Textual Analysis Of The Movie Pleasantville

Pleasantville is a movie in which the entire town is convinced that people are to abide by several ludicrous rules. Their ignorance is what leads them to their repression. Prior to David’s coming, the town was all black and white, where there are no fires, and there are no changes from the townspeople everyday activities. Although one might perceive it to be a boring lifestyle, the townspeople do not, and rather go about their everyday business, submitting to authority. They seem to enjoy it, even though it is just because they are ignorant of there being any other way or ways to live. In one aspect these people are preventing themselves from having free speech or the freedom of thought by just allowing these ridiculous rules to become actual

At first the people question his ideas, and respond to them with rejection, merely because they are not used to it. Subsequently, the boy gradually persuades the townspeople to agree with his point of view. Pleasantville offers insight to the viewers, with its underlying message that people shouldn’t respond to new ideas and opinions with rejection, and rather with contemplation. The scene I chose from the movie Pleasantville is the court scene. In my opinion, this is one of the most important scenes, because it depicts the black and white people on the bottom, and the people in full color on the balcony. This was an allusion to the 50’s, and how there was segregation back then. David and his friend the bartender at the diner are in court defending themselves for their supposed “criminal acts”. As time passes by, they manage to convince people in the courtroom that their point of view is a good one. The movie depicts a multitude of people turning from black and white to full colour, as their opinions change. In the movie pleasantville, the people change into colour when they change their perspective on the world, society, and their opinions. When David stood up to defend himself in the courtroom, he was immediately shot down with the biased judge stating that there is to be no defending of a person in court. That clip is also very important in the movie, as it shows how pleasantville was like a dictatorship, and we can equate it to the modern kind of dictatorships we see