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Intertextuality In Pleasantville

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PLEASANTVILLE – TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
Pleasantville (1998), the picture perfect example of a 1950’s America. Life is pleasant where everyone knows their place. The movie takes place in mid-1990s’, as David (Tobey Maguire), lives a depressed and mundane life. His salvation appears in the form of a fairy-godfather, as he and his sibling Jennifer (Reese Witherspoon), are teleported into the world of Pleasantville, a utopia-like lifestyle that brings with it a pleasant existence, where life ran smoothly in “black and white”. This passion-less world is brought forward by director and producer Gary Ross and the ideas of change. Ross conveys the ideas of change, through the use of intertextuality. Intertextuality is when the creator of any media …show more content…

The decision to incorporate paintings that are both history making and society changing. The first painting to appear in Pleasantville is Masaccio’s, Expulsion from Eden. The painting shows the like-like portrayal of Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden. The painting creates the view that with knowledge comes suffering and as both Adam and Eve learn of shame (both of their nakedness and disobeying Gods’ requests), the physical reaction of shame is quite obvious. It relates to Pleasantville’s civilians (who are in technicolour) and the shame they have experience due to the (now) colouring of their skin. As they have experienced the new knowledge of simple pleasures, they then have become ashamed of this. An example would be of Betty and how she would originally wear makeup to cover the colour of her skin. Cézanne’s, Still Life with Apples and Oranges, was a major break with the tradition Renaissance-like paintings and art. This art completely abolished the idea of conforming to existing traditional styles of art. While at first the art looks casual with nothing out of place. The way the artist had created the work, gave the illusion of multiple different view-points. The colours chosen by the artist give the works permeant movement and this reflects life within Pleasantville. Pleasantville originally looks plain and simple (because it is), but at a second-glance, changes begin to happen and their (Pleasantville civilians) lives begin to change. Each of their views begin to change and they begin to clash and collide. Titian’s, Venus of Urbino, is a painting depicting a naked woman reclining on a bed in an intimate position. This paintings it mimicked in Pleasantville, as Bill Johnson (Jeff Daniels), paints Betty as the woman in Venus of Urbino. The painting was created after Betty and Bill celebrated their love, as does the

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The painting is oil on canvas and contains an extensive amount of contrast. For example, the bright vermillion blanket against the dull eggshell colored door. The disparity between the colors used is prominent. Additionally, the fusion of ornate patterns and simplistic solids is evident. The tablecloth is a geometric mixture of cream and periwinkle.

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In the 1950’s the American economy was booming due to the conclusion of World War II. Economic prosperity transformed family life and people put more emphasis on the individual. Television programs represented how people should live the ideal life. With many changes in culture people began to have a different perspective on life. In the 1998 film, “Pleasantville” directed by Gary Ross and the novel, “The Catcher in the Rye” written by J.D. Salinger both depict teenage culture of the 1950s.

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UID- 141077 R.NO -149 When you see “Pleasantville” for the first time,it doesn’t strike you hard enough how much sociological theory has just been served to you. Thus,when I was watching it for the first time my mind was going in circles about the following pattern. Consumption-Artifacts-Profane-Thought-Perception-Distinguishing-Convenience-Questions-Resistance-Novelty-Loss and Gain. The word connect is aiming to give an explanation of how at any particular point in time every discourse lived by people follows, if not rigidly, but closely related “patterns”.

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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.

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The appealing factor of this paintings comes from its message and juxtaposition of colours and stroke

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The painting has a light and smooth finish to finish to it, and at the same time the bold outlines of the male figures appear like a sketching. Little detail compared to the woman in the center of the canvas. The clouds are dark and made with

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To Kill A Mockingbird is a story that takes place during the Great Depression in Alabama. It is a coming of age story narrated by the main character, Scout Finch, and displays the way that she and her brother, Jem Finch, mature. In the movie adaptation of this classic novel, multiple events were changed, which affected the development of the story and of certain characters. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird was better than the movie because the novel developed the setting, the dual plots, the theme of racism, and the character of Jem Finch better than the movie. Additionally, multiple events were omitted from the movie.

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In his novel The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald represents grandeur and “refinement” as world objects like Gatsby’s “two motorboats…drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam” (Fitzgerald). This exposes a change from traditional views on wealth and class that occurred in the 1920’s, to illustrate the corruption of refinement and old values. Similarly Bosch's painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” clearly represents the digression from purity and high-class to greed and immorality through detail and color. Near the bottom of paintings center panel, Bosch’s use of bright green and white depict the innocence and purity of society tainted by occasional dark figures lurking amongst the good, tempting them with lust and curiosity (Bosch). Both sources serve to express the shallow views of refinery and grandiosity, infecting the original idea of divinity and

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Ted Hughes’s “To Paint a Water Lily” tells about an artist painting a scene of nature, and his choice to focus on a water lily. The poem also shows how the artist has two ways of thinking about nature. One way the artist thinks about nature is as a violent and scary thing. The artist also thinks of nature as a thing of beauty and grandeur. Though the artist acknowledges both of his views towards nature, he chooses to focus on the beauty.

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This also ties into the fact that bodies are natural things, and we should not be afraid of them. This painting was practically all occupied organic space, except for manmade buildings that are actually colored light brown to blend in. The mood of this painting is serene and natural, because of the calm expression on Venus’s face and all the nature around her. The focal point of this picture, Venus’s face and upper body capture the viewer to really examine the painting and think about what it is trying to convey to

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Even the woman’s frame and posture seem to follow the lines created by the railings of the viewing box. The railings are also implied lines, the first thing our eyes go to is the woman, and then we follow the railings to the man who has his gaze set on the woman. The man’s gaze gives us implied lines that lead us back to the main focus of the painting, the woman. The artist also uses light and dark to guide our eyes to the important parts of the artwork. Most of the artwork is dark, while the woman and the man looking at her are in the light.

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The French Revolution began to abolish privileged, high class society as people rose up against the authority and monarchy in France. As a result of this political upheaval almost all of Europe was shaken by social changes, revolutions, and wars (“French Revolution”). Artists and artwork began to reflect this new sense of change and nationalism with a movement called Neoclassicism. Neoclassicism is characterized by strong drawing, rationality, and better moral ideology. Artists began to no longer show their brush strokes and paint more about nationalism and patriotism in society.

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This helps to create a close up look at the view outside the window suggesting the intimacy between the artist and the habitat outside. This is because the focus is almost wholly given to the view outside the window. The view, which is embellished by the presence of flowers sitting on the windowsill, and creepers climbing on the railing, is located in the center of the composition. Despite the lack of a line of symmetry and any logic or geometric order, Matisse has been able to draw the attention of the viewer’s eye through the use of bright colours, almost fluorescent, which were used to portray the calm sea with its floating blue boats, and the sky tinted with the colours of the sunset. The calm sea at the horizon is painted with unreal tones of pink, sky blue, and violet whereas the boat, painted with tones of indigo, orange and green, seem to move along with the light breeze.

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Early in the novel, the reader gets the impression that the painting is pervaded by the longing for the youth that one has lost as well as the frightening deficiency of human life. In chapter eight this painting is described as: “the most magical of mirrors.” (Wilde 98). The portrait works

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The portrait represents the beauty of the time period. It holds simplistic colors with detailed shading. The artwork is very intriguing to me. I love the detail in the background, there are tiny brushstrokes that makes up the mountains and sky. Also, I find the shading of the mouth and eyes very interesting.

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