The Truman ShowIt's said that one of the most important parts of being happy is having control over your environment. What happens when your environment is a lie, designed to control you? That's what Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is confronted with in the ultimate reality program, one chronicling his entire life, called "The Truman Show". His world is the island of Seahaven, a perfect slice of small town America, Norman Rockwell-inspired tranquility, a gilded cage of harmony...an ant farm, where all eyes--literally and figuratively--are on the star performer. In time, Truman feels the burn under the microscopic lens, reducing him to ash, all for the entertainment of the folks at home.
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The Truman Show is a satire of society and film, a cleverly distilled potion of the consumerism, entertainment fixation, and voyeurism intrinsic in our lives. It is an overtly self-aware film about a man's life which is televised and scripted for the amusement of those at home, disconnected from the reality--such as it is--for Truman; even the apparent opening credits are a fabrication, citing characters as being played by fictitious actors. In theory--that is, the theory of the "creator" of "The Truman Show", known only as Christof (Ed Harris)--the world of Seahaven is how the world should be: safe, contained, controlled, innocent. Christof represents the noble aspirations of a parent driven to the coldly logical objective of keeping Truman insulated from the world, safe in his proverbial (and literal) bubble--the "largest enclosed set in the world". The fact that he is invested in such a massive enterprise from a fiscal standpoint should seem like a conflict of interests to a paternal figure, but that doesn't interfere with Christof's god complex. Christof is the image of the pretentious artiste, wearing his beret. Even his artist name mirrors his ego, similar in spelling to Jesus Christ. Christof is a self-appointed "savior" of Truman, and by association, the world, since he preaches his world view is the only way, preaching as an ephemeral force in the false moon lurking overhead. But Truman is the actual "star of the show"; and speaking of name play, although Truman has been made into the world's most recognizable entertainer, he is also playing the ultimate role: himself...a "true man" in a world of illusion. From the start, Truman is largely complacent in his comfortable life in Seahaven, with his seemingly perfect (if nagging) wife, Meryl--played by "Hannah Gill", in turn played by Laura Linney. But there are moments he tries to secret away, things he hides--even if he doesn't know really who he is hiding them from, deep down one senses he knows he is being watched, controlled. He tears out sections from fashion magazines he ostensibly buys for his wife, trying to recreate the visage of girl named Sylvia (Natascha McElhone) whom he knew when he was younger, one whom he had a crush on, and one who also tried to reveal the illusion to Truman, only to be carted away, presumably to "Fiji". When the actor who played Truman's father infiltrates the set of "The Truman Show", Truman's suspicions are confirmed that there is a conspiracy at work in his life, even if he doesn't understand the extent of it yet. And as he begins to brush the inconsistencies in his life aside, he digs deeper and deeper into the reality of his existence, which grows more unnerving and paranoid as he peels each layer away.
Although Christof has created a "perfect world" for Truman, it took him nearly thirty years before he really got to questioning its existence. Why is that? Christof claims that people accept the world as it is presented, and he may be right. Had we not had the dramatic irony of knowing that Truman's world is an elaborate television studio, it's possible we might view Truman as undergoing a psychotic break, just as Meryl claims to deflect his increasingly manic efforts to escape. There is something deeply immoral about the way Meryl and Truman's best friend, Marlon/Louis Coltrane (Noah Emmerich), outright lie to him just to do their jobs; but isn't all entertainment illusion? By all accounts, "The Truman Show" is the biggest entertainment force of all time, and no doubt the actors are well compensated for their efforts--and where does that money come from? Our insight into the people who occupy this world, watching "The Truman Show" with nigh-religious zeal, shows an audience of people glued to the tube, patrons in bars taking bets on Truman's resolve to escape, a Japanese family imitating his catchphrase, even a man who is perpetually in a bathtub watching Truman's every step. These people are the fuel that feeds the fire. Releasing at the mere advent of reality television, The Truman Show seems eerily prescient in society's readiness to tune into to real-life drama, invested in more than mere fiction, with the promise of something truly special (or dangerous) happening to someone as real as they are, a substitute for living one's own life with any degree of enthusiasm. Somehow the impression that something real could actually happen lends a sense of gravitas, of significance, to "The Truman Show", and guys like Christof exploit this to the fullest. How different is television today by comparison? It's interesting to see how the lives of the world outside of the massive set of Seahaven are influenced by the "The Truman Show", and its creator. When Sylvia calls in to confront Christof for his manipulation of Truman, her apartment is decorated in paraphernalia including protest signs to end "The Truman Show", to free him from his gilded cage. Effectively, Sylvia's life has been propelled by this television show, and her existence has also been driven by her efforts to liberate him from his illusion. Just as it is with media today, the absolute immersion and overwhelming presence of "The Truman Show" has a profound effect on others, beyond mere hamfisted product placement. Although Truman has been kept in a state of arrested development by design to prevent him from escaping, he matures against the most dedicated efforts to insulate him from the "horrors" of adulthood and freedom. The Truman Show is like the allegory of "Plato's Cave", where the denizens of a cave cannot truly grasp the concept of the world outside, because their definition of reality comes from the mere shadows flickering on the walls, illuminated by the glow of the fire. But even cave dwellers dream, and Truman dreams--somewhere Christof cannot place a camera--and his hopes drive him to seek something he knows in his heart to be true--a world beyond this cave lit by the flame of an imaginary sun. And what is television but flickering shadows on a screen?
