Pleasantville poster

Pleasantville Quotes

"Nothing is as simple as black and white."

PG-13 1998 · 2h 4m
73
Audience
73
Audience
31 quotes
Appreciating the Beauty of Colors
Bill Johnson Where am I going to see colors like that? Must be awfully ]y to see colors like that. I bet they don't even ] how lucky they are.
[[luck; [know]
Rules for a Pleasant Community
Big Bob This is not the answer, people. No matter how upset we may get, or how frustrated we may be, we're not gonna solve our problems out in the street. It's just the wrong way to do it. We have to have a "Code of Conduct" we can all agree to live by. Now, I asked George and Burt here to sketch out some ideas — and I think they've done a terrific job. If we all agree on these then we can take a vote and I think we'll start to move in the right direction. "ONE: All public disruption and acts of vandalism are to cease immediately. TWO: All citizens of Pleasantville are to treat one another in a courteous and pleasant manner...
Lisa Anne Courteous and Pleasant manner." That doesn't sound too bad.
Kids Oh my gosh.... No....
David/Bud FIVE: There shall be no public sale of umbrellas or preparation for inclement weather of any kind. SIX: No bedframe or mattress may be sold measuring more than 38 inches wide. SEVEN: The only permissible paint colors shall be BLACK, WHITE or GRAY, despite the recent availability of certain alternatives. EIGHT: All elementary and high school curriculums shall teach the "non-changist" view of history — emphasizing "continuity" over "alteration." Wow.
Separating Pleasant from Unpleasant Realities
Big Bob ], people.... I think we all know what's going on here. Up until now everything around here has been, well, ]. Recently certain things have become unpleasant. It seems to me that the first thing we have to do is to separate out the things that are pleasant from the things that are unpleasant.
[[People; [Pleasure|pleasant]
Endless Waves of Emotion and Reflection
Theme music ] are flowing out like endless ] into a paper cup, They slither while they pass, they slip away across the ]. Pools of ] waves of ] are drifting through my open ], Possessing and caressing me. Jai Guru Deva ]. ]'s gonna ] my ].
[[Words; [rain; [universe; [sorrow; [joy; [mind; [Om; [Nothingness|Nothing; [change; [world]
A Conversation About Someone's Absence
George You know, your mom went out.
David/Bud Went out?
George Yeah. She went out for a little while.
David/Bud When?
George Three days ago.
Complexity Beyond Black and White
Taglines Nothing is as simple as Black and White.
Contrasting Suburbia: A Reflection on Values
Quotes about Pleasantville Pleasantville is a ] tale concerning the values of contemporary suburban America by holding that social landscape up against both the ] and the dystopian ] of suburbia that emerged in the 1950s.
[[morality; [Utopian; [visions]
Uncertainty and Curiosity Among Friends
David/Bud What's going on?
Jennifer/Mary Sue I'm not sure. Um… They wanna ask you a question... I didn't know how to handle it. So....
David/Bud Sure. How you doin'? You wanted to ask me something?
[to the others]
Tommy How'd you know about the ]?
[[fire]
David/Bud What?
Tommy How'd you know how to put it out and all?
David/Bud Oh. Well — where I used to live, that's just what firemen did.
Tommy And where's that?
David/Bud Um... Outside of Pleasantville.
Tommy Well, what's outside of Pleasantville?
David/Bud Look it doesn't matter. It's not important.
Tommy What's outside of Pleasantville?
David/Bud It's really not important.
Margaret What's outside of Pleasantville?
David/Bud There are some places … that the road doesn't go in a ]. There are some places where the road keeps going.
[[circle]
Margaret Keeps going?
David/Bud Yeah, yeah — it just keeps going — it all keeps going. Roads and rivers and …
Will Like the "Mighty Mississippi.
David What?
David/Bud I thought the ] were blank?
[to Jennifer/Mary Sue; [books]
Will They were.
