Ok, that title may seem cheap shot-ish and maybe a bit on the nose for our times. However, I've been of the opinion that fundamentalists of all sorts view the world in terms of both black and white (this is how we see the world, anyone else who differs is plain wrong and possibly dangerous) and also dreams of some mythical halcyon days were things were "better", if not ideal. I'm not sure if the producers of Pleasantville were going for overt political or sociological statements in their magical fantasy dramedy about two high school siblings from the late 90s being transported into the world of a 50s family sit-com, but intentional or not, that is just what they achieved.
In the TV show Pleasantville, you have a typical suburban family as realized by TV in that era, complete with homemaker Mom, breadwinner Dad, well behaved kids dealing with very tame problems easily resolved in an hour, and the world as defined by the city limits and everyone just playing their roles, no questions asked. It is a perfect little equilibrium that finds itself punctured by people from "outside". And when the people from outside begin bringing outside perspectives, thoughts and viewpoints, that changes the pallet of what is and what is known and it begins to become something...else. Naturally, some don't react to that very well.
In many ways, that is what I see happening writ large nowadays. We are surrounded by change. Change is inevitable. You can't stop it. You can guide it, somewhat, and choose for yourself what you want and don't want, usualy. But there is no such thing as stasis. And as long as you live in a universe of choice and where variables come and go, change comes.
Rather than fight it, a world is better served by examiningit, accepting the good, dealing intelligently with the bad and quit being such scaredy cats.
Yeah, big with the metaphor, probably more for our times than for it's own, methinks.
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