The way that the director of the movie (Peter Weir) has placed is the cameras is very clever, he wants the audience to know that Truman is being watched, showing the black fog around the camera, he has placed cameras in every possible position to get into the action, even in the car radio when Truman is driving. Truman goes around town thinking that everything is going fine, but he doesn’t know that in every direction he is being watched. Where there isn’t a camera, they have placed a camera in people’s bags, brief cases and hats, pointing everything at him; he thinks that this is reality, that this is how the world works.
This idea of being watched brings back the idea that George Orwell came up with in ‘1984’ and about big brother watching everything you do in Utopia, but the society wanted their freedom and the society collapsed, this is what happens in the Truman Show, but Cristof is taking away Truman’s freedom a little bit at a time by the way Truman wants to do something, but Cristof decides to take that away from him, this is done because Truman may do something that Cristof feels may not get him enough ratings for his show, so he takes away precious things from Truman to make the show more eventful for the audience.
Within the show, there are some technical faults, but, as always, Truman just thinks this is how the world works. One fault is in the beginning when he leaves his home, a light falls from the sky, it is one of those stage lights and it crashes in front of him, he approaches cautiously and touches but, then again, it’s another normal day for Truman Burbank. Another fault within the show is the rain, the rain is only pouring on him and when Truman gets up and moves, it is not raining at the spot where he stands now, his sub-conscience may be thinking, ‘something is not right here’ but in the end, it’s how the world is…right? When Truman sees his father again in the street, a business man and woman carrying a dog drop their things and force his father on a bus, could this be another mistake? Truman tries to stop them, but the actors around him put themselves as obstacles in his way, and they always have and will be, obstacles in his journey to the truth, whenever Truman gets close of finding out something or tries to do something that the company call ‘Unpredictable Behaviour’ they try and stop him and bring his freedom to a halt.
The story, if the audience look more deeply is about a man’s reason to find the truth behind the so called reality in which he lives in, During his life, he always wanted to be a explorer, in a flash back the audience see’s his teacher bringing his hopes down by telling him that there is nothing left to explore, this a way of trying to keep him within Sea Haven, another example of this is a newspaper article he is shown during his time in work, the head line of the newspaper had read ‘Sea Haven: Greatest Place On Earth.’ As his life progresses, Truman believes there is something going on, ‘a conspiracy against’ him that ‘it’ is after him and that everyone is in ‘it’, his mother and wife (or so he thinks they are) try to calm him and put on his ‘favourite TV. Show ‘Show me the way to go home’ which is another attempt to keep within the cage that is Sea Haven. We see baby pictures of Truman when he was a baby, one of these pictures were when the Truman and his family supposedly went to Mount Rushmore, His mother says that he slept the whole trip, but did he actually go to the trip, when Truman realises that Mount Rushmore seems a little small his mother quickly turns the page, knowing he is coming on to something. Another picture is Truman being held as a baby, what is peculiar is that he is being held with two hands, but how could they have taken the photo like that? It is very professional so it can’t be a home picture, it could be the camera that might’ve been on a button on someone? He starts to take control and questioning the reality that he is contained in, first he goes into an elevator, but that has no backing and he can see people working there and then gets kicked out, he knows there something strange going on, he goes into the middle of the road and stops the traffic just by holding out his hand, acting as if he is a chosen one, no one says anything or starts to argue, not even when he randomly hit someone with his briefcase and runs off like a mad man.
When he meets up with Marlon, they go out to talk about Truman’s day of events, as they leave Truman shouts out ‘ok then, let’s be gay’ and ‘whatever you say man, I’m gay’ to test the people around to see what they’re initial reaction is, so he really be certain that the people around him are acting, or, living as they should.
Truman, not knowing what is going on, goes mad, he takes his wife for a ride of her life, after seeing that three people just circle the block, he decides to leave, as he turns, a traffic jam suddenly appears, but as he turns away just after a few seconds the traffic jam goes away, this is showing that everything is staged, that Cristof is creating illusion to block Truman to get to the truth of which he seeks.
