State(s) of the Future:

Utopian- an ideal society where conflict is minimal; a perfect world

Dystopia- a society surrounded by conflict and imperfection.

In Pleasantville, USA, there has never been any rain.

There has never been hatred, aggression, or tears.

In Pleasantville, USA, there has never been a passionate kiss.

There has never been a flat tire, a red rose or a work of art.

Until now.

Summary of film:

David Wagner is a Nineties kid with a fifties addiction. He’s hooked on reruns of a classic television show called "Pleasantville", set in a simple place where everyone is swell and perky, "confrontation" is a dirty word and life is pleasingly pleasant. Addicted to this utopian world, David immerses himself in "Pleasantville" as an innocent escape from the trouble-plagued real world (dystopia) that he is surrounded in. But one evening, life takes a bizarre twist when he and his sister are zapped into the world of Pleasantville.

Explanation of film clip:

My goal is to compare the two worlds of Utopia and Dystopia from using a clip from the film. In the film, there will be statistics stated regarding the real life problems of education, diseases such as AIDS, and natural disasters. It will lead into David sitting on the couch watching the show "Pleasantville" and he is observing how perfect the family life is, while his divorced parents are fighting on the phone behind him about who will keep him and his sister the following weekend.

Question for discussion:

Do you think there was ever a utopian society in the fifties? Do you think that utopian societies exist today? If so, who are they and where are they?

Sources:

Pleasantville. Gary Ross, 1998

 HYPERLINK http://movieweb.com/movie/pleasantville/
http://movieweb.com/movie/pleasantville/

 HYPERLINK http://www.dvdjournal.com./reviews/pleasantville.html

http://www.dvdjournal.com./reviews/pleasantville.html