Pleasantville

          Pleasantville presented an interesting perspective of simulated life in the 1950s which related to several of the previously assigned readings. The world presented in the movie was one that was not reality, but pure spectacle, as the TV show was created to be an exaggerated stereotype of 50s life. Just as Dorfman and Matterlart state that media created for children by adults is built with what the creators see as idealized childhood, thus inventing childhood for the child,¹ Pleasantville (the TV show within the film) is created with the producers ideas, which have a tremendous impact on the two protagonists. In the plot of the film, the two protagonists end up inside the TV show. This is similar to the commodity becoming the spectacle through the actions of the consuming class. ² Another theme that arose from the film was the media can be a part of the message. The fact that the film presents a “real” life and a TV show that becomes a “reality” allows the plot to be carried out through different mediations. The segments of the film in the current time present a different message than the segments in the TV show. This relates to McLuhan‘s “The Medium is the Message.” ³

          Marling’s book also related greatly to the film. Marling claims that the visual culture of everyday life in the 1950’s was a byproduct of the color, style and motion presented by television. ⁴ The TV was a major character in the Pleasantville. At the beginning of the film, the two main characters had conflicting plans for the evening, both of which revolved around TV. It was made clear in scenes that took place in the school that the TV had a huge effect on the lives of both characters, rendering one a social outcast and one a member of the “in crowd” a la MTV circa 1998. Obviously, the television went on to have a huge effect as the characters get sucked in to Pleasantville-world, but the most interesting aspect of television comes in the form of the television repair guy. This character is the reason the two kids get sucked into TV and is in total control of the situation. The interesting aspect of this character is that he communicates to the children thought TV. The protagonists paradoxically look into the television as their only link to the “real world,” with the existence of reality depending on TV. This mimics the circle of spectacle and commodity seen by Guy Debord. ⁵




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1 Ariel dorfman and Armand Matterlart. "Introduction: Instruction on How to Become a General in the Disney Club." Media and cultural Studies: Keyworks (2006): 122
2 Guy Debord. "The commodity as spectacle." Media and cultural Studies: Keyworks (2006): 117.
3 McLuhan, Marshall. "The Medium is the Message." Media and cultural Studies: Key works (2006): 107.
4 Marling, Karal Ann. As seen on TV. Cambridge MA: Harvard University press, 1994. p6
5 Guy Debord. "The commodity as spectacle." Media and cultural Studies: Keyworks (2006): 119.