NCEA ENGLISH : Pleasantville Conformity Essay – Flashcards

"It gives me great pleasure indeed to see the stubborness of an incorrigible nonconformist warmly acclaimed." -Albert Einstein

"No. David, nobody is happy in a poodle skirt and a sweater set." -Jennifer

"It is time now to save the I dangers species, the individual." -Marty Rubin

"There is no right car or right house"- Final scene where David is with his 1990's mother comforting her that she doesn't need to conform, that there is no right life, just to be happy with who she was. "We must separate the things that are pleasant from the things that are unpleasant" -Mayor Big Bob says during a meeting that the conformist's should be kept separate from the non-conformist people because they aren't "true citizens". This dialogue in the scene from Pleasantville alludes to the Black Civil Rights movement in America. Where people were separated by colour for more than 300 years, first through slavery, and then through the infamous Jim Crow laws. Gary Ross, with this clever screenwriting alludes to many historical events such as BCR and apartheid, further impressing on me, as the audience, the ominous consequences that can come from discriminating against those who don't conform. "You and your coloured girlfriend" Whitey says to David when he is seen with his coloured girlfriend and refuses to turn against her and go to the anti-coloured town meeting.

The director of Pleasantville and screenwriter (for dialogue) and director of symbolism

Director of cinematography

Costume design

The three paragraph topics of the symbolism essay question

The two possible essay topics for Pleasantville

The four paragraph topics of the language features essay question

Makeup artist

-tight fitting clothing showed off the women's curves, to tease the men and their near-identical curled, bobbed hairstyles reminiscent of the 1950's added to the conformist idea, represented the way that they were all supposed to look and act the same and avoid standing out. -Betty, David's Pleasantville mother always wore strongly 1950's clothing and hairstyles, but, as Jennifer says in the film, "nobody is happy in a poodle skirt and a sweater set". When Betty has a sexual awakening and turns to colour, her clothing becomes more loose fitting and she, alongside the other people who no longer conform, dress with more variety and less structure, almost as if to represent that they were no longer constrained by conformist expectations. -The use of makeup in the film also contributes to the ideas of conformity and discrimination. In 'Betty's Makeup scene', Betty is discriminated against because of her outward conformity displayed on her coloured skin and she seeks to cover it with monochromatic makeup. This shows the way that Betty is restricted by the oppressive expectations place upon her by society; so much so that she is uncomfortable in her own skin. Betty tries so hard to conform in this scene, and the use of makeup conveys to the audience the full extent that discrimination has on enforcing conformity.

-long shot in the court room showing the segregation of conformist folks from non-conformist's and highlights the way that non-conformity is discriminated against it eh point of