What kind of person is Truman?
Truman is a character who is very optimistic. He starts each new day with a positive outlook on life. This can be seen as every morning, he gives himself a pep talk and greets his neighbours cheerfully without fail.
He is also very observant. He notices the reactions of people around him in his everyday life. For example, when he saw his father on the street and started chasing after him, he realised that everyone around him acted oblivious to what was happening around them. He also observed that his wife always seemed to be talking to an imaginary audience and promoting products in a very commercialized way.
Truman is also a man with very strong willpower. He was determined to find out the truth despite facing all kinds of obstacles presented by the producers of the show. This can be seen in many ways. Firstly, when he tried to leave Seahaven, he did not give up despite facing a jam. He also overcame his fear of water by sailing out to sea on his own. His willpower to be free from his original life was demonstrated when he risked his own life in the storm.
Lastly, he is also very strong in his beliefs. His beliefs to find his freedom from the media were not shaken despite being confronted by “the voice of God” (Cristoff). The fact that he did not succumb to authority and give up on his beliefs but instead continue onwards shows that he possesses this admirable trait.
Why has he been chosen as the star of a media show? Why doesn’t he know about it?
Truman was chosen as the star of the show for mainly two reasons. Firstly, he was an unwanted baby. Thus, the producers of the show felt that by creating the Truman show, they would be giving him an opportunity to live the life of a normal person. Secondly, he was chosen as he was born into the world at a suitable time – the time when production began.
Truman is unaware that his whole life is being filmed as the whole town is basically a set. Every single event that happens or every object that is found had actually been planned or placed. Even everyone around him, his mother and wife, are all paid actresses. Thus, while he believes that this is leading a normal life, it is in fact a very large-scale production of a show. Lastly, he is unaware of it as there are 5000 mini, high tech cameras placed all around Seahaven to capture every moment of his life.
In what ways is he influenced by the media?
There are several ways in which Truman is influenced by media in the show. Firstly, as the show goes on 24/7 and has no advertisements, the show gets sponsors by allowing companies to use “product placements” around Truman to replace advertisements. As Truman is the star of the show – who does not know he is part of the show- he is being manipulated by the actors of the shows to stand in front of certain advertising boards as well as his friends telling him about any new products they have bought or used. Also, Truman is an unwanted baby, but in the show he is portrayed to have parents and he is made to believe that his “father” has died when he was separated from his father during an accident out in sea.
Think of a specific scene in which this is illustrated well and comment on the effect.
A specific scene that illustrates how Truman is being influenced by the media is when Truman tells his best friend from seven years of age about his encounter, and yet his best pal comes up with a convincing speech, telling Truman that the last thing he would do would be to deceive him. Truman believes him, yet every word of this speech was made up by Christoff. This proves that humans have an innate mindset that “seeing and hearing is believing”. In Truman’s case, he hears what his best friend said to him and he does not question one part of it, which all of us would do the same if we were Truman. Christoff has realized this fact and hence made good use of it to influence Truman to stay in Seahaven by planning for Truman to hear this speech which would assure him that everything is alright in Seahaven.
How does this reflect how the media influences us?
This reflects that the media is so constantly and wholly surrounding us that sometimes it is hard to make the distinction between what is real and what is reel. What is portrayed in the media influences our ideas of reality in most realms of life. We are convinced that the reality “reality” that the media creates is true because we believe in what we see. Hence, we gradually become absorbed into this media reality and we accept the media fabrications as part of our real life and our attitudes get mixed with those that are portrayed in the media. From this, we develop a new attitude to life that is mostly based on what we are shown by the media.
What we have learnt from the show
We accept the way the world is presented to us. Truman has lived in the world of pretense all his life, but he never once doubted the reality of his life until people around him started giving themselves away. We learn that sometimes we simply take in everything around us and believe whatever is presented to us. We ought to sometimes question the reality of life and whether what we perceive is the truth. Truman demonstrates how a person can be lulled into a false sense of security and be fooled most of his life. Indeed, we sometimes try to fit into the surreal world so much that we become part of media. Truman is clearly oblivious to the fact that he is the star of the media show because he was born into the world created for him. This teaches us that we are very influenced by the world. Also, Christoff behaves like God in the show. This makes us wonder whether it is indeed true that the producers of a reality TV programme are playing God to the contestants. They create a world for the stars of the show such that everything is planned out. It is very difficult to be aware of the truth and lies when you’re part of the show. Again, we recognize the overwhelming influence of media on our lives. In this world where everything is planned for us, it is only natural that we abandon ourselves to fate and do not try to lead lives independent of influence from the media.
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