Pleasantville

Essay by plutoend99High School, 11th gradeA-, January 2008

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Identify the main characters in the film. Identify what each character is searching for and whether or not they attain it in the end.

David Wagner is one of the main character in the film, a shy suburban boy who has few friends and cannot drum up the courage to talk to a girl on whom he has a crush on. He spends most of his spare time on the couch, watching a sitcom called Pleasantville on TV, which he is obsessed with; He is a devoted fan and knows everything about the show. However, as the movie progresses he learns to be braver and more of a leader, finally culminating in attaining colour when he protects his mother from a gang. He is searching for love and acceptance, and this he gets when he asks out Margaret in Pleasantville.

Jennifer, David's sister, is quite unlike David in that she is much more socially adept.

Jennifer is searching for success in school and career, which she obtains when she is accepted to college in Pleasantville. Betty Parker, the mother of Mary Sue and Bud, seeks a more fulfilling relationship. She has an extramarital affair with the restaurant owner when she meets him, and it is also implied in the final shot that she does start a relationship with him.

George, father of the Parker family, is a proponent of continuity and abhors change. However, he does not get what he wishes for when the entirety of Pleasantville becomes coloured and old traditions and values are lost. Finally, contrary to the latter, the restaurant owner becomes unsatisfied with his repetitive life when David breaks their routine, and gets the changes that he wants with the introduction of art and the affair with Betty.

Compare and contrast the setting of Pleasantville at...