Through observing the worlds that The Truman Show and Pleasantville present us with, issues raised about individuals, society, television and cinema all overlap and affect each other. Ultimately these two films differ in their overall concept and portrayal of the human condition.

One of the ways in which we can start to observe similarities and differences between these two films is by addressing how the central characters serve their function to the narrative. The Truman Show presents us with an individual, Truman Burbank, who is the subject of a make believe world in which everyone in it, and everyone watching it are aware of but him. Pleasantville does the exact opposite. It's two main protagonists, David and Jennifer, are the only ones who are wise to the world in which all the other characters of Pleasantville are living in.

Truman believes that he is just another inhabitant of the town Seahaven. The world around him is one in which all seems to be well and good. Al

As for the mother ending up with both men at the end... I don't know what the resolution is there... Is it saying inter-relationships are all part of this liberating process? Or is it an attempt of showing the amoral opposite of a society with the law and order that Pleasantville previously had? Is there a resolution al all to this film.

It is on this whole idea of a false world that the issues these films raise about television and cinema may be considered. As discussed earlier, television in the Truman Show would appear to be one of the key tools in order to instigate the influence on Truman to control and convince him otherwise. Yet in Pleasantville, the very fact that it is in black and white gives it a more self-conscious aesthetic. An audience are more aware that this is a representation of reality, rather than reality itself, like a nostalgic look at it, or like reading a book. The engagement is there for an audience, but separated somewhat by its black and white. This could be taken as a deliberate way of alienating the audience with the intention of making them confront the issues of the film. In regards to television it was David and Jennifer's obsession with it that lead to their fight over the remote and then ultimately to them being transported into the programme. In Terms of television the ultimate difference between the two films here would seem to be that Pleasantville explores the idea of our society being obsessed with the totally unrealistic world the on screen, seeing television as a form of escapism. Whereas The Truman Show takes the idea that we as a race have a continually evolving desire for reality on T.V. Truman's journey itself is an escape from the TV. The character of Christof, creator of the show, begins the film by explaining how we as individuals are tired of special effects and acting, we have a compulsive need for what is real, which is what Truman is in a controlled reality. This idea is reflected by the very fact that until we get a shot of the two security guards watching the show, we as an audience have been watching the actual TV show. Our perception of the reality of the film was somewhat manipulated.

Despite many similarities between The Truman Show and Pleasantville, the resolutions of each film are very different. By the end of Pleasantville there is the feeling that whether you be living your life in the black and white style of Pleasantville or that of the colour, it is unresolved as to which is better, if indeed the film is suggesting that one is better than the other. What is apparent is the fact that it is the experience of the new that is the important thing, rather than the specific nature of that experience. For example, Jennifer chooses to stay in Pleasantville, there she discovers that she actually enjoys reading and is able to reject Skip at the end for a date, offering up a certain feminism on her part. Her initial hatred for the place changed to the extent she chose it over her home. This film shows the fear of change and the inevitability of it. The fear of change being displayed to its fullest with the attempted trial of David for influencing the town.

Some common words found in the essay are:
David Jennifer, Garden Eden, Truman Pleasantville, Lovers' Lane, Merrill Significantly, Shelly's Frankenstein, TV Truman's, Huckleberry Finn, David Jennifer's, Christof God, black white, truman pleasantville, television cinema, idea society, truman pleasantville issues, david jennifer, horror element, truman individual, control truman, film saying, tree catches fire, individuals society television, society television cinema, garden eden,
Approximate Word count = 2617
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)