured out why he was taken back into time. He still hasn’t overcome he fear and lived life yet. The turning point was when he was showing compassion for his mother when she was afraid of being seen in color and when he took up for her when the young men were hounding her for being in color and posing nude just because she was different than they were. Once he took up for his mother in the sitcom. He overcame his fear and for once stood up for himself as well as someone else and didn’t back down. Jennifer was that typical 1990s girl that wanted to be kind of rough, hard, bad, and sleep with a guy to get them to want to be with her. That is what she knew because of how her generation was brought up. So when she gets to “Pleasantville”, she really wants to go back home and go back to her normal life to go on her date. She doesn’t want to listen to her brother and follow his instructions. She just wants to do her own thing. The town is too boring for her. There is no excitement. So when she finally decides to go out with Skip. She decides to be bad and go to lover’s lane and do more than hold hands. Her and Skip continue to do it for a while and she all of a sudden becomes bored with having sex. When Skip came to her window and wanted to have sex with her. She didn’t want to because she was studying. Now that was a shocker. For once in her life she’s more concerned about school work than a guy. She was so proud that she actually finishes reading a book for the first time in her life. That was her turning point in her life. She put her education first instead of trying to get a guy to like her. She set herself apart from the other females in the sitcom that became how they once were vice versa. The overall message is to believe in you and never lose hope. Don’t let anyone or yourself stop you from doing or becoming anything you want to do. David wasn’t shy or afraid anymore and Jennifer for once cared about herself and didn’t think about her old ways for once. With David learning compassion and bravery; he takes that back home when his mother is back early at home and is feeling down. He comforts his mother and I’m pretty sure he will take everything he has learned with him in his everyday life. Jennifer got her life together and wanted to stay a bit longer to continue to work on herself before she came home. She actually thought about college. Jennifer took control of life and didn’t let anyone influence her decision. Everyone just needs a push or a situation to go through to make their behavior change for the good. Like I once stated was that you should never lose hope and believe in yourself. Go for the gold in life and never back down from a challenge.
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