Themes In Pleasantville

“Change is the law of life. Those who look only to the past or present, are certain to miss the future” (Peters, Wolly). A famous quote stating that change is normal, necessary, and sometimes needed whether it is wanted or not. The citizens of Pleasantville lived the same life, day by day, with no variation. This is why they fear change, but they soon find out change is not entirely a bad thing though it may appear to be. An analysis of Gary Ross’ movie Pleasantville reveals that change may seem petrifying because of how foreign it is to them, but change is inevitable.

The theme of the movie Pleasantville is things change and people change, regardless if it is not accepted. In the movie, change means progression in their lives, and not just

Change is what the issue or conflict is in this case. If the theme hadn’t been what is was, the conflict would not have been a community wide issue. This could have just been a family issue or a group issue, but the theme applies to both society and individuals, so this sets up conflict so that it must affect all of society and the entire community of Pleasantville. It sets up conflict because is causes a difference in the life of the townspeople, and nonconformity mixed with conformity leads to disagreement, which is inevitable to avoid. The theme supports the conflict because it creates an environment for disagreement and chaos. Change is a part of life for individuals and society as well. For example, in the movie if Mary Sue had never taken Skip to lovers lane, the conflict of the movie dealing with change would have never been set up. The conflict helps create the theme of it, and the theme would be completely different if the conflict of change within the community was not present. The movie would not be able to relate to everyone as well as it does. This is how conflict sets up and helps the theme develop. After an analysis on how conflict can affect the theme of a paper, it is easier to understand how important both elements create a meaningful

In today’s society, change has learned to be accepted. An example of the movie’s theme that relates to today’s society would be every time a new president is elected. Just like citizens in the movie were used to their everyday lives, in today’s society, people can get used to having a certain president, and feel as if change in one is odd and different. Regardless though, things change and people change. This is the same as in Pleasantville, because in the society things had changed and so had its people, but regardless of it’s citizens opinion on the conflict, things in the city and it’s people had changed over time. Change must be accepted in order to make progress, or progress is not at all possible. The world would still be living in yesterday’s life, but would be living it today. Another example to relatable to most would be someone change over the years. As someone close to that certain individual gets used to their characteristics, one may get used to that person. But changes overtime occur regardless of their emotions towards that change. “The dead leave their shadows, an echo of the space within which once they lived. They haunt us, never fading or growing older as we do. The loss we grieve is not just their futures but our own” (Palen). Change must be accepted, and understand it is to come.