My conservative dad: I just don't understand how you turned into such a left leaning person when you grew up in my house. Me: I was 10 when Pleasantville came out and I watched the VHS over and over and over and over till I was gay.

This movie often gets overshadowed by 'The Truman Show', released the same year, which is a tad unfair. I'm glad to see it get more recognition over time, and this video is a great analysis of why it's still relevant nearly twenty years on.

pleasantville packed almost all civil rights movements into one film

I feel too many people didn’t give this movie enough credit, mostly (I forget his name) the painter. I don’t know why, but the fact that he came out of the dark with a broom and started cleaning his busted shop made me really, I don’t know, it was just really beautiful.

"Social Progress is only frightening to those who do not wish to share power". This could be cut from a presidential speech. Is that MLK, or did you come up with that?

Your digressions are perhaps my favorite type, thoughtful, well spoken, and most importantly, poignant retrospections upon the medium of film and how it relates to the cultural standards of the past, present and future. Keep up the important work!!!

I think it’s time for a rewatch of Pleasantville. It’s always been one of my favourite movies. Perhaps because I’ve always leaned toward progress, rather than conservatism. It feels like a movie made not just from, but of my very values. Though I do like to think that I like it for more reasons than just that it reflects my values. The cover of Lennon’s Across the Universe is haunting, and beautiful. I find the cinematography great. And Betty’s plot is just wonderful. Yep, definitely time for a rewatch. I might see if I can get my daughter to watch it with me.

Underrated film, great analysis!

New political Renegade Cut is great and I love it. Keep up the good work Leon!

Damn now I want to watch this movie haven't seen it in years since middle school, didn't think of it like that back then.

One of my favorite movie. This and Donnie Darko is for me what movies are about.

I loved this movie back in the day.

I just watched it again since I hadn't seen it in years. I was left with 3 glaring questions though: 1. Where is Reese Witherspoon's character taking a bus to when she says she is staying for college? 2. How the hell is he going to explain to his real mom that his sister is gone forever inside of a TV show now? 3. (A major one) There was no scene of him explaining to his Pleasantville mom and gf where he really came from, yet they just know at the end that he is leaving and they watch him pick up the remote and zap out of thin air. They should have explained those 3 things a bit more. Any thoughts on explanations?

"Thank god we're in a bowling alley"..Lol

BRILLIANT!! Many thanks for sharing!

Great Review Leon! One of my favorite movies of all time!

Notice the actor whom portrays the Mayor his hairstyle doesn't fit the time period that Pleasantville is based!!👍

I really, really like this movie.

You might say this is a pleasant film. I'll see myself in.

Finally! Plesantville! I love this movie! It's so beautiful!

Beautifully executed!! Great job :)

this is amazing! Thanks for sharing!

Pleasantville is a Gnostic Gospel that preaches forbidden knowledge will lead to revolution.

Very good analysis of a brillant movie. Good job!

Great review

You are so right. And y'all, do you know why people confuse knowledge with sin? Because if we gain knowledge, we will start progressing, so we will find out about all the faults of the world and will fight to change them. That's something leaders do not want, because this faulty world is for them - and for them only - a world of enjoyment and abundance, a world where they can do anything they want. So, if we can't see every wrong in the world, everything is good for them. What do they therefore say is: "Don't do this, don't do that, it is a *sin* , but they actually try to make us fear knowledge in order to never obtain it. My advice: delve into art. Read books with human stories that will wake your emotions, listen to music and see paintings in order to learn to appreciate beautiful things and find them around you. Art will make you more human. Art will give you emotions and sensitivity and love, it will differentiate you from machines. Art will help eliminating hate from your soul, because we are all born to hate, but some of us learn to not hate, but love. To be well-intentioned and not be prejudiced against everyone we meet, not to think of the baddest thing they could be and they could do. Peace everyone!

Great video!

Very good review, I really enjoyed it

I really like your videos.

this was great, i loved this movie all throughout my childhood

Great analysis. It's the kind of film I hoped would exist.

