Both Pleasantville released in 1998 and Avatar released in 2009 contain strong social and political messages embedded into their stories. Avatar however was a significantly larger production and exceeded many people’s expectations with its state of the art CGI visuals. Pleasantville while a cheerful comedy does not have the mainstream shock value that kept viewers coming to the theaters like Avatar.

To begin with Pleasantville by Gary Ross is comedic drama that is set in a suburban 1950’s sitcom called “Pleasantville”. David and his sister Jennifer are sucked into the program after arguing over who would get control of the television. Soon after their modern influence brings out color into the town and the rigid set of motions begin to change. For the traditional suburban town this change is frightening and David and Jennifer have to guide the residents into acceptance. This acceptance of change highlights a key social and political issue that traditionally aligns with the goals of liberals. In his 1998 film review Ebert gives the movie a thumbs up. He immediately picked up on the social commentary and states,”here is a comedy to reassure us that there is hope–that the world we see around us represents progress, not decay.” In a article by Greg Dickinson for The Western Journal of Communication, Dickinson details how comfort and security within the primarily white suburban town mask the underlying themes of racism and conformity. While other social issues, such as racism through quotes like “colored folk” and gender roles as found within the Parker family, are brought into the picture, the acceptance of change is the clear take away from the film. A retrospective review by Noah Gittell proclaims that Pleasantville is, “the most liberal movie of all time.” One thing that holds the movie back is it’s sometimes questionable ideals. The viewer is supposed to sympathize and relate to a cheating wife which certainly did not sit well with myself. Like Avatar this film has a predictable plot full of common tropes related to its use of time travel. However while the movie had a size-able budget of $40 million it only did well enough to make $49 at the box office. The visuals were impressive in the movie’s blend of both color and black and white but nothing as shocking as the visuals found in Avatar.

Even the original movie poster hints at the complex themes contained within the film by stating that, “not everything is as simple as black and white.”

Avatar by James Cameron was a fantasy epic released in 2009. The film is a relatively standard fantasy film with state of the art visuals and social and political commentary intertwined with the plot. The impressive CGI is on display from the start where the viewer feels like they are flying over the realistic computer generated Pandoran jungle.

The painstaking attention to detail is noticed throughout and the bright vibrant colors of the Pandoran world create a sense of awe. The original trailer for the film shares some of these breathtaking images to intrigue the largest possible audience. It is this beauty that drives the environmentalist message home. American Literary History article “Indigenous Literatures, Multinationalism, and Avatar: The emergence of Indigenous Cosmopolitics”. The chief of the Arara people, an indigenous tribe in Brazil said of the film, “Avatar is happening here”. This brings the topic of human expansion into conversation and argues that we must take into consideration indigenous people’s lives and limit deforestation. As the humans taint the natural balance, the Navii are increasingly upset over the destruction of their homeland and the question of morality is explored.

The captivating visuals drive the relatively simple story. J. Rosenfield’s description of how Avatar is a largely forgotten film, “It’s not that nobody likes Avatar anymore — it’s that nobody remembers it.” He goes on to describe how the film had no real star actors and a relatively tame plot. It was the visual effects that drew viewers into the world but once the thrill of the effects wore off the movie faded from our memories. Avatar follows a general love drama and an impending war between the natives and humans. Cameron paints the humans as greedy, heartless and selfish. With the message being to protect nature and the respect of natives. Parallels can be drawn to the takeover of the Americas by white Europeans and the execution of natives and their customs.  A scene that exemplifies this is the destruction of the mother tree. These messages easily could steer away many viewers from the theaters but the grand adventure and visuals allow all people to be accepting of these controversial undertones. Cameron also took a leap into the realm of 3D as he believed it to be the next step for cinema. In an interview with James Cameron, Cameron describes how the movie was made like most major movies in that he created an experience of adventure and love set in a foreign environment. He played up the visuals and 3D effects that were painstakingly created over many years for the movie. At the time the future of film technology was uncertain and the fad of 3D films was just beginning. While 3D has lost its relevance, the use of CGI in major films is now more common than ever.

Both Avatar and Pleasantville were films with substantial budgets that took on themes and messages that would alienate certain groups. The success of Avatar can be attributed to the attention to detail in the visual elements along with its spin on the action/adventure genre. The more heartfelt and methodical comedy of Pleasantville is much less appealing to a wide audience and instead appeals more to those who share similar beliefs to the director. It is for this reason that Avatar succeeded greatly at the box office and Pleasantville performed just decent.

Works Cited

1. Original Pleasantville Review by Robert Ebert
2. Article by Greg Dickinson on Pleasantville
3. Noah Gittell Retrospective Review
4. Controversial cheating wife scene
5. Pleasantville Still Frame
6. Original Pleasantville Movie Poster
7. Pandoran Jungle Still Frame
8. Avatar original trailer
9. American Literary History Article
10. J. Rosenfield’s retrospective description of Avatar
11. Mother Tree Destruction Scene
12. Interview with James Cameron,