Pleasantville

Poster for Pleasantville featuring a vibrant rainbow cutting across a white background, ending at a colorized couple kissing inside the otherwise black-and-white letters of the title. The tagline reads: “Nothing is as simple as Black and White,” referencing the film’s transformation from 1950s-style monochrome to modern color.

Director: Gary Ross

Lead Actors: Tobey Maguire, Reese Witherspoon, William H. Macy

Release Year: 1998

IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120789/

Podcast Episode: Episode 027: Honey, Where’s My Dinner? Pleasantville (1998) with Will Ryan

Psychology Concepts: adolescent development, Clinical Psychology, cognitive bias, Cognitive Psychology, conformity, Developmental Psychology, discrimination, family dynamics, friendship, gender, group behavior, hierarchy of needs, impressions, lifespan development, moral development, morality, obedience, personality development, Personality Psychology, prejudice, queer theory, relationships, resilience, self-concept, self-identity, sexism, sexual orientation, social influence, social learning, Social Psychology, stereotypes, the self