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Instructor

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Date

Communication

Summary

The first part of the paper is about the application of theories and research on difference in an effort to provide a more sophisticated comprehension of the events in the film Pleasantville. This is because an understanding of the social and group dynamics evident in Pleasantville begins with an understanding of the challenges posed by difference, like those introduced in Pleasantville. Specific examples are therefore used to show how the following theories of blatant and subtle stereotyping and ideologies are embodied in Pleasantville: Cognitive Experiential Self theory, Schemas theory, Communication theory, social theory, associative networks theory, stereotyping theory and the attribution theory. In the end these help us understand how difference is manifested in Pleasantville. The first part of the paper ends with conclusions I draw from my analysis on how difference is manipulated and exploited in my daily life. How these differences are exploited in politics is also described at the end with a personal experience.

On the other hand the second part of the paper is a development of my own theory of human memory which draws on the theories discussed in the first part of the paper. Diverse theories are organized into a coherent whole that describes how different self schemas may relate to associative network models of person memory and generate self presentations. The theoretical perspectives employed are useful in understanding how we all process information and account for individual differences in the way we use information for instance Rotter’s Locus of Control theory or individual differences in schema use. Individual disparities in the structure and organization of the memory are also illustrated in addition to how this theory can explain some form of communication.

Pleasantville

In Pleasantville, two teenagers perceived to be living beyond their century Witherspoon and Maguire embody the intuitive experimenting system, whereby they take color to a mystifying community that is trapped in a black and white 1950 way of thinking and automatically set up a revolution. In the episodes that follow everyone seems to change to color in the midst of a black and white background. Paul Walker, the basketball team captain, seems slow in catching up with what he is being taught about Lover’s Lane by Jennifer. He embraces the rational thinking system that is analytical in nature and very slow. This is related to Cognitive Experiential Self theory that is founded on the idea that people tend to make use of two kinds of perceptions to process their information. These are intuitive experimenting and rational thinking, which are analytical in nature. The intuitive experimenting system is not only emotionally driven but is also automatic and fast.

While Jennifer is very promiscuous with boyfriends, his brother David has no successes with girls. This is what makes him to retreat to their aboard and watch the Pleasantville. The Schemas theory points out that we tend to label people founded on snap judgments and group membership. Jennifer is labeled as promiscuous because of snap judgment of her behavior. Early schemas associate with the primary emotional needs of children; if they do not have their needs met earlier, they develop schemers that are destructive in nature. When David became unsuccessful with girls upon moving to the second world he not only developed an interest in girls but also became promiscuous and started becoming destructive by negatively influencing other people including his own mother. The intention of this theory is to assist people heal their early maladaptive behaviors and consequently lead normal lives.

In Pleasantville, the actors starting with Jennifer who teaches Paul Walker the basketball team captain what is supposed to be done at Lovers Lane begin a chain where everyone learns a new thing in life and whenever they do they turn into color so that their past remains in black and white. This relates to the Communication theory, where a speaker can gain other individuals attention through explicitly acknowledging, elaborating and legitimizing their feelings. By putting on a good face, Jennifer meaningfully acknowledge and elaborate individual perceptivity to Paul Walker and the cycle continues so that in Pleasantville people live pleasant lives for they are never challenged.

In Pleasantville, the social world is too complex to be comprehended and because of selective exposure or attention, people tend to come up with the wrong preconceived notions about other people or groups. For instance when David and Jennifer argue over a remote, it breaks and when Don Knotts shows up to give them a better remote, they are unaware that this is a trick to take them to another world. Upon arguing about the new remote, they are instantaneously transferred into a show where Jennifer becomes Mary Sue while David becomes Bud. Their social perception is blurred in that they cannot come up with authentic judgments about other people or social groups. As in social theory the teens upon being transformed into a different world end up awakening a town in slumber.

David’s mother learned something about intimacy from her daughter Jennifer and turned to color. Following this transformation, she confidently asks her son to put make up on her, but when this is taken out by someone else, the moment turns out to be erotic. As articulated in the associative networks theory her brain keeps her memory in some kind of nodes, which it then links to other allied memories. This is the theme that leads to the transformation of the entire town with a society that is cast in the 1950s. Nodes are of two types: affective with meaning that is emotional in nature or semantic with unsophisticated meaning. Every time the links are activated they become strengthened. Jennifer leads this transformation assisted by her brother David because their affective and semantic links have been activated.

In Pleasantville, Jennifer throws a surprise to her mother Betty when she tells her there are many ways in which she can enjoy sex without her father. In the scene that follows, Betty is shown in the bathtub initiating this very sinful act, which becomes obvious to the audience due to her constant exclamations and facial expressions. This relates to the stereotyping theory where stereotypes are internalized into Betty since for she does not face any resistance. Her social order is consequently disturbed since her husband previously perceived her as an innocent housewife. The new ideas from Jennifer challenge her status quo as an innocent and faithful wife so that her social order is suddenly disturbed by these changes.

