Christof is the director of the programme, ‘The Truman Show’ in the film. He created Truman’s world and he is very proud of it. We can see this in the quote I included at the beginning of the character study, from when he says, “…gives hope, joy and inspiration to millions.” Also, hope, joy and inspiration is what religion can give, so this is another connection to religion and that he’s proud. It seems as though he can offer something as good as religion.
We can tell that Christof is very passionate about ‘The Truman Show’, from the beginning of the film when Christof is talking to the camera, like an interview. He said that there was nothing fake about Truman himself. Also the way he wouldn’t give up when Truman was trying to escape showed us his commitment, determination and passion for ‘The Truman Show’.
Christof looks the way a typical director would. He has a sophisticated black jacket, intellectual spectacles and a beret. I think his clothes are not only supposed to make him look like a director, but also to show his intelligence and professional image. He is made to seem superior, not only as a God-like figure to Truman’s world, but also as the boss of the production team’s world. This shows us more of his controlling nature. In ‘The Truman Show’ we see three different worlds and it seems that Christof wants to take control of the real world as well as Truman’s and the production team’s. I get this impression from the way that the audience respond to the programme and are constantly watching.
Although all these characteristics are quite positive, it seems Christof is quite a weak person inside. We get the feeling that Christof is unfulfilled in some ways. He seems to have wanted to design the perfect place, because the real world isn’t perfect enough. We can tell this from the quote I used when writing about the director’s intentions.
I always thought there was something mysterious about Christof, almost like he is hiding something. His work and Truman could be his way of dealing with his problems. He is very idealistic, and perhaps he is trying to create something more than just a television show. Christof spends most of his time in the control room watching Truman, so it’s almost as if he’s living his life vicariously. This also gives the impression that he is lonely. We never hear about Christof’s family so maybe Truman and his dreams are all he has.
He obviously had to be very clever and devoted to his work for this project to last for twenty-nine years. The organisation, planning and brains that must have gone into making something as huge as this last for that long is a very hard job, and Christof managed it.
At the end of the film when Christof speaks to Truman for the first time, he tries to persuade him to stay. We get mixed feelings about him here because he is reminiscing about the past with him and looking lovingly at the television screen as he talks, but he nearly killed him when he was sailing, by making a storm. It seems he is only saying those things to try to keep Truman in Seahaven, so this gives us a different impression of Christof. I think that he is passionate about his work, and that’s why he was talking to Truman in that way, but he can’t be that concerned about Truman, as he has led him through a life of deceit. I have interpreted Christof as a person who is more concerned about money and him, than the lives of others.
I think we can tell the most about Christof from the break for freedom sequence at the end of the film.
“ He’ll turn back, he’ll be too afraid.”
That was something Christof says to the production team when they question him on demanding the storm. This tells us that he thinks he knows Truman better than anyone. It’s obvious that he doesn’t, as Truman doesn’t turn back.
Also, I thought there was another important part when a member of the production team says-
“You can’t let him die in front of a live audience”
Christof replies with-
“He was born in front of a live audience”
This shows us that Christof doesn’t care about Truman, and that he treats it like a game, not even considering what Truman is going through. He has a completely impassive face as he watches him drown.
When Truman walks out the door, Christof’s face looks lonely and devastated, like he’d been deserted by the one person who gave him hope. Occasionally you can feel sorry for him, but I think overall he is a mean, money grabbing, selfish, and controlling, even if he is a bit softer deep down.
The Three worlds
Truman’s world
The false world that is created for Truman is made to be very unrealistic. The sun is always shining and everyone is always happy. The town, Seahaven, and the people, all seem to be from the fifties, from the clothes, buildings, and general atmosphere. Truman uses little phrases such as, “Good morning, and in case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night.”
The colours and layout of the town seem very much like the towns you see on children’s toys and television programmes. You can almost imagine it being a cartoon. If it was always raining and everyone was sad in children’s television programmes, it will upset them and they won’t watch it, and I think this is the same with The Truman Show. I think it could give encouragement to people who don’t have such a good life. No violence of the outside world, or anything bad ever comes intentionally into Seahaven. This is probably why he was generally always happy and content with his life, before he started to get suspicious.
