Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Pleasantville

The peacetime prosperity that American society enjoyed in the post-WWII years created an image of the perfect society. American society of the 1950s was immortalized and idealized in such black and white sitcoms as Father Knows Best, The Donna Reed Show and Leave It To Beaver. Pre-Civil Rights movement, society itself was still relatively divided into black and white literally as well as figuratively. Pre-Vietnam, pre-Watergate, and pre-Internet, society of the era seems simpler and more defined through the lens of time. The Nelsons of Ozzie & Harriet exemplified the archetypal American family and, as such, the rewards of the American Dream. In Pleasantville we are taken back in time to 1950s America, one that exhibits a black and white starched version of family. However, the adventures of Dave and Jennifer when transported to this 1950s utopia demonstrate that such a utopian lifestyle is dramatically limiting.

In Harmony At Home, the author maintains that high divorce rates, economic hardships, the rise of single-parent and alternative families, and a growing understanding of domestic violence have combined as forces to make many Americans reconsider their definition of family life and the “ideal” family. As the author argues, “America has begun to worry about the health of its families: even the families on TV no longer reflect the domestic tranquility of the Anderson clan. America is becoming increasingly ambivalent about the future of family life, and perhaps with good reason” (19).

Despite these changes in American society with respect to family life, family life in 1950s America might appear better through the rose colored lenses of memory than it was in reality. This is particularly true if the film Pleasantville is to be taken as truth. Pleasantville demonstrates that far from being an idealized, utopian way of existence, family life in 1950s America was quite limiting. Family interaction often bordere...

Page 1 of 6 Next >

More on Pleasantville...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Pleasantville. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:10, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1686128.html