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Pleasantville (1998)

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Pleasantville (1998)

Comments

This is genuinely one of my all time favourite movies. The social commentary was always clever the way it was done, and points to a lot of real things that have happened (like the court room with all the "colors" sitting upstairs etc) It's a damning piece of evidence that history repeats over and over, and people can go to both extremes of being vile and hate filled, or loving and accepting. From a very cheesy standpoint, this movie has a significant connection to me. After meeting my partner nearly 12 years ago my eyes opened to how dark and miserable (black and white) my life had been, and how she brought colours into my world and showed me what life was supposed to be like. What love really is, and what a family should be. I also noticed on this watch Jonathan and Riley from Buffy were in the cast that I've somehow never noticed before. Really enjoyed the watchalong on this.

Grif Kane

Eh, WandaVision wishes it could be as good as this movie. This movie has so many layers to it.

Terri

Came here looking for this comment!

Tatumness

Because it's "socially aware." That's what "woke" means.

Jessi

๐Ÿ’œ๐Ÿ’œ it was on my list as well

Jenny Lee Villanueva

The word woke makes my skin crawl itโ€™s such a cringey word. How the hell is this movie considered woke to people?

James

I haven't watched this since it first came out. I wasn't expecting it to feel this relevant. I guess people will always be afraid of change .

Bradley Weeks

Lovely film! Great cast and story. Thanks for choosing it. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Jan T

I forgot how good this movie was, this was an awesome watch!

Venom

This is one of my favorites. Although it initially appeared that Jennifer (Mary Sue) went through the biggest metamorphosis from slut to academic, David (Bud) also had a more subtle transformation. In the beginning he tuned out his mother's frustration and did not even appear to interact with her before she left or care about her feelings. However, when he returned he did not ignore her pain and stepped up to offer her love and comfort. So, maybe this was the purpose after all; not to change Pleasantville and its inhabitants, but to change the angst and unhappiness of David and Jennifer. To give them direction, purpose and empathy. That would explain the sly smile from Don Knotts (TV Repairman) at the end.

Cindy

It's a fantasy film. The how & whys don't really matter as such. Just enjoy the tale. And the artfully done social commentary wrapped in a more conventional package. Thank you for picking this one. Great reaction.

Wendy Sparks

Only teaching "the non change-ist view of History." Talk about relevance. We're dealing with this sort of idiocy today.

Octavia

YES!! So glad you watched my suggestion ๐Ÿฅฐ

Harriet Harvey

Rave on!

Gerald Colborn

Yeah, this movie came out about 26 years too early. Here we are terrified of D. H. Lawrence again. No fewer than 14 states here in America are banning books again. When the phrase "Make America Great Again" came about, many asked, "What do you mean by 'Again', what time are you referring too?" It was this time, when even depicting the sharing of beds by married couples was inappropriate for the masses. It was an illusion. This is their ideal world, except not as pleasant and without the guns. Very prescient.

Gerald Colborn

Yeah. That watch pissed me off. LOL I wish the ignorant had not taken the word, "Woke" (attributed to 1930s blues song "Scottsboro Boys" to mean "socially aware") and absolutely ruined all hope for progress until we educate them out of existence. This movie is "woke", in fact...most movies are. But this one uses physical manifestations of color to examine what it means to be "aware". It hits on everyone and absolutely nobody is immune to it (another thing the modern ignorant have a funny way of ignoring). You either change, or you fight it - it's just the way it is. One surefire way to know if change is good, is to look at the character and methods of those fighting it. Anyone who wants to fight change with facts, with compassion, with thoughtful action is entirely too rare today because it's seen as the easier path to subjugate, ridicule, ostracize, persecute, shun, and - eventually - violently repel. Think. THINK. Are the ones who turn to hate EVER the good guys? Ever? I'm proudly "woke" and anyone who isn't, I feel is simply ignorant or full of hate, or both. It's like someone saying, "I'm not a feminist but I believe in equal rights." - You're believing in hateful propaganda is what you mean (because that's what feminism means, dum dum.) Any "feminist" who isn't for equal rights....isn't one. Any "woke" person who believes in subjugating anyone based on traits they cannot control...isn't one. Ok. Soapbox done. But it's ya'll's fault for watching such a lovely movie with such sad modern reminders that we've allowed those who never wanted to share or give up their unearned places at the "top" to take us so far backward.

Jessi

Your Picks are always such good movies! ๐Ÿ’•

Abby

For me, this movie is much more than the obvious -isms. But about awakenings... and the idealization of the past. A trap we all tend to fall into. WandaVision utilized this theme as well... the comfort of beloved sitcoms, where things are wholesome and simpler, and any bumps are resolved in 23 minutes. But it's just a placebo. Wonderful cast here... beautifully filmed. I appreciate this movie more now than when I first watched it. I don't mind it not being subtle in its parallels... because unfortunately subtle does not get thru to those who need awakenings most of all. And we're still struggling with these mindsets today.

Octavia

This movie was actually pretty funny i love how it plays on old tropes. It did remind me a lot of wandavision as well. I love skip his facial expressions, they were killing me.

James

Yeah, this movie is a visual masterpiece. Apparently, the black and white makeup the mother puts on was actually green so they could composite it over real-world color when desaturated...or something like that. She probably looked like the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz on set... I like how this movie kinda makes fun of 1950s sitcoms and their "fakeness." The only thing more annoying than '50s sitcoms are people who think the real 1950s were actually like that. That's like saying Friends is an accurate depiction of the '90s...

Michael Celia

I was 13 when this movie came out. At the time, it was inspiring and empowering. Today, as a woman, I find it frustrating that I feel less value, less powerful, less hopeful, and less...everything now. The early 2000s really knocked the joy out of the entire century so far... but, sure, I'll time-travel with you guys for a bit!

Jessi

Love this movie, thanks for reacting. Who Framed Roger Rabbit is another movie that you'll like.

Jenny Lee Villanueva

Really enjoyed this reaction, I had seen this movie years ago but didn't know the name of it at the time, I think I enjoyed watching it more the second time.

James Pritchard

Absolutely agree!

Jan T

That movie is slept on. Objectively probably a better film than this but I like them both very much. Also, it is like peak Brendan Fraser.

James W.

I recommend Blast From the Past after watching this

Victoria Davis

I think it got a lot of flack for being so heavy handed with it's messaging but I just dig what they were trying to do and the presentation is dope. It always kills me in the scene where George (William H Macy's character) comes home and is so flustered that his wife isn't home and his dinner isn't on the table. In the current social climate in the US, it feels like every conservative manosphere dudebro is just looking around like George saying "Where's my dinner?" rather than lifting a finger to make their own, or feeling any self-awareness or reflection. Not complicated and the premise is a bit wonky but it is a good watch. I also think the Fiona Apple cover of "Across the Universe" was linked to this movie and that video took some stylistic notes from this movie. Good cover.

James W.


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