Social Issues In Pleasantville

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Society Film Analysis
Movies are very prevalent in discussing issues in today’s society. By using anthropology, sociology, and psychology, one is able to connect films to any issue. The films American history x, Crash, Cry Freedom, The Pianist and Pleasantville all display different social issues, such as discrimination, conformity and charismatic leaders.
Discrimination is prejudicial thoughts acted out towards anyone, usually based on his or her race and ethnicity. Anthropologists can look towards structuralism and the complex rules that determine what are good and bad, in order to know how discrimination can be spreading in a society. The films Pleasantville and The Pianist both showcase different rules that enable the society to perceive a different race as “less human”. In Pleasantville, as the Mayor notices change happening
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Likewise in The Pianist, when Szpilman says, “it’s an official decree, no Jews allowed in the parks…I would suggest we sit down on a bench, but that’s also an official decree, no Jews allowed on benches”. This shows how Jews are slowly losing their freedom and being ostracized for having a different belief system. Anthropologists can look at ethnocentrism and how it can play a role regarding prejudicial and discriminatory behavior. Being ethnocentric cause’s individuals or groups to rush judging others who have a different culture than which they were brought up in. In Cry Freedom, a black women was rescinded her scholarship to medical school, in order to be given to a white women. Ethnocentrism can distort communication and can lead to misjudgment. For example, in American History X when black drug dealers murder Derek’s father, Derek erupts into a racist tirade, “Every problem in this country is race related not just crime. It’s like…immigration, AIDS, welfare those are problems in

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