How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text.

How do the stylistic conventions of Pleasantville Help to anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and Reinforce the meaning of the text Pleasantville is a film that uses stylistic conventions to help anchor the ideas suggested by the plot and reinforce the meaning of the text. There are many ways it does this. The narrative starts of from TV stations giving the idea of sci-fi as the basic genre. Pleasantville is introduced by the clips of the TV marathon; this is an old 50's TV show. There is a boy called David and his twin sister Jennifer. David is seen in the early stages of the narrative lacking confidence, no luck with girls, few friends, loves Pleasantville and is obsessed the perfect lifestyle. Pleasantville is viewed as nice, with no extremes, no changes. The first part of the movie is cutting between the twins to show the difference, this helps us see how they develop throughout the film, as we build to their prospective evenings. With the arrival of the TV repair man the audience get more sense of the genre, he arrives without being called; he has an old fashioned van and speech. Then when the lighting strikes at that time this causes suspicion to the audiences mind. The 2 pairs of siblings argue at the same time in real life and on screen. David and Jennifer then end up in the program. Pleasantville is all black and white to start. Examples of life are: big

  • Word count: 1250
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Inheritance Pattern of Maize Cob.

Biology Practical Report ------Inheritance Pattern of Maize Cob Introduction In this experiment, 2 types of maize cobs are provided, which show 2 clear inherited characteristics, i.e. grain colour (purple or yellow) and grain shape (smooth or wrinkled). Each grain is a fruit produced from a separate pollination. This means that each cob carries many individual offspring. The aim of the experiment is to find out the pattern of inheritance of the two maize cobs by counting and scoring the offspring on them. Result Short maize cob Long maize cob Purple round 315 68 Purple wrinkled 04 74 Yellow round 10 73 Yellow wrinkled 40 78 Hypothesis In the short maize cob, the ratio of the phenotypes is approximately 9 (purple round): 3 (purple wrinkled): 3 (yellow round): 1 (yellow wrinkled), which is a classic result in dihybrid cross. In this case, purple (T) is dominant to yellow (t) and round (R) is dominant to wrinkled (r). Parents: Phenotype: purple round purple round Genotype: TtRr TtRr Offspring: Genotype Number of offspring Phenotype Purple round 2 4 2 2 Purple wrinkled Yellow round 2 Yellow wrinkled From the table, we can see that 9 of the offspring are purple round (TTRR or TTRr or TtRr or TtRR); 3 are purple wrinkled (Ttrr or TTrr); 3 are yellow round (ttRR or ttRr) and 1 is yellow wrinkled (ttrr). In the long maize cob, the ratio of

  • Word count: 601
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Examine the way Walker and Winterson explore the issues of gender and sexuality, with particular reference to women, in their novels.

Examine the way Walker and Winterson explore the issues of gender and sexuality, with particular reference to women, in their novels. Examine - To inspect carefully or in detail. Gender - The state of being male, female or neuter. Sexuality - Relating to the differences between males and females, characterized by sex. LESBIANISM o Celie and Shug - lesbian relationship o Jeanette and Melanie, Katie, Miss Jewsberry o Structure - Lesbian feelings in both characters are not revealed until their feelings about men are revealed. (Celie's attitude to sex, Jeanette and her uncle) "I think about Shug Avery. I know what he doing to me he done to Shug Avery and maybe she like it. I put my arm round him" "he came over and put his face close.... And rubbed his spikey chin against my face. I hated him. "'Sweet hearts for a sweet heart' he said. That day I had almost strangles my dog with rage... sweet I was not. o Paper shop couple - Jeanette's mothers views, they are not accepted in the society - Jeanette's confusion, creates humour "She said they dealt in unnatural passions. I thought she meant they put chemicals in their sweets. o Oranges - Lesbian bildungsroman o Comedy "She said they dealt in unnatural passions. I thought she meant they put chemicals in their sweets." "Next time he come I put a little Shug Avery pee in his glass" o Autobiographical "At the time of

  • Word count: 799
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques?

