The Truman Show
The Truman Show is a reality television series that is broadcast to a global audience and stars the
unknowing Truman Burbank. The Truman Show is filmed continuously by thousands of hidden
cameras. The show's creator and executive producer, Christof, wants to give viewers a realistic
ordinary man through recording Truman's real feelings. Since his birth, Truman has been the
show's star, and the studio has legally adopted him.
This storyline fascinated me, and I was curious by the ethical issues presented by media
manipulation for profit. Throughout the storyline, Truman is unintentionally the victim of media
manipulation on an emotional, physical, and social level. For drama and viewership, the media
subjected him to horrific events like seeing his father drown at sea. Truman has serious
psychological problems, such as a deep fear of the ocean, because he believes all of these events
to be true and experiences them as though they were real. On the set, other performers are
worried by what is happening to Truman and try to warn him, but the producers always interrupt
and try to hide what the actor has said. I thought it was really interesting that the show's creators
had such little concern for other people that they would subject it to traumatic events only for
their own benefit.
The film's director wants viewers to be shocked and made aware of how much power the media
has over our lives. The imaginary viewers of "The Truman show," who wanted to have a stable
life like Truman did and own the same house, eat the same food, and have the same wife, "The
Truman show" encouraged that feeling. Truman is imprisoned in the environment that is built for
him, and the director making full use of frame shots to show this imprisonment. For example,
when a camera is put in a car radio. Similar to Truman, we consumers are unaware of this
monitoring and manipulation since it takes place invisibly through the media we are constantly
exposed to, including TV, newspapers, and the internet.
Truman has always had the choice to take charge and leave the show even though he may not be
in control of his life. Yet, Truman doesn't realize this for the majority of his life. When Truman
discovers his father living on the streets close to his work place, he first senses something is
wrong in his life. Truman sneaks out in the dark of the night, sending off one midnight search for
everyone in Seaheaven. He is aboard a boat that is sailing out of the set, so they are unable to
find him. In an effort to throw Truman off the boat, the producers tried to stop him with bigger
waves.
In the final scene, as Truman approaches the exit door, it looks as though his hesitation to enter
reality is an observation of the terror he feels at the instability of modern society's order. Christof
attempts to convince Truman to stay by speaking directly to him over a speaker system. He
argues that there is no more truth in the actual world than in his artificial one, where he would
have nothing to fear. After stopping to think, Truman concludes, "In case I don't see you... good
afternoon, good evening, and good night," bows to the crowd, and walks out. His escape is
applauded by the audience, and Sylvia rushes to welcome him. Finally, Christof's bosses cut the
show off with a shot of the open departure door, leaving Christof to grieve the reality of his
defeat.
In conclusion, I had a great time watching and analyzing The Truman Show's ideas. It is a movie
that I find to be both interesting and smart. The movie, which was released in 1998 and dealt
with complicated issues combining technology and philosophy, was, in my opinion, quite ahead
of its time.