Jennifer/Mary Sue Okay, this was NOT my fault. When they asked me what it was about I didn't remember because I read it like back in tenth grade. When I told them what I did remember, thats when the pages filled in.
David/Bud The pages filled in?
Jennifer/Mary Sue But like only up to the part with the raft, because that's as far as I read.
Tommy Do you know how it ends?
David/Bud Yeah… I do.
Margaret So how does it end?
David/Bud Well, um — okay, let's see…. they were running away — Huck and — and the slave.... they … they were going up the river, trying to get ]…. and — in trying to get free … they see that they're sort of free already…. Oh my ].
[[Freedom|free; The pages fill in by themselves, completing the book; [God]
Dependable TV Repair Services in Pleasantville
Taglines Reliable TV Repair · We'll fix you for good.
Conflict Over Change and Authenticity
David/Bud Cool"? "Cool" ? What are you doing to these people? You can't do this to them!
Jennifer/Mary Sue If I don't do it, who will?
David/Bud No — but they're ] like this!
[[Happiness|happy]
Jennifer/Mary Sue No. David, nobody's happy in a poodle skirt and a sweater set. You really like this don't you? No, its not like you think it's just like ] or dorky or anything … you like — really like it.
[pause; [funny]
David/Bud No, you have it all ].
[[wrong]
Jennifer/Mary Sue ]! I am so personally mortified to be your sister right now.
[[God]
David/Bud You have no right to do this to them.
Jennifer/Mary Sue David, listen to me for just a minute. These people don't want to be geeks. They want to be attractive. They've a lot of potential — they just don't ] any better.
[[Knowledge|know]
A Moment of Reflection in Pleasantville
David Wagner/Bud Parker * To Bill Johnson
A Timely Reflection on Nostalgia and Change
Quotes about Pleasantville Every ] and then, a movie comes along that does the motion picture industry proud. … What seems at first to be a gently ] ] piece gradually turns serious when the twins introduce spontaneity and a dose of 90′s reality to Pleasantville’s pre-programmed denizens. This ] virus, manifesting as color, gradually spreads through the town. While this awakening adds color, ] and ] to their previously rote existence, the unprepared citizens must also come to grips with such decidedly unpleasant scourges as ], ] and ]. When that once-charming black and white 1950′s Main Street view transforms into B&W newsreel-like footage of a ] burning, hatred-spewing mob chanting “No Coloreds,” the film certainly tempers our nostalgia – and cleverly fires its warning shots right across our bow. Sure times are tough in the 90′s, but it ain’t all ] and the “] old days” weren’t always all that good. This is an exquisite, timely film. It’s nice to know that occasionally, even Hollywood does something ].
[[now; [satiric; [nostalgia; [reality; [knowledge; [diversity; [intolerance; [violence; [racism; [book; [bad; [good; [right]
Finding Love in Unexpected Places
Theme music At last My ] has come along My lonely days are over And ] is like a ].
[[love; [life; [song]
Reflections on Change and Tradition in Pleasantville
Quotes about Pleasantville * Merle Bertrand, in a
[http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/861/ review of ''Pleasantville'' at ''Filmthreat'' (26 October 1998)]
Reflections on Suburban Life in Pleasantville
Quotes about Pleasantville * Robert Beuka, in SuburbiaNation : Reading Suburban Landscape in Twentieth-Century American Fiction and Film (2004), p. 14
A Better Choice for Mary Sue
Skip Mary Sue, it's better this way!
[as the townspeople are burning books]
Reflections on Life in Pleasantville
Quotes about Pleasantville * Jay Carr, in
[http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19981027&id=5CEfAAAAIBAJ&sjid=UqYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4615,5823790 "''Pleasantville'' one of the year's delights" in ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Tuscaloosa News'' (27 October 1998)]
Exploring Beyond the Boundaries of Pleasantville
Jennifer/Mary Sue What's outside of Pleasantville?
Miss Peters What? ...I don't ]...