The director who created his world, Christof, perhaps wanted to make a perfect world away from trouble. Maybe he wasn’t happy with the way things were in the real world, so he felt he needed to create something better. Throughout the film we can sometimes see Christof’s affection towards Truman, so maybe he wanted to give someone a chance to live a nice life, away from the violence and aggression of the real world. The end of ‘The Truman Show’ gave me the impression that Christof didn’t care for Truman, as I said in his character study, so perhaps he did it all for the money.
The production team’s world
We don’t see this world as much as we see Truman’s world, but it still plays an important part in the film. The team work inside the ‘moon’ of Seahaven, and they are the ones that control everything in Truman’s world. They can control what people say, like when we see Truman trying to fix his radio and he accidentally picks up someone saying exactly where he is going. That’s what all the actors hear. We know this because there is feedback and all the people on the street cringe with the noise. They also control the weather, like when Truman is trying to escape and they make a storm, turning wind force, for example, up or down. They control what media gets to Truman, for example they only play classical music on the radio and only show certain television programmes.
The boss is Christof. He’s the producer and he created Truman’s world. He spends a lot of his time here, watching Truman. I don’t think the mood of this world is good at all. It’s very sombre. There are lots of large television screens all around the room and everything is hi-tech. It’s a complete contrast to Truman’s world in the way that everything is so modern here and not in Truman’s world.
I think this world is supposed to symbolise the modern world of businesses and the stress it causes. This is another difference to Truman’s unstressed, relaxed, laid back life, and I think this was done for a reason. It shows us more obviously how Truman’s world is unrealistic and how the real world is becoming more and more like the production team’s world all the time.
All the team wear very dark clothes, with the expressions to match. We don’t see what kind of lives they live outside their work, but I think that they don’t have very fulfilled ones, as they are too wrapped up in their jobs.
The audience’s world
We only see short clips every now and again of the audience’s world. These are the people watching The Truman Show. We see several different situations when people are watching the programme. One of them is in the bath, one is working in a pub, and another situation is two security men. We see some old women with Truman’s face on their cushions, gawping at their television screens, and also some shots of Sylvia, the girl that Truman was looking for. We never see anything more in this world than just people staring at their television screens. The camera angles are always the same, almost as if the camera is in the television. I think this is so we can see the expressions on their faces, and realise how much attention they are paying to the television and not to real life. We are given the impression that the types of people that watch The Truman Show are very boring people that need to follow someone else’s life to fulfil their own. It’s worrying how much we see it affect people. What Christof was saying about the programme giving hope, joy and inspiration, must be true to some, as most of these people must have very empty lives. We can tell how popular The Truman Show was from the amount of people watching it in the pub. Also, another important thing to mention is that at the end of the film, when Truman walks away from Seahaven, the audience seem pleased that he got away, and not disappointed that they’d not be able to watch him any more. This perhaps is showing us that the people in this world aren’t like the businessmen and women of the production team’s world, who would have obviously been upset because of their redundancy.
The film ends with one of the security guards asking his friend what else is on. This is suggesting that The Truman Show perhaps wasn’t giving hope, joy or inspiration; it was merely entertainment. This links with Peter Weir’s intentions in making ‘The Truman Show’ in the way that people will spend all their time watching television, but when it comes down to it, it’s only a programme, and just another of life’s accessories. Also, the way that the film ended in this world, suggests that this is the real world, with real people. The media has a very strong effect on people’s lives in the real world, and a lot of people are going to find a programme like this entertaining. After all, we’re only human.
How Peter Weir lets us know that Truman is under surveillance
Peter Weir shows us in several different ways that Truman is under surveillance. The most obvious way to tell is by having oval or circular masks around the television screen, and seeing the edges of the camera. I don’t think it is noticeable straight away, but we are given clues in the first sequence.
