In the film called "Pleasantville", there are several themes and universal truths. But the truth that stuck out to me is best said in a quote by Andrew Smith: "People fear was they don't understand and hate what they can't conquer". It is after all, human nature to be scared of the unknown. There are blantant examples of this throughout the film, however I won't merely state each group of examples. I will prove my statement by breaking down the movie as it corresponds to each part of the qoute. The first examples are when Skip Martin misses the shot due to frustration. Ball ricochets off the backboard, lands on the floor, and rolls toward the rest of the team. The coach then tells them to not touch it. The group parts like the Red Sea, as the assumed ball rolls past the team. The scene is comical, but it is one of the most obvious examples of the fear of the unknown. Next, the men at the …show more content…
That fear we harbor can grow into a seething hate for those mysterious things that we cannot conquer, because we are too afraid of what may happen. In the end, the people of Pleasantville moved past that fear of things alien, even though it was thrust upon them it turned out to be for the better. The movie Pleasantville is the story of twins, David (played by Maguire) and Jennifer (played by Witherspoon), that live polar opposites lives socially during high school in the 90's. David being the socially awkward brother and Jennifer being the popular, yet sexually promiscous girl. During during an arguement they break the remote to the television and a mysterous repair man shows up. The repairman (played by Knotts) gives them a remote, which sends them into the called Pleasantville. The show is in black and white and is based in the 1950's. In this world everyone sees them as Bud and Mary Sue
The main character, Holling Hoodhood, has hate instead of friendship surrounding him. His teacher, his family, and his classmates are all mean to him. Later on, his teacher and another adult, Mr. Goldman, start to behave nicely towards Holling. After this, some of his classmates develop ties to Holling. Danny Hupfer gives a baseball back to Mickey Mantle after the star is rude to Holling.
By doing so they are fighting the past identities they had created and once known themselves to be, and creating new ones. The choice to do this was forced upon them and changed their perceptions of who they once knew themselves to be. Originally the people in Pleasantville were living in a town where they didn’t have much choice or freedom and everyone had the same views. However through the choices they were forced to make to change the town they realised that who they had always known themselves to be was not an accurate representation of who they were. This led to them trying
Ultimately, the human heart seeks comfort and familiarity. The great unknown strips away this feeling of safety, leading to a vulnerability that draws the true nature of a person into the harshness of reality. Unfamiliar environments, newly met strangers, the imminent and all-too-unpredictable future--these things generally incite feelings of insecurity and anxiety; for some, panic accompanies the thought of not having control. Some avoid matters of fear altogether, opting for a life softened with intentional ignorance. It is the fatal tendency of mankind to manipulate their troubles into trivial tasks that can easily be ignored and eventually forgotten, or at the very least, left to the side.
My topic for this ISP will be Aldous Huxley 's comparison between truth and happiness in "Brave New World". In this novel, Huxley uses an abundance of oblivious characters to promote the act of consumption as an emotional equal to happiness. However, his character "Mond" to express that truth is in fact more important than happiness. Mond is complex because he cannot act on his argument as he is the world controller of the area in which the story takes place. At the same time, rebellious characters such as The Director 's son John or Bernard Marx are used to highlight an outsider 's view on World State, and how extensively the loyal
Throughout the movie “Pleasantville”, there are numerous social issues. This paper will look at and identify some of them, as well as defining the basic social issues and how they relate to the movie. Some sociological concepts found in the movie include Race and Ethnicity, Age Stratification, and Social Interaction. Throughout the movie, there are plenty of examples, but I will use the three main concepts I found. The example of Race and Ethnicity would be Discrimination.
Because in the Puritan times people were scared of things that didn't exist and nowadays people are scared of things that are real like getting kidnapped or getting killed getting
Pleasantville is about two teenagers who magically gets drawn into the 1950s fictional, black-and-white television sitcom. In Pleasantville, David and Jennifer are forced to take on the roles of Bud and Mary-Sue. As they play along in the perfect and pure little town of Pleasantville, their presence soon affects the town and makes drastic changes. Mary Sue gets in a relationship with Skip the star basketball player and exposes him to sex. Prior to that the show showed her mother and father sleeping in two twin size beds but that magically turns in to one.
Monsters? Would you be able to live in a time where your life was always in danger? Fear and danger were a constant feeling in Rod Serling’s video and teleplay “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” which was made in 1960 and “The Monsters on Maple Street” that was made in 2003. The 1960 version people were so easy to accuse others when fear and danger presented itself. In the 2003 version terrorism was on everyone’s mind
The unknown is often associated with danger because of society. Tim Burton would argue that the abnormal could often be the uttermost significant in life. Through color contrast and physically abnormal characters, Burton displays in his films that society wrongly teaches people to fear the unknown. Burton uses color contrast to show the isolation and the unknown of the outcast characters in his films. For instance, in Edward Scissorhands, Edward was introduced when Peg found him sitting in a corner all alone.
Molly Childree Fleischbein EH 102.147 Draft February 5,2018 Our world is full of monsters, some imaginary, but most are legitimate and terrifying. In his text “Monster Culture (Seven Theses)”, Jeffery Jerome Cohen examines the use of monsters in literate and cinema. Cohen makes the claim that the use of monsters, historically and presently, in forms of entertainment symbolizes more than just the fear they instill in audiences. A monster is no longer just a monster.
In the film Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, released in 1998, two teenage twins learn to change viewpoints on their lives after being transported to the world of a 1958 black and white sitcom. Though Jennifer and David are very different, while encountering the idolised fantasy world of the 1950’s they both undergo experiences of self discovery and self realisation. Jennifer becomes less superficial, learns to choose books over boys, starts to care for her education, and feels less of a need to follow the crowd. David becomes more confident, outspoken, and the citizens of Pleasantville look up to him. He also realises happiness in Pleasantville is not as he perceived, and learns to accept and defend
Conformity is gradually oppressing the world in which we live in. This ideal is prominently illustrated in the film Pleasantville which is directed, and produced by Gary Ross. Pleasantville is a great demonstration of the dangers of abiding by society’s expectations, and the freedoms that come with rebelling to these expectations and embracing change. Gary Ross uses several literary techniques such as; colour (symbolism), and character development to indicate the lack of creativity, and originality in society. Throughout the film, Ross illustrates how obstructive conformity can be to society, and how rewarding rebelling to societal norms can be for not only self growth, but societal advancement as well.
Fear is a psychological and physiological response to distressing or dangerous circumstances. Fears are often rational – the fear of death, for example, or of harm to oneself of those one cares about. Some fears are more irrational, such as phobias of certain animals or things not causing immediate danger. In any case, fear is a powerful response and causes someone to be weaker and more submissive. 1984 by George Orwell illustrates how fear, a natural human experience, can be used as a means for a person’s submission to authority, In the novel, Winston Smith, the protagonist, is a working-class citizen in a futuristic, dystopian London.
Truth and happiness are two things people desire, and in the novel, an impressive view of this dystopia’s two issues is described. In this society, people are created through cloning. The “World State” controls every aspect of the citizens lives to eliminate unhappiness. Happiness and truth are contradictory and incompatible, and this is another theme that is discussed in “Brave New World” (Huxley 131). In the world regulated by the government, its citizens have lost their freedom; instead, they are presented with pleasure and happiness in exchange.
Humans are unlike any other creature on this planet, as we are able to think and reason. These two abilities have created the most powerful minds ever known such as, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Plato. These abilities have also lead to some powerful arguments one of such being our beliefs. Some philosophers believe that all beliefs must be justified, while others believe that only some of our beliefs must be justified. W.K. Clifford argues that it is morally wrong to act or believe without sufficient evidence.