[[understand]
Jennifer/Mary Sue Outside of Pleasantville... What's at the end of Main Street?
Miss Peters Oh, Mary Sue. You should know the answer to that. The ] of Main Street is just the ] again.
[[end; [beginning]
Change is an Inevitable Part of Life
George What happened? One minute everything's fine — the next... What went wrong?
David/Bud Nothing went wrong. People change.
George People change?
David/Bud Yeah. People change.
George How?
David/Bud How? Well... Sometimes they realize that what they thought they needed isn't what they need anymore... Sometimes they see that what they're ] of — they don't need to be scared of anymore. Sometimes they just... let go. -->
[[Fear|scared]
George Can they change back?
David/Bud I don't know — I think that's harder.
Questioning the Status Quo in Pleasantville
David/Bud You can't do this Jennifer. I warned you!
Jennifer/Mary Sue So what's the big deal? Oh. Okay — they're like not good at basketball anymore. Ohmigawd, what a tragedy.
David/Bud You don't understand. You're messing with their whole goddamn ]!
[[universe]
Jennifer/Mary Sue Well maybe it needs to be messed with, David. Did that ever occur to you?
The Necessity of Doing What Must Be Done
David Wagner/Bud Parker Look, you can't always like what you do. Sometimes you just do it because it's your ]. And even if you don't like it, you just gotta do it anyway.
[[job]
Pleasantville: A Promise of Better Times
Taglines Pleasantville — It's Just Around the Corner.
Perceptions of Beauty in Pleasantville
Quotes about Pleasantville * Virginia Blum, in Flesh Wounds : The Culture of Cosmetic Surgery (2003), p. 244
Theme Music Reflection in Pleasantville
Theme music * ], singing "]" by ] and ] ·
[[w:Etta James|Etta James; [w:At Last|At Last; [w:Mack Gordon|Mack Gordon; [w:Harry Warren|Harry Warren; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czA94KUHzD0 Videoclip from ''Pleasantville'' at YouTube]
Concern for Others in Unusual Circumstances
Big Bob What happened? Are you alright? What is it?
[in the bowling alley]
George ].
[[Rain]
Big Bob Real rain?
Big Bob Oh my ].... Are you alright?
[[God]
George I came home like I always do. And I came in the front door. And I took off my coat. And I put down my briefcase and I said "Honey. I'm home.
George ...Only no one was there. So I went into the kitchen and I yelled it again. "Honey — I'm home." But there was no one there either. No wife. No lights. No dinner.
George So I went to the oven you know — because I thought maybe she had made me one of those "TV dinners..." But she hadn't. She was gone. And I looked and looked and looked — but she was gone.
Big Bob It's gonna be fine George. You're with us now.
Gus What are we gonna do Bob?
Big Bob Well — we'll be safe for now — thank goodness we're in a bowling alley — but if George here doesn't get his dinner, any one of us could be next. It could be you Gus, or you Roy, or even you Ralph.... That's real rain out there, gentlemen. This isn't some little "virus" that's going to "clear up on its own." There's something happening to our town and I think we can all see where it comes from. My friends, this isn't about George's dinner or Roy's shirt. It's a question of values. It's a question of whether we're gonna hold onto the values that have made this place great. So the time has come to make a decision. Are we in this alone, or are we in it together?
Embracing Change Beyond Comfort Zones
David/Bud I've got something to say!
Big Bob Very well.
David/Bud You don't have a right to do this. I mean, I know you want it to stay pleasant around here, but — there are so many things … that are so much better. Like silly, or ]y, or ]ous … or brief. And every one of those things is in you all the time, if you just have the guts to look for them.
[[sex; [danger]
Big Bob That's enough.
David/Bud I thought I was allowed to defend myself.
Big Bob You're not allowed to ].
[[lie]
David/Bud I'm not lying. You see those faces up there? They're no different than you are, they just happen to see something inside themselves…
Big Bob I said that's enough.
