The Truman Show

The Truman show is truly one of Jim Carreys greatest performances, none greater than Lloyd Christmas, but the film itself was a masterpiece. This film seemed to be more of a less disastrous dystopia than the other films we have watched. Maybe I'm the only one but I couldn't help but make numerous connections to the Truman show to the Matrix. First, the obvious connection is that the primary characters are living in a false reality that has been set up for them. Obviously the difference between Neo and Truman is that Neo has always been skeptical of his existence and the world he lives in where Truman doesn't begin to question the world until a film light falls from the sky and is claimed to be an antenna that fell off a plane. Both resonate with Plato's the Allegory of the Cave because just like in a few of the films we have watched including THX 1138, there is a strong consistency with his philosophy and it seems numerous dystopian themed films have used the theory of the world you live in is not what you believe it to be. I really love this theory that Plato wrote about because it is so very applicable to everything in the world. This theory always makes people (including myself) skeptical of the world we live in and curious as to whether it’s a governing body or particular culture, how true or real they are i.e. say one thing and act another way. One question that Truman show brings up is ignorance bliss? I feel that people have a hard time deciding whether they would live in a fake paradise or the a real hell. Realistically would viewers of this film should ask themselves if they would live in a world that is perfect but the relationships you have and life you lead is fake but a perfect design. Me personally I found that it is better to know the truth rather than pretend that a lie is better. The sad truth of the Truman show is that Jim Carreys character is actually alone because everything and everyone he has ever known is actually not real and that since birth he has only ever know people that have pretended to love him. The even sadder part is that even though it’s a movie, if this were to actually happen then that would mean that we as humans have officially become bored with animals at the zoo and would rather see our own species in live action. It’s in this truth that allows someone to prefer the real world (no matter how miserable or depressing it is) because at least in the real world, everything is real including the relationships that you have are real. By living Truman living in this reality show, it makes Truman as person fake even though he thinks that he is himself when actually he is a character that's been created but when you think about it, the creator actually represents a symbolic metaphor of God and that should really make someone question their existential beliefs. The one silver lining at the end of the film is that when Truman finally steps off set into the real world, his first actual choice that he made as a free man. I really like the ending because it backs my own personal belief that we have free will.