What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques? Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, is a year 2000 comedy with powerful underlying themes. Pleasantville is an inspiring and oddly touching story about two 90's kids who are thrust into the black and white world of Pleasantville, a cheery and seemingly perfect sitcom complete with picket fences, soda shops and warm cookies. When a somewhat unusual remote control transports them from the jaded real world to the TV arena, the two teenagers (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) are forced to play along as Bud and Mary-Sue, the obedient children of George and Betty Parker. Maguire, an obsessive Pleasantville devotee, understands the need for not toppling the balance of things; Witherspoon, on the other hand, starts shaking the town up, most notably when she takes American football stud, Skip, up to Lover's Lane, to do exactly what the name suggests. Soon enough, Pleasantville's teens are discovering sex along with rock and roll, free thinking and liberating Technicolour. Filled with delightful and shrewd details about sitcom life, for example, no toilets, no double beds and only two streets in the whole town. Pleasantville is a joy to watch, not only for its comedy but also for its groundbreaking visual effects and astonishing production design as

  • Word count: 5430
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings.

Maya Angelou - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings In Maya Angelou autobiography 'I know why the caged bird sings' many themes and issues are looked at. This autobiography shows the difficulty of a black woman growing up surrounded by discrimination and poverty, but also shows her determination, joy and hope. Maya Angelou describes her relationship with many character, this in it self is a theme of her writing, the way she sees people in her own light. Some characters that may be seen to be good people are changed by Maya's opinion. A good example of this is the contrast between Maya's mother and Maya's father's girlfriend. If both these characters were described, the father's girlfriend maybe considers the better person. This is not the case after reading this book, as Maya has a way of making the reader see these characters as she sees them. After the separation of Maya Angelou's parents she and her brother Bailey were sent away to live with her grandmother when Maya was only three. This must have been a terrible experience for a young child to go through, which some may think would have left Maya with resentment towards her mother. In fact this was quite the opposite. When Maya meet her mother again after she left her, Maya discarded the fact that she sent her away. She describes how as soon as she saw her mother, the nights she spent crying for her was forgotten. 'I knew

  • Word count: 1140
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Analysis of "The Colour Purple" -first three letters

Analysis of "The Colour Purple" - first three letters "The Colour Purple" is an epistolary novel. In the first three letters, the reader is immediately thrust into the world of the protagonist and narrator of "The Colour Purple", Celie. She is a poor, uneducated, fourteen-year-old black girl living in rural Georgia. Celie starts writing letters to God because her stepfather, Alphonso, beats and rapes her. The letters are the means by which the protagonist tells her life story. Letters are a personal form of communication, and they contribute to the readers' feelings of empathy with Celie. For Celie herself, the writing of letters is not only a form of communication, especially as most of her letters are not sent, but, rather, writing is a way for her to express her feelings, quietly and safely. In fact, the importance of words, of written and spoken language, as the medium for empowerment is a central concern in the narrative. The gradual growth and development of Celie's character through her letters, which is realised by the reader as the private intimations of a diarist, is compulsive reading. We will therefore be examining the first three letters of the novel in more detail, looking at narrative voice, characters, and language. In addition, we will also be looking at an overview of the first three letters of "The Colour Purple", as well as putting the novel as a whole in

  • Word count: 2505
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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No More Sunshine on Leith

No More Sunshine on Leith It was a cold, frosty night in Edinburgh, and yet people still insisted on going to the pub for an evening drink. Two of these people were Mike and Danny Roxborough who were headed to their favourite pub, the Persevere. The lampposts brightly lit their path. The moon was ever-present tonight, as there was not a cloud in the sky, meaning that there would probably be a frost tomorrow. When they reached the pub and Mike turned in, closely followed by Danny, the first thing they did was scan the room for any familiar faces to talk to. As he looked around Mike couldn't see anyone he knew so he sent Danny to get them a couple of beers and headed off to their usual table - only to find someone else sitting there. He stood there, gazing at the pair, who looked as camp as camp can get. Both were men wearing bright purple and yellow suits, like something out of the 1950's. As they were talking and Mike watched them, he noticed a growing similarity between their behaviour and the kind that gets people beaten up in the streets for being homosexual. Just as he was about to go and explain his situation, being left without a seat in a busy pub with someone else in his seat, when Danny came up to him carrying their drinks. "Couldnae find us a seat then, eh? Ah well. Ah might no stay long anyway. By the way, did y-" he was cut off as Mike raised his hand to Danny's

