I believe that Pleasantville perfectly explored the topic of the “Good old days”. When we look back at the 1950’s we see a time where everyone was happy and all was well. True that many things were good about the era, however there were also other things going on. Rampant racism in the south, women being told how to live their lives, and worst of all was the oppression that was not in the U.S in this period. In the U.S.S.R people were starving,worked without pay, and killed for speaking out. The same situation was unfolding in the so called “Peoples Republic of China”. Even in present day things go awry. Although most terror attacks are from Islamic extremists we still blame them on the people who have nothing to do with. The same goes for Conservatives,the NRA,Liberals,Homosexuals, anyone in the U.S is subject to these stereotypes.
Pleasantville shows what most people would think of as a Utopian Society. However, this seemingly perfect society lacked difference,color if you will. Everything was the same. But that is anything but perfect, nothing changed,no one and nothing was unique. That is what makes our world so special, Even though we have many problems socially, everyone is different in their own way.
When people started to change colors in the movie Pleasantville at first they were seen as “infected”, but later on they were seen as outcasts and were treated that way. This to me, shows the 50’s in a different view. True there were many good things going on at the time,but just like any time in human history whether it be now or in the past there were problems. It is up to us to acknowledge those problems and learn from what was wrong so we do not repeat it in the future.