Movie Review — Pleasantville

Title: Pleasantville (1998)

Director & Writer: Gary Ross

Cast: Tobey Mcguire as David; Reese Witherspoon as Jennifer; William H. Macy as George Parker; Joan Allen as Betty Parker; Jeff Daniels as Bill Johnson; J.T. Walsh as Big Bob

“The movie is about the fact that personal repression gives rise to larger political oppression… That when we are afraid of certain things in ourselves or we are afraid of change, we project those fears on to other things, and a lot of ugly social situations can develop” Gary Ross

Discuss the symbolic use of colors in the movie Pleasantville that adress specifically the themes of race, sexuality and personal freedom.

       

I feel that the movie “Pleasantville” is very successful in critiquing the social problems faced by people in the 1950s. These problems include race, sexuality and personal freedom.

The ingenious use of colours established a symbolic value in the movie. When David and Jennifer entered Pleasantville, everything was monochromatic. The director Gary Ross cleverly invoked a sense of loneliness and created the feel of an uneventful and monotonous life.

The appearance of colour hinted to the viewer that Pleasantville was undergoing change and that this change would make the citizens happier. When objects and people gradually turned into saturated colour, the burst of energy and life could be felt, creating a strong impact on the audience. The first tinge of colour that appeared in the movie is a red rose. This symbolises the passion of love–an emotion that had not been felt by citizens of Pleasantville before. It also illustrates the theme of sexuality in the 1950s. As can be seen from the film, citizens of Pleasantville knew nothing about sex. The older generation was very conservative and they were strongly against sexual immorality committed by the teenagers. Teenagers, with their freer mindset, were condemned by the older generation, who were absolutely reluctant to accept their actions. The theme of sexuality surfaced in the movie again when crowds gathered around a painting on the glass window of Betty’s nude figure. There was a stark contrast between the monochromatic crowd and the brightly coloured painting, emphasizing the difference between the conservative and the liberal mindset on sexuality. By making the painting highly saturated in colour, Gary Ross conveys the message that being more liberal-minded will bring everyone happiness.

Furthermore, when the town was gradually coloured, we can compare the expressions of true happiness and artificial happiness. The artificial happiness in the monochromatic world was a mere facade put on by idealistic characters. As compared to the teenagers who are “coloured”, one can feel the superficiality of the smiles of those who are “uncoloured”, for example the Father of Bud, George Parker and the mayor.

Ross also emphasised the need for personal freedom through clever use of colour. The people in Pleasantville only turned “coloured” when they broke out of social norm and defied the laws that conventional society crafted. Mary Sue turned “coloured” when she started reading and found joy in it. She turned “coloured” because she dared to change. Bud turned “coloured” when he defended his mother Betty from a band of thugs. He had the courage to do something that he never dared to do before. Teenagers turned “coloured” when they disobeyed their parents and had sex. Bill Johnson turned “coloured” when he started to paint. He, like the others, did something they desired and this desire surpassed the limits of society.

People also turned “coloured” when they expressed the true emotion deep down in their hearts that were concealed by society’s restrictions and limits imposed on them. The mayor turned “coloured” when he flared up and yelled at Bud — he never did that in what was an idealistic, over-sentimalized Pleasantville where everybody were nice to each other. George Parker , the stereotypical 1950s working father, turned “coloured” when he felt the love for his wife Betty and expressed it. Before that, he never expressed his love for her, and this true emotion was kept in the darkest corner of his heart. Through this gradual appearance of colour in the movie,  Gary Ross brought across the importance of personal freedom by showing that personal freedom will bring everyone happiness, and that the freedom to express our true emotions without limits imposed on us will lead to a more blissful world.

The use of colour also portrayed the social problem of race. Gary Ross mocks the way people discriminate each other by skin colour and crticises the unwillingness of people to accept each other. By painting the terms “black”, “white”, and “coloured” in the film, distinguished groups of people are established. These different groups of people represent the general idea of race in the world today. There is “white” who are the Americans and Europeans, “black” who are the African-Americans, and the “coloured” who are the rest of the racial groups in the world who do not fit neither into “black” nor “white”. By showing the hostile attitude that the “black and white” people have towards the “coloureds”, Ross portrays the discrimination against other races in America. He further crticises this attitude because it results in a lose-lose situation where both parties do not benefit. The “black and white” people did not gain any good out of burning books and destroying property. The only way to live in a harmonious society will be to accept one another and embrace one another’s differences.

Racial tensions are intensified by the stark contrast between the “coloureds” and the “black and whites”.  The courtroom scene is a portrayal of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. The “coloreds” sat in the second floor balcony seats, where Black Americans sat in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, and the black and white people are sitting on the floor seats of the courtroom. By creating the impression of “To Kill a Mockingbird” in the film, Gary Ross highlights the racial tension and unfair treatment of the “coloureds” just because they were different.

In conclusion, the symbolic use of colour has addressed the problems of personal freedom and race, mocking political oppression and moral values fixed by the society. The film advocates freedom for everyone and urges everyone to dare to be different, and at the same time, accept the people who are different around us.

~ by cxetheresa on February 21, 2008.