Context in The Catcher and Pleasantville

The impact of context on the novel “The catcher in the Rye” by JD. Salinger and film “Pleasantville by Gary Ross is very significant and influences the ideas presented in the texts. Though from different eras, human nature’s tendency to lie and deceive is present in both texts. As well as this, the disconnection from society emotionally and our desire for freedom and independence is explored by both composers. The conservative values and ideals of the 1950s are explored through Salinger‘s active commentary, revealing his intention of questioning the mindset of society at that time.

The limited choice and lack of freedom a large part of the 19505 which both composers criticise. In a similar vein, Ross’ passive and objective perspective of the 19505 provides a different set of ideas and allows him to criticise the deceptive nature of society.

Despite Ross’s and Salinger’s differences in context, they still continue to dispraise human nature’s tendency to lie and deceive in ”The Catcher in the Rye” and “Pleasantville”.

The conservative and traditional views of the 1950s differs vastly from the open and untraditional ideals of the 1990s, but the falsity of humankind is relevant in both contexts. Initially. Salinger is able to present the inherent nature of humans to lie through Holden’s experience, The repetition of ”phoney” from Holden presents society has an innate behaviour of lying and deceiving to progress through their own life. This further presents that humanity is not affected by the contexts or the results of environment Similarly, Ross is able to present this falsity and deception in humankind despite the context in the ”Messing with the Universe” scene.

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David’s desire to shroud the citizen’s knowledge from the truth and prevent them from reaching their full potential reinforces the dishonesty in society.

He wishes to keep Pleasantville the way it is for his own personal gain. It allows him to escape from his disruptive life and to a world with no complications or difficulty. Jennifer’s close up shot of her facial expression of determination and conviction to David during their conversation emphasises the lack of truth and deceit in David she despises. The unchanging behaviour of humans to lie and deceive is represented through David and our desire to overcome this falsehood is presented through Jennifer. Similarly, the deception and the desire to overcome this deception is seen in Holden. This reinforces the idea that human nature’s recurring behaviour and falsity will occur again no matter the context. The emotional disconnection some suffer from is observable in both “Pleasantville” and “The Catcher in the Rye”. The conservative values and ideals held in the 1950’s have constricted Holden’s freedom of speech and forced him to express his feelings of disdain to the adult world in his own diary.

He is constantly disconnected from the rest of the world and although he seeks companionship. he manages to ruin the relationship. His lack of connection and cynical nature is seen in the metaphor of “‘This is a people shooting hat,’ I said. ‘I shoot people in this hat.’“. This reinforces his disconnection from humanity emotionally, although not physically shooting people, Holden still has feelings of bitterness and dislike for the lack of principles the rest of the world holds. 0n the contrary, the disconnection from society in “Pleasantville” shows that not everyone drives themselves to loneliness but are forced there by societal values. The ideals and values of the 1950’s have led many to deny emotional involvement in society. This is seen in the conversation with David and Betty when Betty is first seen in colour. Ross’ technique of coloured filming in contrast with the black and white film reveals the emotional separation.

The over the shoulder shot is used to help the audience with empathising with Betty. Her connection with society is broken due to her change of colour and unlike Holden, she wishes to return to her ‘normal’ state. The colour of Betty represents the ‘progressive’ society of the 19905 whereas the black and white represents the ‘conservative’ ideas of the 19505. Ross contrasts the two to emphasise the emotional disconnection Betty experiences. The influence of the values and ideas of the 19505 greatly affected the emotional connection of the characters in l‘Pleasantville”. The freedom and independence individuals seek in humanity is common in both the passive and active perspective of the composers. Due to the constrictive ideals of the 19505, Holden finds it difficult to mature and has little growth, Despite no lack of freedom. he has limited maturity and continues to retreat from most of society.

The use of coarse colloquial language with his conversation with Sally in “You give me a royal pain in the ass, if you want to know the truth” Shows that he seeks freedom and independence from the surrounding world. Despite his need for companionship he ruins it with this opportunity because of his need for independence Again, this freedom and independence is seen with MrJohnson in “Pleasantville”. His lack of freedom throughout his life and his confinement to certain procedures is disturbed by David. The “Get with the Program” scene shows a close up shot of Mr Johnson wiping the benchtop before David his hand. This emphasises that the set role of Mr Johnson has due to his conformity and is his first exposure to freedom. Ross refers to the conformity in the 19505 and lack of freedom through Mr Johnson but introduces the independence and nonconformity of the 19905.