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The Truman Show, Truth, and Modern Reality

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“We accept the reality of the world with which we’re presented. It’s as simple as that.”

– Christof (Ed Harris)

In 1998, when I first saw The Truman Show, reality television and the internet were still in their infancy, despite both technically having been around for decades. Regardless, shows like MTV’s The Real World and internet staples like late-’90s message boards and chatrooms helped establish a market for so-called intimate looks inside people’s lives.

Just what were people like in their homes, away from the public eye? How different did they act when they were “alone”? In the 25 years since The Truman Show premiered in theaters, reality TV and social media have taken over a large swath of not only entertainment but of culture in general.

While it may seem reasonable to suggest that most people know and understand the difference between, say, reality and reality TV, given the past several years, I’m not so certain of that anymore. It seems that more often now people are believing what they are told and shown without any actual, rational proof. It seems that Christof’s comment above has proven correct. People do accept the reality with which they’re presented.

Regarding shows like The Bachelor, there is leeway given as to just how much is actually true and unscripted. They are competition shows more than they are reality TV, after all. However, when it comes to the nightly news, isn’t it reasonable to assume that what we’re getting is a complete truth?

Earlier this year, it was revealed through a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems that Fox News knowingly aired false allegations regarding the 2020 presidential election. Nothing was ever proven that such dramatic vote tampering actually took place. Nevertheless, the idea that the 2020 election was stolen became true to a lot of Fox News viewers, even without substantial and vetted sources to back up such claims.

This is but one example of what happens daily nowadays. It seems like anyone can simply make a claim, and if it’s loud enough, people will not only see or hear it, but they will also believe it. Just show an image or video that may hint at what is being stated. Get someone to say, “Hey, I know what that person’s talking about. I saw it, too.” It’s becoming more difficult to disprove wild claims than it is to actually prove them.

Truman puts his hand out to stop a bus in The Truman Show

In the film, Truman starts seeing the cracks in his false world, and rather than accept the wild explanations for all of it, he begins his search for the truth. We should all aspire to be Truman.

At least once the film begins. We know that he’s always had the soul of an explorer, but his father was “killed off” when Truman was a boy in an effort to keep him in Seahaven. And yet, it would be wrong, I believe, to think Truman begins questioning his reality when the studio light crash-lands on his neighborhood street.

When he gets to work that same morning, he’s already bought a magazine to rip out pieces of women’s faces in an effort to construct the face of the woman he fell for in high school. The same woman who talked about how his world wasn’t real. He even tries making plans to go to Fiji, the random place this woman was supposedly moving to when she was caught by her “father” one night when they ran away together (away from the cameras).

Truman has been thinking of leaving for a long time. That said, it’s only after strange occurrences after strange occurrences begin that Truman considers the very real possibility that his life and the world he inhabits aren’t what he thought they were. He’s not in a simulation in The Matrix sense, but he isn’t in the real world either.

It’s important to question things we take for granted, even our existence. But I would also bear in mind what Marlon, Truman’s so-called best friend, says to him when Truman confides in his suspicions regarding reality. Truman seems to believe that not only is Seahaven not real, but “[e]verybody seems to be in on it.” Apparently, it’s only Truman who’s real:

TRUMAN: Well, I don’t know what to think, Marlon. Maybe I’m losing my mind, but it’s like the whole world revolves around me somehow.

MARLON: That’s a lot of world for one man, Truman. You sure that’s not wishful thinking? You wishing you’d made more out of yourself?…I know things haven’t really worked out for either of us like we used to dream they would. I know that feeling once the good things just slipped away. You don’t want to believe it, so you…you look for answers somewhere else…

That’s understandable and rational on Marlon’s part. The irony is that he’s an actor, and he only tells Truman this to get him to stay in Seahaven (and ultimately the show itself). Still, it’s good advice. Questioning is an important part of critical thinking, but we can’t go so far down the rabbit hole that we lose sight of why we began our search for truth in the first place.

Thankfully, Truman does keep his eye on the prize. A big part of that is due to that mysterious woman. Her name is Sylvia, and she’s all about freeing Truman. The reason for this is twofold: she loves Truman, and she doesn’t believe that Christof and the powers that be should keep Truman from the outside world.

Christof and his crew watch an off-screen monitor in The Truman Show

Sylvia is the rational activist, hellbent on doing what she can to change things. Step one of change is questioning. The next step is knowing which answers to believe and from whom. She tried to get Truman to start questioning his reality. It didn’t completely work, but she planted a seed that took root. Now, after many years, he’s as close as he’s ever been to discovering the truth. It turns out that he is all alone. If only he could escape and find the girl who got away.