[bangs gavel]
David/Bud Here, I'll show you. Dad?
George Yeah, Bud?
David/Bud It's okay Dad, just listen a sec. I know you miss her, I mean, you told me you did. But maybe it's not just the cooking, or the cleaning, that you miss. Maybe it's something else. Maybe you can't even describe it. Maybe you only know it when it's gone. Maybe it's like there's a whole piece of you that's missing too. Look at her, Dad. Doesn't she look pretty like that? Doesn't she look … just as ] as the first time you met her? Do you really want her back the way she was? Doesn't she look just ]ful? Now don't you wish you could tell her that?
[[Beauty|beautiful; [wonder; he nods; he nods, and suddenly is colored]
Big Bob You're out of ]!
[bangs his gavel; [order]
David/Bud Why am I out of order?
Big Bob Because I'm not gonna let you turn this courtroom into a circus!
David/Bud Well, I don't think it's a circus, and I don't think they do, either.
[David turns to look at the crowd, where many of the black-and-white people are changing into color. There are gasps and murmurs. Jennifer grins]
Big Bob This behavior must stop at once!
[bangs the gavel]
David/Bud But see? That's just the point! It can't stop at once, because it's in you, and you can't stop something that's inside you.
Big Bob It is not inside me!
A Fresh Perspective on Pleasantville's Narrative
Quotes about Pleasantville Pleasantville is one of the year's delights. It flies off the screen with a freshness and ] that tickle you with the though that film itself is reborn, not just the characters in ]'s allegorical fairy tale. The device Ross uses as springboard on behalf of ] and intensity — and the antinostalgic belief that you can't go back, only forward, is simply brilliant and brilliantly ].
[[wonder; [Gary Ross; [passion; [Simplicity|simple]
Reimagining Nostalgia in Pleasantville's Contrast
Quotes about Pleasantville The ] or this film, its grand feat, is to recast the nostalgic and imperturbably pleasant black-and-white landscape of Pleasantville as in need of a strong dose of our violent, endangered, live-and-in-color, three-dimensional ]. The film identifies as repressive (and ultimately dangerous) the "false front" of Pleasantville as it contrasts with the emotional untidiness of "real life." By the end, instead of continuing to hope his actual family becomes like the one on Pleasantville, the brother models the no longer idealized Pleasantville on "real life.
[[wonder; [world]
Conflict Over Attending a Meeting
George Let's just forget about it, we'll just go to the meeting.
Betty No. I told you, George. I am not going to that meeting.
George Sure you are.
Betty No, I'm NOT. — Look at me, George. Look at my ]. That meetings not for me.
[[face]
George You'll put on some make-up.
Betty I don't want to put on make-up.
George It'll go away. It goes away.
Betty I don't want it to "go away".
[firmly]
Perceptions of Reality and Contentment
David's Mom When your father was here, I used to think, "This was it." This is the way it was always going to be. I had the right house. I had the right car. I had the right ].
[[life]
David There is no right house. There is no right car.
David's Mom ], my face must be a mess.
[[God]
David It looks great.
David's Mom Honey, it's really sweet of you, but I'm sure it does not look "great.
David Sure it does. Come here.
David's Mom I'm 40 years old. I mean, it's not supposed to be like this.
David It's not supposed to be anything. Hold still.
David's Mom How'd you get so smart all of a sudden?
David I had a ] ].
[pause; [good; [day]
George Parker So what's going to happen ]?
[[Present|now]
Betty Parker I don't know. Do you know what's going to happen now?
George Parker No ...I don't!
[laughing; scene pans from George's face to Betty's, and then back to where George just was — to reveal Bill Johnson]
Bill Johnson I guess I don't either.
Theme Music in Pleasantville
Theme music * ], singing "]", by ] ·
[[Fiona Apple; [w:Across the Universe|Across the Universe; [John Lennon; http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=PpjscJmSg8g Official video relating to ''Pleasantville'']