The Truman Show: The Portrayal of the Disharmony between the Real and Technological World Written by Ailin Barnachea1,2 1 Department of English, 2 First-year undergraduate of Victoria College, University of Toronto There comes a time in one’s life when one truly feels estranged from their existence. The mundanity of going to the same places, interacting with the same people, and waking up as the same person every day, induces a certain dissatisfaction that humanity is all too familiar with. As life progresses, one cannot help but experience themselves dissociating from what is considered their reality. Ultimately, these thoughts will lead to questions of existentialism such as, “Is this all my life is to be? Am I truly in control?” and most importantly, “What is the meaning of life?”. Created in 1998, The Truman Show revolves around the protagonist named Truman Burbank who unbeknownst to him lives a fabricated life. His whole existence has been structured as a reality TV show which has encapsulated the hearts of television viewers all over the world. It is only until Truman acknowledges that everything in his existence is counterfeit that he is determined to get to the bottom of his fake existence and revolt from his mundane life. As a result, the film effectively portrays the theme of how the technological age has restricted people from living a fulfilling and authentic life, which is demonstrated by the screenplay’s ingenious use of symbolism through the character’s actions and dialogue.
The Struggle of Differentiating Between the Real and Technological World As the premise of the film entails the story of a man’s life being broadcast to the world, everyone who is a part of the ordeal is characterized to believe in a specific ideology that is carried throughout the film, thus these actions effectively demonstrate the technological world’s progressive dominance over the real world in our modern day. In the movie’s first scene, the audience is introduced to the show’s three integral characters who carry the greatest responsibility of establishing Truman’s fabricated life. Christof, the creator of the show, states that “While the world he inhabits is in some respects counterfeit, there’s nothing fake about Truman himself” (00:00:30 – 00:00:38). Similarly, Truman’s fictional wife, Meryl, profoundly claims that “there is no difference between a private life and a public life” (00:01:23 – 00:01:30) as she describes her life to undoubtedly be ‘The Truman Show’. To which Marlon, Truman’s best friend, affirms that “It’s all true. It’s all real. Nothing here is fake. Nothing you see on this show is fake. It’s merely controlled” (00:02:00 – 00:02:08). Evidently, the concept that Truman’s television life is authentic displays how there is no distinction between what is considered real and fake in the technological world. What once made life particular and unique, such as one’s interpersonal relationships, has now been replicated to the technological world. All the people that are a part of Truman’s life, from the most intimate to the least relevant, are all disguised as legitimate. Consequently, the moral judgement of the cast and crew has been compromised as a result of the promotion of this shared ideology of performing for Truman, as their actions are evidently exploiting a human life. Thus, this ideology represents how difficult it is for one to be authentic through the technological world, for the binary of the two concepts has diminished and are now overlapping. Television has become a hyperreality, as it has overcome its initial inspiration. In the eyes of society, the television world is as real as ‘real’ could get. Television is gradually becoming synonymous with the real world. Screenwriters’ Perspectives Vol. 3 No. 1 2022
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