Recommended for: Fans of a clever mix of metaphysical drama and ironic comedy, a story of television obsession, turning the camera back at us for some healthy self-assessment. The Truman Show also represents a dramatic turn for Jim Carrey, previously regarded almost strictly for his comedy performances.
Although Christof has created a "perfect world" for Truman, it took him nearly thirty years before he really got to questioning its existence. Why is that? Christof claims that people accept the world as it is presented, and he may be right. Had we not had the dramatic irony of knowing that Truman's world is an elaborate television studio, it's possible we might view Truman as undergoing a psychotic break, just as Meryl claims to deflect his increasingly manic efforts to escape. There is something deeply immoral about the way Meryl and Truman's best friend, Marlon/Louis Coltrane (Noah Emmerich), outright lie to him just to do their jobs; but isn't all entertainment illusion? By all accounts, "The Truman Show" is the biggest entertainment force of all time, and no doubt the actors are well compensated for their efforts--and where does that money come from? Our insight into the people who occupy this world, watching "The Truman Show" with nigh-religious zeal, shows an audience of people glued to the tube, patrons in bars taking bets on Truman's resolve to escape, a Japanese family imitating his catchphrase, even a man who is perpetually in a bathtub watching Truman's every step. These people are the fuel that feeds the fire. Releasing at the mere advent of reality television, The Truman Show seems eerily prescient in society's readiness to tune into to real-life drama, invested in more than mere fiction, with the promise of something truly special (or dangerous) happening to someone as real as they are, a substitute for living one's own life with any degree of enthusiasm. Somehow the impression that something real could actually happen lends a sense of gravitas, of significance, to "The Truman Show", and guys like Christof exploit this to the fullest. How different is television today by comparison? It's interesting to see how the lives of the world outside of the massive set of Seahaven are influenced by the "The Truman Show", and its creator. When Sylvia calls in to confront Christof for his manipulation of Truman, her apartment is decorated in paraphernalia including protest signs to end "The Truman Show", to free him from his gilded cage. Effectively, Sylvia's life has been propelled by this television show, and her existence has also been driven by her efforts to liberate him from his illusion. Just as it is with media today, the absolute immersion and overwhelming presence of "The Truman Show" has a profound effect on others, beyond mere hamfisted product placement. Although Truman has been kept in a state of arrested development by design to prevent him from escaping, he matures against the most dedicated efforts to insulate him from the "horrors" of adulthood and freedom. The Truman Show is like the allegory of "Plato's Cave", where the denizens of a cave cannot truly grasp the concept of the world outside, because their definition of reality comes from the mere shadows flickering on the walls, illuminated by the glow of the fire. But even cave dwellers dream, and Truman dreams--somewhere Christof cannot place a camera--and his hopes drive him to seek something he knows in his heart to be true--a world beyond this cave lit by the flame of an imaginary sun. And what is television but flickering shadows on a screen?
Recommended for: Fans of a clever mix of metaphysical drama and ironic comedy, a story of television obsession, turning the camera back at us for some healthy self-assessment. The Truman Show also represents a dramatic turn for Jim Carrey, previously regarded almost strictly for his comedy performances.