Pleasantville is a modern-day parable about change — how people receive, respond to, and resist change. The premise of the movie is that two 1990's teenagers are swept into the world of a 1950's sitcom, Pleasantville, where everything is perfect. The people are all friendly; the weather is always beautiful; and the kids are all well-mannered, smart, and polite. But this world is black-and-white and two dimensional. Nothing ever changes, no one ever grows, and no road leads beyond the confines of the fictional town. All the books are blank, the music plain, art pedestrian, and relationships superficial. It never rains, no one disagrees, and perfection equals mediocrity. Innovation, creativity, and vision are non-existent — until two teens from outside the Pleasantville paradigm appear.

Any time one part of a system changes, it changes the whole system. Emotion, passion, color, texture, and imagination are the gifts that the real-worlders brought to the fictional Pleasantville. The result was chaos, but to say more is to spoil the entire movie.

Rent Pleasantville, and watch asking three simple questions:

• What does this film say about change?
• What does this film say about people?
• What are the benefits and costs involved when people deal with change?

Discussion Guide for Pleasantville

Pleasantvillecovers the full range of emotions and reactions that come to people as a paradigm shifts. This video can be a safe haven for members of your congregation to wrestle with the key issues of change.

What are the various reactions of David/Bud (Tobey Maguire), Jennifer/Mary Sue (Reese Witherspoon), George (William H. Macy), Betty (Joan Allen), Mr. Johnson (Jeff Daniels) and Big Bob (J. T. Walsh) to the changes that occur in Pleasantville? How do you explain each of the reactions?

Why do we tend to look at earlier times and bygone days as better, simpler, and happier?

The word nostalgia literally means "to escape pain by returning home" (nostos — return home, algos — pain or grief). What happens to people when they use the past to escape from the present and future?

What similarities and differences do you see between Pleasantville and the Garden of Eden?

In what ways does the past lay a foundation for the future? In what ways does the past provide a stumbling block to moving into the future? In what ways do we use the past as an excuse to resist change?

In the film, what is the key to moving from black-and-white to color? What allows some to move quickly; while Bud, George, and Big Bob change more slowly?

There are obvious and not-so-subtle references to "colored" people in Pleasantville. Why do so many people react with violence and anger to the new, the strange, and the different?

What can the church do to help people accept change more gracefully? How can we in the church learn to accept those who refuse to change?

To be alive is to change. To be Christian is to grow and improve. Faith is the ability to trust the constancy of God. What message do we send to the world when we courageously respond to change? What message do we send when we resist or deny change?

Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

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