Pleasantville = liberal?
Check out this blog post. Is Pleasantville the most liberal movie ever?
http://reelchange.net/2012/04/22/the-most-liberal-movie-of-all-time-pleasantville/
If we take Tobey Maguire's character as our lead protagonist, then the film's arc is essentially an attack on nostalgia. David (Maguire) lives with a single mother and a shallow sister. His life sort of sucks. He yearns for the simpler, wholesome times that Pleasantville represents. It's a town in a world full of introverts, like him. Everyone is repressing their emotion, so oppression becomes ok. It isn't until the repression starts to crumble that the oppression becomes more demonstrative. It's telling that the last set of citizens to become colored are the fathers. They yearn the least for things to be different from the way they are, because even as repressed men, they still lead their households and their city.
That the film seems to attack conservatism is only a reflection of the fact that conservatism was the political ideology in power in the 50's. The Pleasantville vision of America is the one sold by Fox News and the louder talking heads of the GOP as well. It's the vision Sarah Palin referred to when she said some parts of the country are more American than others. The reason is simple. Fox News' viewership, as well as a large portion of the GOP and tea Party's base are roughly in the same demographic as those Pleasantville fathers. They're mad as hell that things have gotten away from the good 'ol days, but they either can't see or don't care that those days were only ever good for them.
This film isn't necessarily about liberalism vs. conservatism. It's about expression in the face of oppression and the dangers of nostalgia.
that's a very thoughtful and cogent post, FmUoCoKk. cheers.
shareIt amuses me when I hear uninformed liberals try to pigeonhole conservatives in their twisted, narrow interpretation. Conservatives don't want to go back to the 1950s. We want to get back to one simple concept in this country: follow the Constitution. Currently, we have an imperial President who violates the Constitution every single day. How should conservatives, who value the principles written into the Constitution, react when they find the brilliance of Jefferson, Adams, Madison and Franklin subordinated to the modern-day whims of idealogues who couldn't tell you which river Washington crossed to defeat the British?
As far as the Tea Party goes... I hear liberals all the time calling Tea Party members "racist," "brain dead," "violent" and worse. Though I don't really call myself a Tea Party member, I've attended a few of their rallies. I've seen people of all races, all generations, and I've not heard a single racist comment, a single advocacy for violence, or any anti-anything commentary except that against the excessive confiscatory policy of the government and the out of control spending that grows on and on... endlessly. At one rally, there were some well-placed "plants" who were a little disruptive, but they were kindly but persistently asked to leave, which they eventually did.
Liberals claim they are the "tolerant" ones, but in reality they are violently intolerant of those who dare disagree with them. They would sooner destroy a political adversary than kill a terrorist. Their ideology is counter to personal freedom and is anathema to the founding principles of this country.
Bush took his own liberties against the constitution and your own personal freedom. He also signed for the stimulus package in 2007. Did you rally against that?
" idealogues who couldn't tell you which river Washington crossed to defeat the British? "
Are you referring to Sarah Palin? And you expect us to take your party seriously when that is candidate you have to offer as the person a heart beat away from the presidency? lol.
"As far as the Tea Party goes... I hear liberals all the time calling Tea Party members "racist," "brain dead," "violent" and worse. Though I don't really call myself a Tea Party member, I've attended a few of their rallies. I've seen people of all races, all generations, and I've not heard a single racist comment, a single advocacy for violence, or any anti-anything commentary"
Read a foxnews.com comment section.
" but in reality they are violently intolerant of those who dare disagree with them"
Examples please?
How many outspoken liberal advocates have been assassinated? Who beat up blacks and women and gays? Where the KKK liberal? The Tea Party is just a bunch of scared white people afraid of losing absolute power because they've had it so good for so long.
Bush took his own liberties against the constitution
This is a false, but typical counter argument technique. It's similar to something we all learned on the playground if a teacher scolded us for bad behavior. We would attempt to avoid punishment by countering her accusations by saying that some other kid did it too, as if that somehow negated our own culpability. However, if that's your actual argument, stick with it.
"idealogues who couldn't tell you which river Washington crossed to defeat the British? "
Are you referring to Sarah Palin? And you expect us to take your party seriously when that is candidate you have to offer as the person a heart beat away from the presidency? lol.
Another false technique used to shift the debate into an opportunity to bash someone, in this case Sarah Palin. Again, if that's all you've got, by all means use it, but keep in mind that Joe Biden literally is a heartbeat away from the presidency. You know, the VP who reminds us of the three-letter word J-O-B-S, or telling Senator Graham to stand up without noticing he was confined to a wheelchair, but all of these were simple brain farts which GWB was also famous for. The stuff that bothered me were statements that sounded racist, like his comment about emigrants from India. Biden said in Delaware you can't go to a 7-11 or Dunkin' Donuts "unless you have a slight Indian accent. I'm not joking!"