The first thing we notice is quite obvious. We can see a close-up, long shot of Truman’s face in a television screen, looking directly at us. Some may think it is blindingly obvious straightaway that he is under surveillance, but the next shot we get is Truman talking to himself in the mirror, the television screen gone. Before, it looked as though Truman knew the camera was there, but it is clear now that he didn’t know, and therefore maybe he isn’t being filmed.
Other ways we notice that Truman is under surveillance is by unusual angles from hidden cameras. As he walks out of his house he spots some friends and greets them. We se a long shot to mid shot with a circular mask. The lens shape is a clue that Truman is being filmed.
After this we see Truman’s neighbours holding a bin. We then get an interesting shot, almost a point-of-view shot, but it’s from the bin the man is holding. We can tell this by the way the camera is wobbling. I think this was quite a big clue, because the bin did have something that looked like a camera on it. Also, in most films or television programmes, the cameras are generally smooth whilst moving. This man has a dog and it jumps up at Truman. Then we get an over-the-shoulder high angled shot looking down at the dog. It’s almost a point-of-view shot but they couldn’t do it directly, as Truman would notice if there was a camera in front of his face! Also, I think over-the-shoulder shots are very effective, as it seems as though someone is peering over Truman’s shoulder. I know they’re not, but this gives us the impression that he is being watched without knowing it.
The next unusual camera angle shots we get are when a stage light falls out of the sky. First we get a low angled shot as we see the light fall, then a high angled shot as it smashes on the ground. The high angled shot looks like it came from a lamppost. We next see Truman in the car. This clip gives away a lot. It seems as though the camera is hidden behind the radio. It’s a low angled oval shot, with the radio frequency shown backwards, which shows there’s a camera behind the radio. This is an unusual shot that you would never usually come across, which gives us the impression that there’s something different to this film. I think the effect of these unusual angles is that there’s always someone watching. This shot in the car could be a point-of-view shot- there could be someone or thing there- we just don’t know at this stage of the film.
Another strange thing that happens in this scene is that the radio says, “Are you thinking of flying somewhere?” and Truman says no, as some people answer questions on the radio or television. The radio answers back by saying “good”. It’s as if the radio is personally for him. This is an obvious way to tell that Truman is under surveillance, even though it’s not a camera shot. There are other moments in the film when big clues are given, but by then the audience’s world would have been shown. These clues are more to raise the suspicion for Truman.
The next shot is a long shot of the town, then the camera pans over. This is almost an establishing shot, as it is the first time we see the town. We see that everything seems pretty unrealistic, as I mentioned when describing Truman’s world. It also makes everything look quite small, as we are getting a long shot of most of the town. Truman gets out of his car and walks into a shop. We get a high angled shot-reverse-shot with Truman and the shopkeeper. I think this is a big clue that Truman is under surveillance because the shot we get is one that would come from a CCTV camera. This gives us as the audience the impression that there is a camera there. Next we see Truman leaving the shop, and there is a circular mask around the television screen. This follows Truman around which gives the impression that someone is watching him. Sometimes, the masks around the screen look a bit like binoculars, so it’s almost as if someone is spying on him. This is basically what the whole world is doing to Truman, by watching him without him knowing.
Next there is a straight angled shot at a small billboard. The Truman Show is a constant show, so they have to include advertising in it. We can tell this by seeing the cast using brand names and trying to sell them in the middle of a conversation with Truman, as well as posters and billboards.
There aren’t many other points to make about the cameras, except when Truman is at his desk at work, he is looking at a magazine, trying to hide it from his colleagues. We get another over-the-shoulder shot, but I think it is more effective here, as he is trying to do something without anyone seeing.
The last thing to mention is that instead of just circular masks, there are sometimes eye shaped ones. They aren’t shown a lot though. It may just be there as extra evidence that Truman is under surveillance, but I think it could possibly have more meaning. It seemed to me that the eye shaped mask was shown when things were more personal. It could also represent Christof, because although the whole world can watch Truman, Christof must see it in a different way, as it is all down to him that everyone else can watch it. Christof probably watches more than anyone, and much more closely too, as he controls things. Also I think the eye is shown to show that Christof is a part of the programme as well as the creator. It’s almost a little bit of Christof is in Truman’s world, and we get the impression that he wants to be, as he tells Truman at the end of the film that the world he created for him is better than the real world.
