Examples Of Free Will In Pleasantville

A TV repairman shows up out of nowhere on their doorstep offering to fix the remote. The repairman quizzes David on Pleasantville trivia and after he answers all of his questions correctly, he gives David a “special remote”. The brother and sister fight over the remote and get zapped into the television show “Pleasantville”. This sets up a majority of the clashes with a 1990’s brother and sister team going back in time to a perfect small town family of 1958. The time period chosen for the television show was intentional. The oldies telev

Pleasantville changed. In the beginning of the movie everyone were “equal” and by the end of

Pleasantville, (before David and Jennifer) is a “dream world” if you will, everyone is always happy and there are never any conflicts with anyone. Once the two of them arrive however, everything changes. In Pleasantville everything is black and white, but after Jennifer has sex

The city of Oceania is so deprived of their freedom, that even thinking is considered a crime. This crime is called “thoughtcrime” Winston realizes that he is not like the others so he begins to write his thoughts in a

How are we made aware of the filmmaker's attitude towards change? Refer to three specific episodes from the film. (excl. concl. stages)In Pleasantville, the filmmaker, Gary Ross, conveys his attitude towards change through the characters of David and Jennifer who are transported into the 1950s sitcom "Pleasantville". He doesn't necessarily demonstrate change to bear a positive result; rather, he addresses that change is essential to the development of society and self and that it is important to understand and accept change. Ross contrasts the ignorance and mindlessness of the unchanged people of Pleasantville with the hunger for knowledge that the changed (or coloured) people possess, communicating to the viewer that change and knowledge

In the 1998 film, Pleasantville, the idea of defying a supreme leader and exploring new taboo ideas is demonstrated by the rebellious mural painted by Bud/David and Mr Johnson. This mural painted in vibrant colours explores ideas that are nothing short of unthinkable to the bland citizens of Pleasantville. The elements painted on the mural include representations of sex, knowledge and music, which is against the core values of this idealistic town. While Pleasantville seems to have the all-american dream with white picket fences and nuclear families, it is evident that they are lacking many of the vivacious elements present in a normal flawed life.

The film Pleasantville directed by Gary Ross 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 sitcom. The two are trapped as Bud and Mary Sue in a radically different dimension and make some huge changes to the bland lives of the citizens of Pleasantville, with the use of the director’s cinematic techniques. Ross cleverly uses cinematic techniques such as colour, mise-en-scene, camera shots, costumes, music and dialogue to effectively tell the story.

David quickly assimilates into the town, and does his best to conform to its basic norms and routines. David uses the same terminology as many of the characters in the show, and he follows the character Bud’s routine by going to his school and work. Jennifer however, does the opposite, and displays numerous examples of deviant behavior. For example, the most deviant act that she displays is when she invites skip to go with her to lover’s lane. The biggest display of affection that the people in Pleasantville engage in is holding hands, sex or even sleeping in the same bed is unheard of. Jennifer introduces the idea of sex into the town and sooner or later many of the towns teens are going to lover’s lane to do just

Everyone has fears, whether they are as small as going swimming or as big as heights, everyone has them. In the movie Pleasantville, fear of change plays a big role in the citizens of Pleasantville. The citizens are so accustomed to the same thing over and over again that when Jennifer/Mary Sue decides to do something different the whole town is disturbed by this change. For David it’s the same thing, at first he is scared to do anything different and to alter anything but after everyone he loves starts to change and they start getting assimilated, he realizes he can’t be scared and has to be brave to alter Pleasantville for the better.

Eventually, the black and white population of Pleasantville in now full of vibrant colours, each with personality and individuality. On the contrary, pleasures in Pleasantville were soon considered taboo, which erupted chaos amongst the people of the community. Books that were full of knowledge and mystery were burnt; many colourful items were confiscated, banned by law of Pleasantville. Not so pleasant.

During Joseph Stalin’s regime of the Soviet Union, 1984, the Classic Dystopian novel by George Orwell, was burned and banned, because the book shone a negative light on communism. The book, 1984, follows the life of Winston Smith, who lives in a country called Oceania. Oceania is a totalitarian society, ruled by a government known as The Party, whose leader is called Big Brother. In Oceania, every movement and sound every person makes is constantly surveillanced, and one wrong facial expression, statement, or action can cause the ‘Thought Police’ to take the person away to never be seen again. A small percentage of the population questions The Party’s dictatorship, and the novel follows Winston’s struggles to keep his hatred of The Party

Adversity is what breaks up the pleasant. It is the obstacles we encounter, the ones that mold us and twist us and pull us, little bits at a time. In the movie Pleasantville, adversity is a force noticed only after the town began its cultural expansion. The dramatic colour change from neutral tones to bright, vibrant hues was joined by a shift in personal identities. Directed by Gary Ross, the film maintains that when confronted with adversity, a person’s identity will evolve with the purpose of coping with it. This is achieved through Betty’s challenges, such as unchanging gender roles and her colour change, and the impact these had on her individual identity.

When reading part one of 1984 by George Orwell many thoughts and questions popped into my head. Why would a powerful government rewrite and brainwash its citizens? Or why are they under constant surveillance? As I further read along something interested me. One of our main characters and protagonist, Winston, knows or believes that he knows all of the punishments that are done by the Thought Police and the Inner Party. He contemplates on whether or not he should start a diary. He knows it may not be a law in starting one, but he knows the dangers of it if the Thought Police would find it. This part catches my interest the most because he knows that he is doing something rebellious, yet he continues to go along with it since he

The film Pleasantville shows the changes in American society over the past 50 years by placing two teenagers into the Pleasantville show, which was from the 50’s. The movie depicts how there is no longer the “American Dream” and no longer a perfect way of life and the changes the world has made. The world that the teenagers come from is filled with sex, drugs, money, and is very different from the way the world was in which the Pleasantville Show took place in. Morals and values have changed in the people and in society that the teenagers came from and shows it would be impossible to return back to the kind of life style the world had in the 50’s.

In 1984, the last and largest work of Orwell’s life, the oppression becomes even more sinister. Winston, a member of the “party,” decides to break away from the melancholy lifestyle in which “freedom is slavery” and rebel against the government that restrains him. The party even erases all of history and claims that reality is within the mind; “He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.” He becomes conscious of all the trickery and lies of the party and joins a secret organization to fight for freedom. The organization, however, is a lie and Winston is tortured until he learns to truly love Big Brother. 1984 makes prominent stabs at the