What a perceptive way to describe the past, especially in an age ruled by the visual image. It's also the concept explored in Pleasantville , a fascinating new film fable from writer-director Gary Ross. The two products of a modern, dysfunctional family ride a cultural time warp from MTV to something like Leave It to Beaver.
Nothing challenges the status quo, and the status quo is, well, pleasant.
But there are so many other things that are so much better, like silly, or sexy, or dangerous, or wild. Though David initially enjoys the comfort of Pleasantville's structured, safe society, Jennifer rebels. She's not interested in a world without romance and risk. David eventually comes around when he realizes Pleasantville is also a world without art or even the beauty of a red rose. Soon, Pleasantville residents discover they like the new ways.