The break for freedom sequence
At the end of the film, Truman desperately tries to escape from Seahaven. Despite his fear of water, Truman gets on a sailboat and tries to get away. The music here is very calm, surprisingly to match Truman’s mood. Christof obviously doesn’t want him to go, so he does all that he can to make it hard for Truman, with violent storms. The storms nearly kill Truman, but he realises that he isn’t going to give up. He stops the storms. After a while, the boat bashes into a big wall, with clouds painted on it. He reaches to touch it, and it seems a great pain to him. We can tell this by the music climaxing and carrying on as sad and tearful. He starts hitting the wall, but realising that there is nothing he can do, he stops looking devastated.
He walks along and finds stairs. These stairs on the wall with the clouds painted on it, are very symbolic. It’s exactly like a stairway to heaven. At the top of the stairs is a door. This door is also quite symbolic. He realises that if he goes through that door, he will walk into a completely different life, even though he doesn’t fully understand what is going on. Walking out of that door is like walking away from Seahaven and Christof, and into something that Truman knows nothing about. We see Truman staring at this door.
Christof decides that he wants to speak to Truman. He does and his voice is a big echo coming from the sky. This is so God-like, and it links with Peter Weir’s intentions to show us about religion, it’s importance and how controlling it can be. Christof tries to persuade Truman to stay by talking calmly and reminiscing about things like Truman’s first day of school. This suggests that Christof feels like a father to Truman.
It seems now that Truman is supposed to represent Jesus. Without Truman, there would be no television show or the hope, joy and inspiration that apparently came with it. Jesus could not have accepted who he was, and he could have saved his life, but he did accept it and he gave hope, joy and inspiration to millions. Maybe Peter Weir Wanted to show that Jesus didn’t have to do what he did, and things could have been a lot different if he didn’t accept things.
It seems as though Christof’s words were all part of an act, as he was willing to let Truman die a few minutes earlier. He tells Truman that he knows him better than Truman knows himself. Truman replies by saying, “There was never a camera in my head.” He seems very angry at this point. It is strange because before this sequence, we’ve never seen Truman much else than happy, from his brainwashed, “perfect” lifestyle he previously lead.
Christof says, “Say something, God damn it, you’re live to the whole world”. He smiles as if he’s already won. This shows us that Christof thinks Truman is extremely weak, and he thinks he knows what Truman is going to do. He treats him like a vulnerable child, and this is very cruel. Truman then says, “In case I don’t see ya, good afternoon, good evening and good night”. This is one of Truman’s little catchphrases, and I think when he says this, it has a huge effect and impact on the situation. It shows us that Truman is definitely not weak and vulnerable any more. I think it is a nice way of saying “f*#@ you!” Also, this phrase is a very happy, jolly, and kind phrase, so it shows us that Truman is a really polite man, and that he tries to be happy in the worst of situations. This shows his bravery and strength.
He walks out of the door, and the music changes from very moving and depressing to a lively tune. It almost brings the film back to life. It’s also like a wake up call for Truman, telling him that things are going to be different, but better. As the music changes to the lively tune, we see Sylvia running out of her flat, suggesting that she is going to meet Truman.
During the whole of this sequence, we see shots of the audience in front of their televisions, watching Truman. We see several different situations of people viewing, such as a busy pub all watching, the two old ladies, the security guards, the man in the bath, and Sylvia. We also see shots from the producers control room, so in this last sequence we see from all of the three worlds that we se at different stages in the film. Up until now, the different worlds are shown, but they’re quite spaced out in the film. In this last sequence, we see them a lot more regularly, instead of just Truman’s.
It almost seems that we see from the audience more to show that Truman is going to be in that world soon. People from the different worlds are coming together, because Truman’s left, and the production team will all be out of jobs. This is important because there is a lot in the film saying that the real world is a bad place, but in the end it’s where we all come from, and where we all belong.