Even that pales in comparison to what he said of Obama, "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that's a storybook, man." I have no words for this comment from Biden. It's easy to take him as a mere buffoon most of the time, but for all the jokes at GWB's expense, which included his scholastic scores, you have Biden, again, using your words about being a "heartbeat" away from the presidency, he was found guilty of plagiarism in law school and received an "F" but begged for a do-over and got a "B" the second time around.
He said he finished in the top half of his class when in reality he finished 76th out of 85. I'd pop in a fat "LOL" at this point if it weren't so scary and for the fact that he also plagiarized Robert Kennedy, JFK, Hubert Humphrey and Neil Kinnock, the British Labour Party leader. There's a youtube video that covers his plagiarism : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIaALKHVrAA
"but in reality they are violently intolerant of those who dare disagree with them"
Examples please?
Examples of violent intolerance from the left? No problem How about the May Day protests in Seattle that became violent (second year in a row) when protesters began throwing bottles, rocks and anything else they could get their hands on at the police because the police tried to stop them when they started marching towards the Westlake mall chanting "let's go shopping!" The police were able to stop them with pepper spray and "blast balls" which produce a loud report and also deliver pepper spray, but not before the protesters broke the windows of at least two businesses. Eight policemen were injured.
During an L.A. Occupy Wall Street protest, one of the protesters hit an officer in the head with a skateboard and he was taken to the hospital. If you think being hit by a skateboard is a minor matter, check out this protester trying to bust a Walgreens' window with a huge heavy skateboard :http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130502_seattle rumble.380;380;7;70;0.jpg
I did a fair amount of research in order to answer your questions, but if you need more examples, there were certainly many more. As to the original question posed by the OP of this thread, yes, obviously Pleasantville is not only a liberal POV, but extremely judgmental of an era Gary Ross (the writer/director) could have no empiric knowledge of since Pleasantville took place in 1958 and he was born in 1956. That's generally no big deal and even an unfair assessment, but in this case when the writer takes it upon himself to label an entire generation as racist ignorant people, it does become important. Also, had he researched TV of that era he'd be surprised, especially if he chose the much maligned Leave it to Beaver.
There's an episode where Beaver has an Hispanic friend named Chuey. That's probably one of the earliest, if not the earliest such depictions. There was also an episode that dealt with a friend whose parents were divorced and the affect it had on the boy, or his mother who would get "weepie" and he had to cut his visit to Beaver short to go home and comfort her. He also helped a homeless man. In my opinion Ross was the ignorant person, not the characters from 1950s television. share
Wow, everything you accused me of, you did the exact same thing. Except all of your examples wear weaker. And the Bush administration taking liberties with the constitution is a fact. And giving an example (Palin) to counter a false statement is not "another false technique". It's called reality. Something you people have a mighty time struggling with. I'll take Biden over a pageant queen any day. So would the majority of intelligent people. He may not have the most tact but he isn't a Palin-level moron.
shareAmazing! I am an Australian professional and have been a film buff for over 40 years; I rated Pleasantville as a 9, one of the most interesting, intelligent and beautifully crafted films of its time. We receive more information here about US politics than we want to know about. The film is obviously a criticism and analysis of US social mores of the 1950s, and certainly it criticises bigotry and censorship, as the first 9/10 review by [email protected] so concisely states. However, why does this have to be so laboriously connected to the US political system? Politics is many shades of grey, not black and white, and whether you are a Democrat or Republican, the specific messages in Pleasantville are about universal themes of not allowing people to be as they want to be, or are entitled to be. This very important theme is, to not miss the point, beautifully realised in cinematic terms; the acting, photography, sets, music and the highly creative direction are all superb. Not many films of this beauty and intellectual meat are made in the US blockbuster factory; I really appreciate it when they turn up, so a huge thank you to all those involved!
shareWell said Oz! Too often, I find IMDb messageboard threads are overly US-centric and degenerate into mud-slinging between 'conservatives' and 'liberals' (classifications that have a different set of connotations associated with them outside US politics). Pleasantville is a great film becuase its themes are universally recognisable. Just because it concerns a version of 1950s America as filtered through the lens of a period TV show, it does not mean that it can speak only to Americans or to those who lived through that period. The themes of change, personal growth and - perhaps, most importantly, the fear of change - are universal and, as such, Pleasantville is a brilliant little gem of a movie!
shareYeah, I'm an Australian too and I think the US political angle has been done to death.
It could just as easily be viewed as a precis of the social history of the last 60 years, irrespective of political flavour.
I've been a film buff for 20 years and rated it an 8/10. I took off a couple of points for some sloppy camera framing and placement (the lighting was great though).
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The brainwashing is strong with this one...
We're from the planet Duplon. We are here to destroy you.share