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Change In Pleasantville

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Pleasantville Essay

The film Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, focuses on a pair of teenage siblings who are magically drawn into a fictional, 1950s black-and-white television sitcom, called Pleasantville. David and Jennifer are forced to take on the lives of Bud and Mary-Sue Parker, and they slowly begin to realize their mere presence as well as their actions in Pleasantville have a huge and everlasting impact on the town. Through the use of various literary and film devices, director Gary Ross was able to project the many themes and ideas present in the movie, such as change, power and rebellion

Change is a major theme prevalent in Pleasantville. One of the most obvious representations of change, is the town gradually becoming coloured …show more content…
It can be inferred however, that Bob has never really had to use his authority before, because the society never saw conflict and was generally perfect. When Jen and David interrupt the routine, Big Bob is thrust into believing he needs to make things right and ‘pleasant’, again. Through the cinematic devices of costume and makeup, and his actions generally, Ross succeeds in creating a controlling and manipulative person, rather than a leader or someone open to change. Big Bob also creates a code of conduct for the town, with strict rules regarding colour, and all the other changes to Pleasantville. Bob tries to make it seem like he cares about the opinion of the public when he says “We have to have a ‘Code of Conduct’ we can all agree to live by..”, but the sections of the code are actually an indirect attempt to prevent growth of the “coloured” population of the town. David, despite being black and white for majority of the film, becomes a leader for the coloured people of Pleasantville, advocating for resistance towards this code of conduct. This is one of the many allusions to To Kill a Mockingbird, and the character of Atticus Finch. The similarities between David and Atticus are clear, as Atticus defends a black man in court and faces much scrutiny and possible consequences. By the end of the film, it is unclear who has authority over the town, as Bob flees the courtroom in embarrassment and David returns home. However, it is clear that the power shift in Pleasantville made the society a happier

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