How does the movies `The Truman Show’ and `Pleasantville’ show how the American families live?
First thing is to SEE both movies. They both present in different ways an idealized version of America. Truman is really about the world’s obsession with “reality” shows, taken to the extreme of following a person from the moment of their birth, through childhood to adulthood. All set in a perfect, stereotype American town. Pleasantville is a little more “fantastic” in that modern 90’s teens find themselves (somehow) in a 1950’s black & white TV show (imagine The Andy Griffith Show or Leave it to Beaver) and how their interaction with the characters bring “color”, literally, to the lives of the inhabitants. Both movies depend on the audience being familiar with bith mosern reality shows and with the simplistic versions of real life in the old TV shows. Watch the movies and make notes on all the stereotypes used; the kindly neighbor, the school bully, the shy teen girl, etc etc…