In Pleasantville Jennifer out of self-centeredness decides to introduce teenagers in her new town into promiscuity. Through these multiple behavior observations Jennifer acts as an inexperienced scientist and becomes self-centered. David and Jennifer act as catalysts that introduce other people to behaviors they had not given a thought of in their lives. They are thus depicted as serpents amongst innocent crowds. Their interpretation of people as sexual objects and how these interrelate with their behavior and thinking as they change an entire town is an ideology embedded in the attribution theory.

In conclusion, I would like to say that Pleasantville is like a proverb that encourages people to reflect on the good old days then give a fresh perception of the modern world, which many times they tend to dismiss as depraved. Having grown up in the 90s, in a country where one party was the father and mother of the nation, it was somehow like in Pleasantville where it rains for the first time and Pleasantville individuals in color move into it and just stand. The modern times opened floodgates of opportunity with multiparty politics, which gave many people a sigh of relief.

Human Memory Theory

In an attempt to develop a human memory theory, this paper will encompass most of the theories discussed above. This proposed human memory theory is based on memory concepts that enable individuals to strengthen the links between their nodes upon being activated. These concepts hover around several memory processes, which include repression, storage, reminding, retrieval and memorization. This is because brains have two basic parts: one part is for storage purposes, while the other is for retrieval purposes, which deals with an individual’s attention.

However, accessibility limits are different for various concepts beyond which it is difficult to access them. Retrieving of such concepts could at times succeed depending with the mood and circumstance of an individual. Unfortunately, individuals tend to repress concepts that they find unpleasant and thus completely forget about them where the concepts become totally inaccessible. Long-term memory stems from concepts that are easily retrieved while short-term memory stems from concepts that are not easily retrieved. There is therefore a need for individuals to develop stronger links in order to evaluate consistent information.

The cognitive development theory will come in handy in developing the human memory theory in that it will enable the brain to optimize pressure while minimizing pain. Apart from that, it will enable an individual to sustain relatedness while enhancing a positive sense of humor. Through this, a person will be capable of making a distinction between worthy and unworthy people in an effort to gain self-esteem. The two-tiered system of cognitive development enables an individual to generate implicit self-esteem and explicit self-esteem. While implicit is experiential in nature, explicit self-esteem is rational in nature.

This proposed memory theory deals with various forms of communication, for instance, person-centered communication will be enhanced when the brain denies individuals the autonomy of overtly using power inherent in them as speakers. It also enhances self-presentations of individuals through availing strategies that openly acknowledge individuals through encouraging them to draw their likely conclusions about a dilemma. It will also emphasize a close relationship between working memory and attention through enabling speakers to give comforting messages. The memory will be developed to have a wide scope framework for processing information. This will enhance the embedded acknowledgement of individuals’ perceptivity, which in the end, assists in conflict management strategies.

The memory theory will also inculcate Rotter’s Locus of Control theory by ensuring there is a framework of controlling attention of individuals to details. Such a framework will enable individuals realize that control is inherent in individuals or externally in a situation or other individuals. However, this model postulates a limit on attention as far as the amount of information that an individual can attend to is concerned. This will be done through limiting the amount of source activation. The brain will thus be able to recall with ease all schematic relevant information about other people and even individuals themselves.

The difference in the development and establishment of schemas account for individual differences in the way their memory is structured and organized. Persons who have well developed perceptual interfaces and motor processes are able to quickly define and differentiate a circumstance through black sheep effect, in-group favoritism and out-group polarization. However, others are quickly affected by these factors because of their level of mood, primacy, accessibility, and salience. This proposed theory emphasizes the significance of skills, learning, and knowledge. This is because they do have a direct impact on factors that influence individuals to employ schemas in their cognitive behaviors. These are cognitive complexity, power, the need for cognition, the schema structures, attribution complexity, and individual differences.

This particular memory framework model will enable the brain to expand its working memory scope in both the daily skilled activities and unfamiliar tasks. This can be attained if individuals devote more of their energy and time in self-schematic information, ensure that self schematic information is flexible in order to ease their recall and memorization. This is because the self operates automatically through self and culture; it processes information individually during interaction processes. This theory proposes a distributed framework where individuals working memory will stem from multiple subsystems that interrelate with each other in a network this will ensure that self-verification and self-improvement processes are attained rather fast.

Through selective processing of information, individuals’ brains tend to attend to outstanding and vivid information in an attempt to look for order in their social world. This framework proposes that the neural foundation for a working memory provides the best transition to selective processing of information. This is because it is not only embedded firmly in the brain’s cognitive principles rather it is also biologically conceivable. In the end it will help individuals manage their social world through perceiving other individuals using implied personality theories as people who are like them.

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