The theme in the film ‘The Truman Show’ directed by Peter Weir that intrigued me was power and control, and how the Christof, the creator of the Truman Show inflicted power and control over Truman. I learnt about this theme though the main character, Truman, and the curiosity and determination he showed as he was questioning and trying to escape his reality.My response towards the stimulated world Truman lives in is full of pity as he is unable to escape his version of reality even though he wants to seek the truth and sickened of how Christof manipulates him and strips him of his power and control over his life. A turning point where Truman begins to become suspicious is the flashback scene, Truman is it college and asks Lauren on a date instead of going to a party with Marlon and Meryl. They both sneak to the beach and she tries to convince Truman “that he is on TV and his whole life is a lie” and “the sea and the sky, it’s fake” and reveals her real name is Sylvia.
Soon after he is stopped by Christof who sends her ‘father’ to get her from the beach and tells them that they’re moving to Fiji. I feel that this scene is the first time Truman questions if he has total power and control over his world, and throughout the rest of the film he is subconsciously trying to escape the manipulation he feels he’s under. This is evident as later in the film Truman expresses to Marlon his desire to go to Fiji.
He shows Marlon the globe and points to the Fiji Islands saying, “Fiji. You can’t get any further away before you start coming back”. This quote is backed up with a close up of Truman’s face where we can see the emotions and desire that he wants to escape and experience something new with his life.
Fiji represents the furthest place away and also Sylvia who symbolises the truth. This scene made me think about the theme and how it is sickening through Christof’s manipulation of Truman’s life of immersing him in a totalitarian society without him realising, Christof had denied Truman of having power and control over himself. I realise here that Truman wants to choose knowledge and truth over ignorance, even though he knows that seeking knowledge and truth is the seemingly difficult option over the easy, comforting option of staying in Seahaven. I feel a strong sense of pity for Truman as he doesn’t have a choice of whether or not he wants to be in control of his life, and it is evident that he’s trying to seek the truth to gain the power and control of which he has been denied. I feel like the directors purpose was to create a strong sense of pity for Truman throughout the readers, which was accomplished, however I also feel a strong sense of pity for the audience that constantly watch The Truman Show. The are many shots of the audience watching The Truman Show such as a bar dedicated to the show, two elderly women and two security guards watching the show. By a high angle shot at the bar, it shows how many people are invested in Truman’s life, and that they use his life as a form of socialisation.
The security guards shown are constantly watching when they are meant to be working which highlights that they regard watching Truman’s life over necessary things involved with their own like working. The audience are ultimately the people who kept Truman captive as the whole economy relied on the audience buying products and personally, I think the audience are being subconsciously manipulated by the media to prioritise The Truman Show over their own lives which I why I feel pity for them. I also feel sickened by Christof and the media for not only manipulating Truman, but also manipulating society to think their reality revolves around The Truman Show, therefore funding The Truman Show for 30 years.
