The Portrayal of Conformity as the Enemy of Progress in the Films, "Pleasantville" and Michael Moore's "The Big One"

875 Words2 Pages

Michael Moore states in his film that we are now living in sick times, a time where financial profit is more important than human lives. That is not true although in the 1950s were “Pleasantville” is set. It is an Idyllic time where structure, laws and family values are widespread throughout the land; it is more highlighted to be golden age as we are subjected to David and Jennifer’s modern world, a world very similar to our own where the college counsellor shatters dreams, the health teachers labels the act of non-monogamous relations as dangerous and deadly and to add insult to injury the science teacher warns of further catastrophe as the ozone layer depletes, the stunned students in this world look to a future of despair. Even though Pleasantville looks to be pretty tempting by this point, that world is not all lollipops and rainbows. It is in fact very black and white. The film “Pleasantville” and the Michael Moore documentary “The Big One” show how sinister the trend of conformity could be as a result of change which is caused by racism, prejudice and discrimination. The film “Pleasantville” has a very different plot from the realism of the issues raised in “The Big one” but both explore different societal issues and how both films relate in terms of their themes.

The concept of discrimination is complex in the case of “The Big One” in this case, corporations in the United States of America such as Nike, Spalding, Microsoft and AT&T are not willing to change their ways of manufacturing their goods in third world countries and American detention centres, and this causes perfectly able bodied employees in the United States to become unemployed as more and more companies apply this measure to make additional profit for themsel...

... middle of paper ...

...ily instead of able bodied Americans (who they would have to pay 5 to 10 dollars per hour) are struggling in the job market. From this it can be concluded that a specific message that both films possess is that change is good and it is an essential element towards development. That is the reason why documentary film maker Michael Moore emphasizes in his documentary those American companies are required to hire Americans. In the film “Pleasantville” a great example of the above theme occurs when Jennifer points out two teenagers as proof that the citizens of Pleasantville have an abundance of potential, according to her they simply do not know any better. Two teenagers can be seen having a conversation, they seem to be engaged in a conversation but it is simply not going anywhere, but as they both begin to get physically closer the girl’s bubble gum develops colour.

More about The Portrayal of Conformity as the Enemy of Progress in the Films, "Pleasantville" and Michael Moore's "The Big One"

Open Document