The Truman Show
Peter Weir’s movie, ‘The Truman Show’ illustrates the outrageous life of a character named Truman Burbank. At the age of thirty, Burbank starts to doubt that the perfectly organized life he lives in shipshape like island location is somehow an elaborate structure of unclear purpose. The fact is the reality is entirely outrageous than Burbank could possibly perceive: Burbank actually exists on a huge soundstage where he is the unknowing star of the widespread TV program ‘The Truman Show’. The show broadcast every move Burbank undertakes to the audience around the world ever since he was a young. The individuals in Burbank’s life—his wife, his mother and his best-friend—all represents the agenda of the godlike auteur, Christof. Such characters are entirely pretending, and lying to Truman. Since film, theatre, paintings, literature and art in general deal in illusion but can represent reality in the sense that they broaden and nurture the audience—enable the viewers to make sense of their experience (Chamberlain), it essential for the paper to analysis the Truman Show concepts in terms of what is real and the makeup of reality. Further, the paper discusses various concepts in the Truman show that illustrates the nature of real and reality, and how such concepts effectively influences the perceptions of the audience.
Movies like Truman are designed by entertainment firms as a way to exploit, as well as dissipate, the desire of the audience to engage in honest media criticism (Bishop). In the end, the influence of the media is confirmed rather than confronted. For instance, the Truman Show effectively manages to convince its viewers that their lives are not really what they seem to be—in other words, everything they know is entirely a lie. The thematic purpose of the film is to alter what is real and what is not, in the process of demonstrating the role of the media in our lives. From another perspective, instead of coming away from the Truman Show convinced to distance ourselves from the compelling role of the media, or to try to avoid associating our lives with such films, we still find ourselves enthralled by the media’s willingness to scrutinize and criticize their own productions (Bishop). Sometimes, the audience even congratulate the media for engaging in such an activity. Therefore, it is clear that the reality we perceive is entirely controlled by the media—since there is no life outside the walls of the media. According to Andrew Niccol, the writer of The Truman Show screenplay, the concept of reality is fascinating, for instance, he indicates that he is only interested in the ideology of “who is the real captive—is it Truman, or is it the viewers watching Truman?” (Bishop). In other words, the film seems to incorporate illusion in both sides—from the characters standpoint and the audience position. The viewers keep up with Truman’s every activity—celebrating his victories and worrying about his impediments. He starts to realize that his life is a carefully structured sham. Burbank tries continuously to elope Sea haven, only to be disenchanted by his fear of water. However, as the magnitude of the illusion created by Christof rises, Burbank radically obtains the strength confront his fears. Finally, Burbank manages to leave, despite the effort of Christof to keep Truman in the ‘caged walls’ of illusion. In other words, films like The Truman Show defuse the radicalism of media condemnation by mystifying the audience with quasi-explorations that offer the audience credit for their insight regarding media effects. Criticism of the role of the media in movies like The Truman show is reduced to one individual’s struggle to reclaim his reality—his life. The Truman show utilizes the impact of media criticism on viewers to foster the act of consumption. In other word, in the course of analyzing the nature of the characters in The Truman Show—for instance, what is real and what is not, the audience consistently engages in role the media offers them—with or without their consent.
Another sensitive concept about The Truman Show is the appealing, however compelling dialogue. In the movie’s opening scene, Christof tells the audience that his inspirations for designing the Truman Show is that the audience needed something unique and entertaining since they are “bored with actors giving us phony emotions” (The Truman Show). Further, he assures the audience that while the world they inhabit is entirely counterfeit, there’s nothing sham about the Show—for instance, he suggests, “no scripts, no cue cards; it is not always Shakespeare, but it is genuine”(The Truman Show). Another character, Meryl confidently indicates that there is no such thing as a private life or a public life. In other words, Meryl means that all life is the same and nothing is controlled, perhaps it just exists. However, it is clear that Christof manages to manipulate the entire society to watch only one person’s life—one that is entirely influenced and controlled. From a simpler perspective, viewers sit in theater or at home starring at the television and think that they are meticulous observers of the concepts from the media, however, they may not perceive that they are being controlled. Further, that their imaginary association with real existence—in particular to the role of the media is entirely altered with illusions and continuously manipulated (Bishop). The movie might be perceived to illustrate “how our whole orientation, belief-systems, and life and controlled, limited, and made risible or pathetic by a systematic religious/political mentality of power” (Brearley and Sabbadini). In other word, the subjectivity of individuals is falsified and warped by predominant unconscious attitudes which exist the media. However, the film offers the audience glimpses of the nature of society of control, but at the same time provides the audience with comforts that the concept of control will end soon, and Truman can finally achieve liberty. In viewing The Truman Show, the audience watch themselves watching. The first half of the movie engages the audience with the incidents of Burbank’s life as television viewers. Later, the audience slide back to watch from the perspective of the television set the fictional viewers watching Truman. Such a state initiating questioning, for instance, the audience watching The Truman Show, may question their watching practice, the excitement they obtain as the viewers in sitting in the theatre at Burbank’s expense. The double viewing, therefore “emphasizes our complicity with the society of control, not as victims but as part of its apparatus” (Wise). In other words, Burbank is stuck in a world where everything can be regulated, for instance the weather, as well as the time of sunrise and sunset, and perhaps who he falls in love with—therefore it is hard for him to decipher what is real and what is not—such a state relies on illusion.
In conclusion, the idea of The Truman Show—the depiction of duplicity—is identified by the clever emergence of illusion and reality. The illusion within illusion approach entails that everything the audience perceives involves numerous meanings. In other words, the incidents we see—illustrate different concepts simultaneously. For instance, one that is viewed by Truman, one that is viewed by Christof’s crew, one that is viewed by the audience watching the show in the film, and one that is viewed and analysis by us at home or in theatre. Therefore, the chances of grasping the reality as it is—is entirely challenging for all parties involved. In other words, the film creates perceptual dissonance that patronizes or emerges to alter our attention. Truman, definitely has the power to decide what is real and what is not—since he accepts the nature of his surrounding and as well doubt it. Truman experiences are based on Christof’s philosophy that, ‘we accept the reality of the world with which were are presented; it is as simple as that’. Perhaps one can realize the real and the real nature of reality after acknowledging that somehow we are constructions of the media and its our obligation to wake up to the magnitude of control the media exerts over our perceptions.