A Requiem For A Dream

The Truman Show

This has got to be one of the MOST underrated movies of all time. I mean, no one knows of it, but yet it is one of the most intensely comic, tragic, and inspiring movies I've seen in my life time.

But, enough with superlatives. The whole concept of the movie is in a word, prophetic: Truman is adopted by a media conglomerate at birth. From his first day on earth, he has been the star of a reality TV show watched around the world 24 hours a day nonstop. But he doesn't know he's in a reality TV show, and he doesn't realize that everything in his life has been planned, scripted, and acted. His best friends, his parents, his love interests, etc. are all actors. The world as Truman knows it actually exists as a giant, humongous setpiece. Hell, even the moon and the sun are the headquarters of the TV crew working around the clock to maintain an illusion of reality.

I mean, just think about the conceit of the movie for a second: it is totally prophetic. The Truman Show came out in 1998, two whole years before the debut of "Survivor", which arguably launched the entire reality-TV craze which is still with us today. The concept is brilliant executed because the movie shows you how the TV network personnels are able to control every facet of Truman's life, from what kind of clothes he wear, what his daily routine is, who he goes out with, etc. But the really disturbing aspect of his existence is his total lack of freedom. The network conditioned him from a very early age to stifle his explorative instincts. They set subtle obstacles in order to discourage him from wandering beyond what they allow him to. They even killed his TV-father in an episode in order to discourage him from sailing and exploring the "ocean".

And the scary thing is, all of this stuff has become true in our world. We, like the audiences who watch the Truman Show, have become complete voyeurs into other people's existences. But the even scarier thing is that whereas Truman doesn't realize he's in a show, today's reality-TV show participants are willing to expose their privacy voluntarily in exchange for short-lived celebrity and fame. I really applaud the movie for conceiving of a world in which all of this stuff is actually happening, even worse than it dares to imagine.

This point is further hammered home by constant comparison between God and the Media. In The Truman Show, the Media is God. The director of the show lives on the "moon", and Truman never sees him in person. All Truman hears of him is a disembodied voice speaking to him above the clouds. And in some ways, the director, played by Ed Harris, is Truman's Creator. He has watched him grow up and planned his life. He is omnipotent because he can control everything that happens to Truman, including the weather. He is omniscient because he can see everything that Truman is doing.

The "world" that Truman lives in is itself a metaphor for the Garden of Eden. And Truman, in some ways, can be interpreted as defying God, or some Higher Power, to find out for himself what is "out there" so to speak. To further the Biblical metaphor, Truman becomes dissatisfied with his "reality" when he thinks about his former love, Sylvia, who was an actress that got wrote off in an episode. I mean, at this point, it's very clear that Sylvia could possibly represent Eve, who tempts Truman, or Adam, into disobeying God, i.e., the Director of the Show. This in itself brings up a whole bunch of philosophical and ethical issues, such as whether it's better to live in ignorance under the protection of a benevolent, albeit manipulative Deity or to live in freedom with full knowledge of the outside world, which is filled with deceit and evil. Another question is raised is whether actual reality is really better than created reality, of whether the deceit inside the created-reality is better or worse than the cruelties of the real world.

But there are some even broader questions that the movie raises about our society. Are we, as consumers of entertainment products, violating some kind of ethical laws by being voyeurs and deriving pleasure from the deprivation of privacy of others? How about the people in the reality-show themselves? Are they expendable because we as consumers are indiscriminate about what we consume mindlessly? On that end the movie has very clear answer. The last scene of the movie is Truman's escaping from his "world." He exited the sign, and the show is finished. And the two security guards who are watching the show just says "Hey is there anything to watch?" That cynical attitude about Truman, a tragic figure whose entire life has been a sham, is as expendable as any other product to the television-watching consumers.

I'm just really shocked that a movie like The Truman Show, who can generate so many interesting points of discussion and raise so many relevant points in today's society, a whole 7 years after it was released, has received so little formal accolade from the Academy. I mean, it was completely snubbed at the Oscars. And aside from a few people, I hardly know anyone who ever saw the movie. So I encourage you to get your hands on this movie, because it is still poignant and relevant, just as when it was released, if not more so today, in the world we live in.

Posted by humanflyz at July 31, 2005 11:05 PM | TrackBack