Truman Burbank, the unwitting protagonist of the world’s most renowned television program, is supposed to represent an ordinary person. The Truman Show takes place in Seahaven, an island town that embodies the standardized norms of American suburbia. Truman is a product of his environment, living in a setting that lacks individuality. From the moment he was born, Truman has navigated a fabricated world created by Christof, the mastermind behind the show, to ensure maximum audience appeal and profitability. Every aspect of Truman’s surroundings exists solely to satisfy the demands of a mass-market TV show.
However, Truman poses a problem for The Truman Show. As he grows up, he reveals himself to be more than just an average individual; he is peculiar, restless, and eccentric in a captivating way. Truman possesses an extraordinary curiosity, a quality highly valued in anyone who is not merely a manufactured character. Consequently, Christof has spent a significant portion of the show’s duration attempting to suppress Truman’s inquisitiveness. Truman expresses his desire to be an explorer to his teacher, only to be met with a rehearsed response claiming there is nothing left to explore.
Premiering in June of 1998, The Truman Show was not a typical summer blockbuster filled with actual explosions, but rather one driven by metaphorical explosions. Its enduring popularity is often attributed to its insights about technology, as the film eerily foresaw the rise of reality television, social media interactions, and the mundane nature of surveillance. However, Truman is not the archetypal everyman of the story; the true everyman is the audience who watches The Truman Show. Over the years, Christof’s efforts to keep Truman trapped in Seahaven become increasingly extreme and cruel, yet the viewers continue to watch. It is revealed that the show has a worldwide audience of over 1 billion people. This audience, including Christof and those who support him, justifies all the morally questionable aspects of the show. This is what distinguishes The Truman Show as a prophetic masterpiece rather than merely a work of foresight. The viewers mistakenly believe they are watching a star, while Truman is their captive.
“In an interview,” Christof admits, “We had to devise ways to keep Truman on the island as he grew up.” He believes he is discussing his artistic technique, but in reality, he is confessing to his manipulation. Truman’s father was killed before his eyes, a scripted incident that served the dual purpose of removing an uncooperative actor from the show and instilling a fear of water in Truman. After all, an island lacks escape routes. Christof deliberately incorporates reminders of this traumatic incident into the otherwise sterile environment of the show. When Truman is asked to visit another “island” by a co-worker, he encounters a partially submerged boat tied to the dock, triggering his fear. Through his actors, Christof implants the idea in Truman’s mind that he could have prevented the tragedy. Truman’s mother even tells him at one point that she does not blame him, albeit unconvincingly.
On the 10,909th day of The Truman Show’s run, the day the film begins, a spotlight unexpectedly falls from the sky. This occurrence disrupts Truman’s meticulously crafted world and compels him to question his reality. Is his life genuine? Is he merely a part of an elaborate show? Truman confides his doubts to his best friend, Marlon. Little does he know that Marlon’s response is dictated by Christof through an earpiece. Marlon affirms that if Truman’s life were indeed a show, he would be aware of it, insisting that he would never lie to him.
Scenes like this, in which Truman is gaslighted, can be difficult for viewers to watch. Yet, within the movie, people continue to watch the show. Some watch fervently, invested in Truman’s life and character, while others simply tune in due to a lack of other options. The film occasionally interrupts the show-within-a-show narrative, illustrating that Truman has gained unprecedented fame as both a subject of sanctioned voyeurism and a superstar. Viewers gather at a Truman-themed bar, reminiscent of TGI Friday’s, adorned with kitschy Truman memorabilia, to collectively watch the show. Bumper stickers with messages like “I’m a TRU believer” can be found next to the television. We are introduced to two older women sitting next to couch pillows featuring Truman’s face. TruTalk, a television program dedicated to discussing The Truman Show, also exists. These instances highlight the one-sided dynamics of parasocial relationships and how easily one person’s life can be repackaged as gossip for others. One woman passionately relays her indignation: “I can’t believe he married Meryl on the rebound.”
Truman’s association with Meryl, whose name is derived from a famous actor, is a slowly orchestrated manipulation. Hannah, the actress who portrays Meryl, struggles to hide her dislike for Truman when he is not present. The dialogue between Truman and Meryl mainly consists of mundane small talk, with Meryl appearing most animated when reciting marketing lines to promote products within the show. The film implies that Truman’s marriage to Meryl is not a result of genuine love, but rather a compromise. The woman he truly loves was an extra on the show, a fellow student at his college who was quickly removed from the program when Truman fell for her at first sight. The producers recognize the unruliness of attraction, and to control the narrative, they made Meryl Truman’s designated love interest.
Although Christof serves as the direct perpetrator of Truman’s mistreatment, the show’s audience enables it. Enthralled by the various storylines, the viewers fail to acknowledge that Truman’s freedom comes at a cost ─ his suffering becomes their entertainment. Eventually, a group of individuals begins protesting against Christof, the show, and the belief that immoral behavior can be justified for the sake of entertaining television. However, these protesters are dismissed as a vociferous minority by the host of TruTalk during his sycophantic interview with Christof.
While the true extent of the protesters’ impact is unclear, The Truman Show importantly conveys how mass media has the power to shape and even become reality. Regardless of their number, the protesters are ineffectual on their own. Truman remains trapped, under constant surveillance by 5,000 cameras. And his audience persists, acting as a Greek chorus adorned with merchandise. Their voices reach through time to the viewers of the film, posing a thought-provoking question: Would you watch The Truman Show or would you be one of the individuals who speaks out against it?
Released during a period dominated by headlines about the Starr Report and the emergence of shows like The Jerry Springer Show, The Truman Show explored the trajectory of American culture as it entered a new century. Its outlook was far from optimistic. The film exaggerates satire to expose the madness in Christof’s methods. If The Truman Show were a real-life semi-scripted television production, Christof would likely have extended influence and become an even more significant figure, stirring up controversy rather than receiving empty adulation. Today, when pop culture reflects on the 1990s, it often does so with a sense of self-congratulation ─ pointing out that although things may not be great now, they were worse in the past. The Truman Show preemptively challenged such smugness. The movie foresaw how the voyeurism prevalent in the 90s would evolve into the subdued voyeurism of the present moment. It anticipated the immense popularity of true crime media, which treats murder as a puzzle to solve and abuses as tales to exploit. The Truman Show predicted how effortlessly we would transform real people into characters and treat their lives as our entertainment.
In essence, The Truman Show remains a timeless masterpiece, expertly predicting the societal and cultural shifts that continue to shape our lives. Its enduring relevance exposes the complex interplay between media, voyeurism, and the commodification of human experiences. The film implores viewers to reflect upon their own complicity and challenges them to consider whether they would passively participate or actively resist the allure of such manipulative and exploitative entertainment.
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