[Pagina en español]
The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire - Spiderman Trilogy), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek - Malcolm in the Middle), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blond).
The cheerful '50s TV sitcom "Pleasantville" is revived in the '90s for a loyal cable audience. One devoted fan is shy suburban teen David Wagner (Tobey Maguire - Spiderman Trilogy), who has an almost obsessive interest in the series. Living with his divorced mother (Jane Kaczmarek - Malcolm in the Middle), David sometimes has disputes with his ultra-hip twin sister Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blond).
Jennifer wants to watch MTV (which was new) just when Bud's Pleasantville marathon is about to begin on the TV classics station. They struggle over the remote control, and it breaks. A strange TV repairman (Don Knotts - famous 1950's TV star) supplies their new remote, a potent high-tech device which zaps David and Jennifer inside of the Pleasantville TV world, where their new sitcom parents are businessman George Parker (William H. Macy - Fargo) and wife Betty (Joan Allen - the Jason Bourne films).
As "Bud" and "Mary Sue," the teens take up residence in a black-and-white suburbia where sex does not exist and the temperature is always 72 degrees. Life is always pleasant, books have no words, bathrooms have no toilets, married couples sleep in twin beds, the high school basketball team always wins, and nobody ever questions "The Good Life."
What Pleasantville accomplishes is a social study of television; it contrasts 50s and 90s television's view of those eras. While the TV shows of early television depicted intact families and traditional values, 50s culture was probably more 'real.' Current television has almost done the opposite: presenting us with reality that is perhaps more harsh and false than real life now is.
Below are some general themes that we will use in our writing & discussions. Use them to make notes while you watch the film so you can best answer the written questions that will follow.
Themes in the movie Pleasantville
- Pleasantville is a movie of contrasts. What are some of the OBVIOUS contrasts they show between the 50’s and the Future? What are some of the film tricks they use to show LITERAL contrast (CONTRAST: The state of being strikingly different from something else, typically something OPPOSITE, or REVERSE)
- The TV 'repairman say’s "I know what I'd feel like if my TV broke; like I'd lost a friend.". How would you feel if you had NO TV, and no Internet TV/YouTube/NetFlix/etc...
- Destiny--everything in Pleasantville is scripted, has a place. What about our lives? Do you ever feel like all the decisions are already made for you?
- Censorship: The mayor of Pleasantville say’s "It seems to me we must separate out the things that are unpleasant from the things that are pleasant.". In Pleasantville personal expression and differences are unacceptable and anything straying from what is known is feared. Think about your family at home, what happens when your ideas or opinions differ from your elders?
- Racism: "No coloreds." reads a sign in Pleasantville window. "Coloreds" are people who have become enlightened or who become passionate; they are rejected from mainstream Pleasantville. Why would the filmmakers use this obvious sign from the USA’s racist past? Is this movie about racism too, or just intolerance? Is this the way the world still is? Why or why not?
This introduction was adapted from here... and imdb
Now that you have finished with the introduction get some note paper, something to write with, and perhaps a snack and something to drink. Get comfortable but not sleepy, and enjoy Pleasantville by clicking here or here or here or aquí con subtítulos en español
- The links above do not work on the translated Spanish pages. You need to click the link on THIS english language page to get the film
- use the one that works the best at the moment and change the quality to 720p when it starts!
