Media and the Truman Show

EN3: MEDIA COURSEWORK

6TH April 2003 ­Tom Roberts ­

­TRUMANITY­ WHAT THE TRUMAN SHOW HAS TO TELL US ABOUT THE MEDIA INDUSTRY AT THIS POINT IN TIME In the 21st  Century, the media has overrun society.     Wherever we are, it cannot be easily avoided, be it in our homes, on the radio, walking down the street, or simply talking with friends.   It has become a part of our lives which many could not live without.   But is the media really as beneficial to us as we are made to believe that it deserves so much attention? The film The Truman Show illustrates three main issues addressing the current state of the media, which I will try to illustrate here.    The   Truman   show   focuses   around   the   life   of   Truman   Burbank,   a   child   adopted   by   a television company at birth, the life of whom is broadcast throughout the world 24 hours a day.     Truman is oblivious to this.     Throughout the film, we are shown life in Truman’s world, the director’s world (the director of the TV program in the film) and the watching world.    The Big Cover­up “I'm on to something, Marlon.  Something big.” ­ Truman Media bosses have the power to manipulate the information with which we are fed.   In the same way in which Christof, the ‘creator’ of the Truman Show sets himself up as a ‘god’ figure, many real directors/producers also use their powers to decide what they themselves want us, the public to see.   Truman Burbank, the central character in the film, has no idea that his every move is being captured live by thousands of tiny cameras, and beamed around the  world  to  millions   of viewers.      Everything  around  him  is   contrived,   influenced  and controlled by the director and his team, and in fact, the only thing in Seahaven (the town where Truman lives) that is truly real is Truman himself although even he has been moulded by   his   upbringing   at   the   hands   of   a   media­driven   false   parentage.       Truman   lives   in   a constructed world invented by media.          Although it may seem that the Truman Show is an extreme example, it is in reality not far from the truth.   In our own homes, we are confronted by the producer’s outlook.   Even so called ‘reality TV’, such as Big Brother, has been selected and edited to show us a specific point of view.   The producer has the ability to decide what we see.   If raw footage has been recorded, which he/she feels would in some way detract from the message he wishes to portray, he/she simply does not show it.   Or if an important or impressive event is missed as it occurs in real life, it can merely be acted out as near to the original event as possible.   In fact, it is doubtful if any of the influential content we are exposed to by the media today is an exact   representation   of   truth.       Public   attitudes   are   regularly   influenced   by   a   media masquerade in which falsehood is portrayed as fact.    The Role of the Audience “You can do it!  Hold on!” – Man in bathtub watching the show

EN3: MEDIA COURSEWORK

6TH April 2003 ­Tom Roberts ­

The viewer has just as important a role to play in media as the producer. After all, the media exists to entertain and inform the audience. This is true in the Truman Show. The millions of viewers are captivated by the show, with an almost voyeuristic addiction to watching someone else’s life in so much detail. Without the audience, there would be no demand for media. Many people are completely and utterly absorbed by the media, and we accept its portrayal of reality because we are constantly presented with it. As Christof says at the beginning of The Truman Show, “We accept the reality with which we are presented”. Its resemblance of our own lives, or its more exciting artifices, draws us in, because we can understand and appreciate it, psychologically involving ourselves in the media culture. However, fabricated renditions of news, documentaries and films by the media can only continue as long as the illusion of truth remains flawless. Any small mistake could result in the breakdown of a seemingly realistic world. Truman’s life is totally manipulated by the media of his world. He remains unaware of this for many years of his life, until mistakes are made by Christof- the light which falls from ‘the sky’, the radio malfunction which allows him to hear his journey to work, and the backstage crew inside the lift. It is these things which jar Truman’s perception of the reality of his surroundings. Another example of the vital role of the audience can be seen in TV shows like Pop Idol, where the audience’s involvement has now extended beyond mere psychological participation so that they can become part of the ‘reality’, influencing outcomes and directing the progress of the unfolding ‘drama’. Although there are no examples of this in The Truman Show, it is still a huge part of the media culture of today. The Morality of the Media “What right do you have to take a baby and turn his life into some kind of mockery?” - Sylvia, Truman’s first ‘girlfriend’ As we are bombarded with falsity by the media in everyday life, we must ask the question “is this right?” Throughout society, we are encouraged to use truth instead of deception (especially in children’s television), in many cases by the media itself- which then hypocritically falsifies everything it presents. We must also think about whether it is right to intrude into the lives of innocent and unsuspecting people, and to distort the facts, giving the one-sided view of the producer. In the Truman Show, the watching world’s willingness to exploit Truman’s ignorance of his counterfeit world is what allows the show to continue. The audience has become engaged with Truman in such a way that they cannot turn away from it. As with many people today, they have become too evolved to realise that they are being shown a fantasized construction which is far from the truth, removing our right to free choice in what we choose to watch. Even though we believe that we can choose what we are watching by changing channels, we cannot get away from the created and idealistic content of the modern media. *** The very existence of the modern media is fuelled by our enthusiastic exploitation of ‘victims of the media charade’, that we too often forget the media is nothing more than a phoney construction- intruding into the lives of ordinary people, twisting the truth and creating an entertaining and disillusioning alternative to the reality of our own lives.