No way. This upload is ironic. Earlier I was telling my teacher that my new short film is going to be set in the 1950s, he asked if I'd ever seen "Pleasantvile". I told him that I had no idea what that was.

Such a good film!

I agree with this review totally. Good insight!

I loved this film when it was originally released. I put it on for my nieces to watch last night. They had never watched it and it had been years since I last watched it. It's so much better than I recall, and I really loved the film as a teen. My nieces were skeptical since they found the premise lame. I told them to keep watching, and as the film progressed they began to like it more. My niece pointed out to me that the mayor was often filmed like a dictator, and we had a brief discussion on the imagery of book burning in the film relating to Nazi Germany.

One my most favorite movies. Thank you for this. I actually never really noticed the biblical parts before. Love the film even more. Great vid thanks

RIP Paul Walker

7:30 I just realized something. There isn’t just book burnings. There was Art burning/theft back then. And during that time. From the 60s to the 80s and 90s. I remember hearing about that comic books use to targets, than music, Rock and Roll, Dancing, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS! And even Poke’mon at one point! But even before all of that, Jewish people, Black/African People, Native Americans, and even Religion were all considered an enemy at one point! Human kind has Always had this disgusting and judgemental trend about everyone and everything that pops into our world! People Create reasons to hate, Oppress because they don’t believe in anything to do with change, or they want to force someone else to be an Enemy, either because they’re scared, or they don’t want to change their world view! It ain’t right. It’s never been right. And we all need to start realizing that.

I love this movie

I like this movie, but my main problem with it is that they basically did a race allegory without any actual people of color. Like not even one black person, just to point out how messed up this entire backwards ass town is. like I don't even remember them mentioning anybody that wasn't white in the movie. And I don't mean like a historical figure of some sort, I'm mean in general. Good movie, but still bothersome.

Should feel bad that I just now got that a pleasentville character is named 'Mary-Sue'?

This was such a good film, albeit not terribly subtle. I really should go back and watch it again sometime. Sadly, it has become newly relevant again, for rather negative reasons.

While no where near as important as the themes and ideas that you mentioned in the video. One thing that I would like to add is that the movie is also a really great satire or deconstruction of those old Family Sitcoms. While I will always have a sense of fondness for shows like I Love Lucy and the Andy Griffin Show. There really is no denying that shows like Father Knows Best really did portray an overly idealistic and romanticized view of homogeneous, white picket fence, family units who just happen to live in perfect communities would in reality be creepy and kind of terrifying. Almost like they take place in a world where the Pod People took over the world.

Hey Leon have you seen Get Out at all? If so you think you'll do an analytical video on that?

Make America Pleasant Again...

R.I.P J.T.Walsh , my favorite "bad" guy.

I mean I would like to live in pleasantville's world just because I like retro clothing and tech.

America wants to forget the past so it can stay there, but the only thing constant in the universe is change.

The movie was so heavy handed

I kind of think the segregation/racism allegory in the movie doesn't work as well as it could since it's a movie with an all-white cast using white people as an allegory to oppressed people of color. I feel like this kind of makes the allegory fall flat.

"Make America Great Again" 🤔

This "pre integration" movie town is what MAGA hatters imagine what they want America to return to.

I remember this movie as, perhaps, the most obviously pro-leftist piece of the last 30 years in mainstream Hollywood cinema. Your presentation doesn't refute that, but succinctly claims that Change & Adaptation is the impetus behind a left-leaning point of view. Thank you

It's still too simplistic for me. I remember being fustrated that they never seemed to display why art or love was important...idk

I don't know if I was late to the show, or whatever, but I never 'got' the movie. It just seemed dull and a bit boring-sort of felt more like a TV movie, than an actual movie.

In my experience when people say "Make America Great Again" they don't mean "make it racist/sexist again" but rather "make it economically prosperous again".

Hmm. Intersting to see how manipulating the genesis account of original sin is used to promote liberalism. Clearly a film with a slant.

Reese Witherspoon is the only flaw in this great flick. She flat out can't act. It's an insult she has an Oscar.