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The movie The Truman Show is thought-provoking to the audience that views it
because they start to realize that they are exhibiting god-like aspirations simply by
watching Truman and his struggle without his knowledge. In the film and television
industry the real gods are not simply the directors and producers but the
audiences that
pay for the entertainment, that buy the merchandise, that keep a franchise alive. Without
consumers there would be no reason for a movie such as The Truman Show to be
made and no possible way that it would be able to get across the point that it does. This is
why the movie appeals to the audience’s sense of privacy and causes a disorientation when
viewing the movie; many people watch it and are thankful that they are not as unfortunate
as Truman, and then wonder if that is true at all. They also slowly realize as the story
continues that they are part of the problem, so to speak. Shots of the
audience in the
movie world are interspersed with the events of Truman’s life, but also other things that
cause the real audience in the movie theater to interact with the story itself. They are
spoken to as though The Truman Show is a real television show and they are
watching it at home, everyday. They begin by feeling privileged that they can partake in
such private aspects of a person’s life without him knowing about it. Then they become
nervous - they start to think that it is possible this could happen, could be happening to
them at that very moment, paranoia sets in. Once the audience begins to feel discomfort
and disorientation at that fact they stop being amazed at Christof’s creation and begin to
sympathize with Truman and
Sylvia who so desperately tries to defend him. Soon the
audience is rooting for Truman’s escape and violently against Christof and all that he
controls. As the virtual world of Seahaven slowly crumbles and Christof is thrown from
his god-like perch the audience cheers at Truman’s final goodbye. This reaction is
mimicked by the virtual audience on screen and shows that even if one person tries to
outwit the others and raise himself above the rest that the others will soon temper him and
return the world back to its natural equilibrium. The audience realizes that what they once
supported was wrong and that Christof never really was completely in control; Truman
says, “You never had a camera in my head!” Even though it is natural for humanity to
crave power it is also in its natural instincts to realize what is the right thing to do and side
with the conscience. Life goes on and as one devoted Truman-watcher/parking attendant
says at the fall of Christof’s empire, “What else is on?
Where’s the TV guide?
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