Two Key Scenes

In our prescribed text Pleasantville two American teenage siblings from the 1990's magically get drawn into the fictional, black-and-white sitcom Pleasantville which portrays a very stereotypical image of the 1950s.

The film explores a variety of themes: Nazism, family values, race, social problems ,sexuality, personal freedom, dictatorship, sexism, the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Apartheid, racial segregation and discrimination and the concept of inevitable change. Through these themes, we see that a perfect society would be a robotic and uninteresting one.

Through the usage of color, the movie was able to tackle major social issues and make allusion to the bible, which are deeply rooted concerns in American culture. The main element of change (to undergo a color change) as interpreted from the movie could very well be a symbolism of sin, as many of the non-colored feared. two modern teenagers, David and his sister Jennifer, are transported into the television, ending up in Pleasantville - a 1950s black and white sitcoms that change is inevitable, which is the main theme of the movie. Color was a fundamental instrument in the movie "Pleasantville". Not only was it used to define a character, but was also a demonstration of society, art and cultural movements back from the 1950's through present day. 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 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.

Through the use of colour as a symbolic device, Ross explores the conflict between order and choas. Through the use of the red flower, the court scene in Pleasantville and also the art book scene the use of colour is represented as a symbolic device that explores the conflict between order and choas.

Pleasantville was an example of the ideal 1950's society. Everything needed to be in a uniform and pleasant manner. There was a certain standard for everything, from how one dressed to how the family structure was maintained. There were certain expectations that stood for every male- to succeed in life and become the breadwinner- and females- to learn as much as possible, only to spend the rest of your life, once married, serving