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Comparing Pleasantville And Pleasantville

Decent Essays

In the novel ‘The Giver’ written by Lois Lowry, and the film, ‘Pleasantville’ by Gary Ross, there are many similarities and differences in the themes and ideas explored. These are represented in the novel and movie’s main themes, such as freedom and choice, colour and the description of utopian and dystopian societies.
Comparing both ‘The Giver’ and ‘Pleasantville’, they each deeply explore the theme of freedom and choice. In ‘The Giver’, the citizens of the community live in a world where they make very little decisions of their own, and lead a life where everything is set. "Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness.” For example, no one gets a choice at want they want to do in life, as the elders decide their futures at the age of twelve. The only two people in the community that can independently think are Jonas and The Giver, due to having memories of the past, when everyone could think freely and feel real emotions. Similarly, in ‘Pleasantville’, the characters also have little control as they are deprived of independent thought and follow the same routine every day. The simple clarity of black and white matches the idealised nature of the world, where everything is perfect and simple. Everyone in Pleasantville has given up colour, knowledge, new experiences and pleasure in order to keep things “pleasant” and uniform. In the beginning of both ‘The Giver’ and ‘Pleasantville’, their worlds are in black and white. As Jonas, and the citizens of Pleasantville start to discover new things about the "real world" and individuality, both worlds slowly start turning to colour. “If everything's the same, then there aren't any choices! I want to wake up in the morning and decide things!”
Another common theme is the audience perception of the societies morphing from utopia to dystopia as both texts progress. Initially in ‘The Giver’ and ‘Pleasantville’, the communities are portrayed as a perfect place where everything is orderly and efficient. “How could someone not fit in? The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices are made so carefully.” The citizens of both communities are protected from human conditions like pain, hunger, homelessness, and anything that would be of inconvenience to

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