The climax of The Truman Show finds Truman fighting through his fear of water, sailing to somewhere that isn’t Seahaven. Once we’ve got answers, it’s up to us to truly learn the truth. After all, it’s better to know something than it is to simply be told that something by trusted experts.

Once he hits a literal wall, the voice of Christof appears through the fake clouds in the sky, the voice of God essentially does his best to convince Truman to stay:

TRUMAN: Who are you?

CHRISTOF: I am the creator of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions.

TRUMAN: And who am I?

CHRISTOF: You’re the star.

TRUMAN: Was nothing real?

CHRISTOF: You were real. That’s what made you so good to watch. Listen to me, Truman. There’s no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you. Same lies. The same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear. I know you better than you know yourself.

Director Peter Weir and writer Andrew Niccol could never have predicted just how accurate this discussion is. Metaphorically speaking, Christof isn’t God. He’s technology itself, or perhaps he’s a creator of technology. Truman was raised in a world where everyone had access to his life. He didn’t ask for this, but it was nonetheless the life that was given to him.

Truman wants out, the way so many want out now. Reality TV and social media are simply specific examples of the larger issue at play. We now have a generation that was born into a world where technology nearly reigns supreme. Kids grow up as Truman Burbank. Try as they might, are they ever able to escape? If technology can make things easier and safer, why choose anything else?

But there’s a key line here, one of my favorites in the entire film. After Christof tells Truman that last line above, Truman responds with this:

TRUMAN: You never had a camera in my head.

If the world sees you through reality TV and social media, the world cannot know the real you. Unless our thoughts are exposed, no one can ever truly know us. Unless, of course, we allow intimacy to take us to a safe space where we can open up with someone, kind of like how Truman and Sylvia truly started to get to know one another.

Marlon was never really Truman’s friend, and Meryl was never really his wife. They were actors, just like Truman’s “parents.”  Sylvia was real, though, and she exists beyond the door Truman finds in the film’s final minutes.

Even though Christof tells Truman he’s on television, he doesn’t care. Television isn’t real. Reality TV isn’t reality. Reality is what’s real. That’s what Truman wants. It’s what we all should want.

In an age where fake news, social media, and reality TV are dominant, it takes effort to find the truth. We must question, vet the sources and the answers we get, and then we have to get further answers on our own. It can be tough sometimes to do this, but it’s essential.

The safe thing for Truman to do is to stay in Seahaven, but reality is just better, even if it can be dangerous. Truman doesn’t know what lies beyond the door he walks through, but he walks through nevertheless, a big smile on his face.

Close up of a button in The Truman Show

The Truman Show is timeless. A big part of that is the themes I’ve discussed, but I don’t want to get too much distance from the individuals who made this film possible. Weir and Niccol did such a great job with this movie. They took these big ideas regarding reality and free will, and they made an entertaining mainstream film.

Between this and Man on the Moon, Jim Carrey ended the ’90s on such a high. He’s so good in this film, distilling the Carrey we all knew at the time into a quiet, unassuming man who becomes determined over the course of the film’s 103-minute runtime. The rest of the cast was also great, including Laura Linney (always love her) as Meryl and Noah Emmerich as Marlon.

Ed Harris was justly nominated for an Academy Award for his work as Christof, as were Weir and Niccol. Carrey was not nominated, nor was he ever, which remains a shame given that he’s most likely left his acting career behind for the time being.

I wholeheartedly love The Truman Show. Watching it from beginning to end for the first time in years, it’s clear to me that it’s a masterpiece. We should be talking about this film far more often than we do, particularly given the issues it discusses. A lot of movies ask questions, but very few actually give answers to them.

The Truman Show is about the need to not only question but to seek answers ourselves. It’s not cynical about this. We must remain vigilant. Even those who seem to have our best interest at heart might be full of it, but we must stay on course. The truth is certainly out there. We just have to find it.

We might not be lucky to have a Sylvia waiting for us on the other side, but honestly, that doesn’t make a difference. We don’t go after the truth for anyone but ourselves. After all, as Truman tells Marlon, “You ever think about that, Marlon? That your whole life has been building towards something?” I do, Truman. To find the truth. To exist in reality. Wouldn’t that be something?

Written by Michael Suarez

I write and occasionally teach English classes. When I'm not doing either, I'm watching something awesome, reading something awesome, listening to something awesome, eating something awesome, or resting. Actually, not everything I do is awesome, but I'm okay with that. My loves include Lost, cinema from the '90s and aughts, U2, David Bowie, most of Star Wars, and - you know what? I love a lot of things. More things than I hate.

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