  • Word count: 814
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The Colour Purple essay

Look at letters 89 and 90. Respond to tasks ) What do you learn about Celie's attitudes to life in these letters? 2) Write about Walker's method of telling the story in letter 90. 3) Some readers see the ending of the novel as a triumph of the human spirit. Some see it as sickly and sentimental. What do you think about the novel's ending? ) By letters 89 and 90 Celie's attitudes to life have changed considerably from the early letters of the novel. Celie's attitude is extremely positive and she appears to have triumphed over her oppression, through her human spirit, attitude to life and bonds of sisterhood. This is shown in letter 89 by the way her and Shug respond to each other: " She look at me funny for a minute, I look at her. Then us laugh." This shows her sense of contentment and an almost carefree and happy attitude towards life. Laughter being a symbol of healing and regeneration suggests that despite Celie's horrendous past experiences her psyche has been healed and she is content in her life. In letter 89 Alice Walker portrays Celie with an air of confidence and defiance, Celie is finally prepared to not be passive in her response to discrimination and oppression she is prepared to question authority. Walker shows Celie to be proud of Sofia's authority over a white man: "she scare that white man. Anybody else colored he try to call 'em auntie or something.

  • Word count: 1464
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Comparison of own improvisation with " The Colour Purple".

Drama Essay - Comparison of own improvisation with " The Colour Purple" In this essay I am going to compare and analyse the differences and similarities between my improvisation and a film called "The Colour Purple". My group's play was based upon a certain part of a painting, painted by our drama teacher - Mr. Burgon. The painting was used as a stimulus. Our part of the painting was showing a man in a mask painting a car. WE had to build up upon it and produce a lengthy piece. The themes of our improvisation and " The Colour Purple" are violence and domestic problems, abuse. Our play could be thought of as quite controversial, as it deals with domestic violence, child abuse, and rape to a certain extent. In order to make our improvisation as realistic as possible, and not too offensive I decided to research the topic in more depth. Therefore I searched the Internet for information about the victims. I found out that the majority of the people affected were molested in their childhood/early teens. Most of them were naïve and not fully aware of what was going on around them. A large amount was in a single parent family. I also found out that the experience had an immense effect on their adult life. Most are not able to have a sex life, they rely on anti-depressants, self-harm etc. I think that it was harder to cope for abused women in " the Colour Purple" because they

  • Word count: 940
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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To what extent is 'The Color Purple' a novel dedicated to the rights of black women?

Ruth Russell To what extent is 'The Color Purple' a novel dedicated to the rights of black women? 'The Color Purple' is often argued to be a novel dedicated to the rights of black women owing to a number of features the book holds which point to this conclusion. Firstly, the story is told through the letters of Celie, a black woman living in Georgia and later there is the second narrative voice in the letters Celie receives from her sister Nettie. Through each we encounter the lives of Shug Avery, Sofia and Squeak. Therefore the simple numerical fact that a novel follows the growth of five black women points to their rights being a key theme. The way in which the novel is an epistolary can be seen to confirm this, as a fundamental human right is to have a voice and feel heard. Walker's use of first person narrative through letters marks the beginning of the journey of empowerment Celie will take in the novel to finding her voice and feeling heard. Yet Walker points out how this is an incredibly difficult struggle for a black woman in that time and context from the offset, with the words of Celie's stepfather which begin the novel "you better not never tell nobody but God. It'd kill your mammy". This sets the scene as to the invisibility of the women in the black community at that time, and the sentiment is continued through the generations of the male characters. When

  • Word count: 1404
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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