He is afraid of water, he cannot travel on water ever since the tragic death of his father at see, he cannot do it, he gets his wife to drive over the bridge and ahead, this fear of water is created to stop him from ever trying to escape the island he lives on, a warning sign tells them that there is a forest fire, hoping to get Truman to turn back but as they have no luck, they try having a nuclear leak. The security guard tells them to go back, and at the end, the security knew his name, but how could he if they just met?
At home, after all this, because Maryl is paid to advertise products, she advertises Cocoa, after all this they still have to do their jobs right? Truman yet again goes mad, and puts a knife to his wife’s neck, terrified to death; she gets out of character she screams in desperation ‘Do Something!’ Truman knows she was talking to someone, but whom? But in the nick of time, Marlon comes in to stop all this. Truman goes with Marlon to talk
The conversation they have although is supposed private but everyone watching can see and hear what they are saying. Peter Weir at this crucial moment decides to show us that every word Marlon says is being fed to him through an earpiece and it is Cristof that tells him what to say-at this point you must remember they are only actors in Sea Haven!! At the point of impact Marlon (or Cristof) says to Truman: ‘I will gladly walk in front of traffic for you…and the last thing that I would ever do is lie to you’ which is ironic because, Marlon is lying to him! At this point of impact or downfall of Truman, he gets his father back, Cristof knew he had to do something to stop Truman testing his boundaries, the only way to stop him is to give him what started all this, which was the absence of his father. This point to the producers was ‘great television’ not taking Truman’s feeling into consideration.
At a television interview, Cristof tells us that Sea Haven is a ‘world within a world’ and that people should ‘know their limitations’ he thinks that the real world is ‘sick’ and that the world he has created is a chance for a ‘normal but safe’ life for Truman. The interviewer, not taking Truman’s feelings into consideration, calls the reunion of his father a ‘television milestone’.
Maryl leaves Truman, and he has moved into the basement and has hidden himself under sheets and blankets and given himself some privacy, to Cristof, this is ‘unpredictable behaviour’ due to the private moment Truman has, this creates chaos and when he has a private life, Cristof is no longer in control.
He has disappeared and the private life of Truman has begun, reality is no longer a way of life, Cristof has no more control over Truman, which is creating chaos for him and the ‘viewing public’, they cut transmission which creates havoc within the real world, they have no idea what is happening. The whole town is looking for Truman, privacy is not an option for Truman, and the man hunt begins so that all can be normal for Cristof again, not for Truman, but Cristof because he is the one in control. They queue the sun very early and again, the reality is no longer a way of life, but to gain back the control that was once his.
They see Truman in the boat going out towards the horizon, Cristof cannot allow, they create a large storm to stop and get him to turn back, Cristof looses it, and tries to kill him, then again ‘he was born in front of a live audience’ why can’t he dies in front of a live audience. Cristof is going to great lengths to stop Truman so he can get back the control that he has earned. They attempt to get a boat out there to get Truman, but no one can drive boat…’they’re actors!’ They calm the storm down, and let him continue his journey out to sea, but he gets to the end of the world…literally! The boat crashes in the side of the studio.
Cristof, for the first time talks to Truman, telling him that the world out there is just like world he was raised in. but he will be safe in Sea Haven in his world he has ‘nothing to fear’ and that he ‘was real’. The events of his life he refers to them as episodes- it is a TV. Show after all! But Truman does not expect the stories he is given, and gives the final of bow of the show of his life, and walks into the dark unknown that is the outside world.
This film is telling us that society is controlled by one group of people; the media, they have the power to make someone famous and be heard, but they also have the power to destroy your reputation in a second, in The Truman Show, Cristof is God, as well as the media, Cristof made Truman famous, but Truman stopped him from being destroyed and defeated, Truman done what most people couldn’t ever do even if they tried, he stepped up and fought for his freedom, this is what this film showing.
