Precis (Summary) on the Movie “The Truman Show”
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PRECIS (SUMMARY) ON THE MOVIE “THE TRUMAN SHOW”
The Truman show is a 1998 movie about Truman Burbank, a man who is totally unaware that his whole life has been a reality show with actors posing as people he interacts with on a daily basis. Dring his childhood, he is adopted by a corporation which proceeds to make a show out of life for close to thirty years, gaining a large audience following in the process. The producer of the show controls every aspect of Truman’s life including the weather and manipulates his feelings and reacts by creating critical life events that shape how he views certain issues. An example is the death of his father in a storm while fishing in order to make him fear water. He also puts shows and commercials depicting the disadvantages of travelling for him to watch in order to discourage him from travelling from the place. Truman’s life is stage-managed to the extent that even the person he is supposed to fall in love with and marry is chosen for him. As a result, when he falls for a different person they are hastily removed from the set, and he is encouraged to interact with Meryl, the woman he was supposed to marry. Unbeknown to the producer, this sparks an interest in Truman to travel and find the woman he truly loves. His suspicions is aroused when he starts noticing several things that suggest that things are not normal such as people doing the exact thing every day, disabled people who appear running the next day and suspicious conversations. In addition to this, his failing marriage also fuels his desire to live the place while the producer does everything to ensure that he does not.
However, as the days go on, Truman finds a way to escape from the hidden cameras and escapes through a tunnel in the basement of his house. This causes panic in the production as the show loses some of its audience. Some of the viewers champion Truman’s attempt to escape, and he finally reaches the edge of the dome and heads for the exit. The producer attempts to stop Truman from leaving even contemplating killing him but is barred by the executives of the show. He finally leaves the dome, and the show ends. The movie addresses so many religious aspects in the movie from the director’s name to the events that take place in it. The setting of the movie may be seen as a representation of the relationship between humanity and God, the all knowing being. There are several religious aspects, especially of Christianity, in the movie that can be seen to show our own beliefs and relationship with God. This essay discusses the religious symbols in the movie and how they reflect our own knowledge of God and Christianity.
The most outstanding religious aspect of the movie is the producer and creator of “The Truman Show” who is depicted as the god in Truman’s world. His name is Christof which is close to Christ in Christianity. His role in the movie shows the meaning of the name more clearly. He controls everything in Truman’s life including the weather, the actions of those around him and most of Truman’s reactions to his life’s events. He also watches over everyone in the movie, making sure the actors and the actresses do not fall out of line and that Truman does not suspect anything. Those who go against his instructions, such as Sylvia, are removed from the set to prevent them from enlightening Truman that his life is a show. Christof creates the world in which Truman lives and all the people around him are a representation of what he wants them to be. However, he imposes his will on everyone in the movie by directing their actions. Truman is the only one oblivious to the existence of Christof, but his actions are still predetermined by him. He marries Meryl, according to plan and does not travel due to the shows and commercials he sees that encourage this. In addition, when he wants to leave after starting to become suspicious, Christof creates conditions that make it impossible for him to do so such as poor weather and inability to get flights out of town. He also tries to stop him from leaving when he finally escapes by making his journey to the exit of the dome treacherous, almost killing him in the process.
In religion, God is viewed as the creator of the universe who is in control of all that happens in it. The notion of God being all knowing and that we are always being watched by a higher being are evident in the movie. Christof can see everything that happens in the movie. He creates the world which Truman lives in from when he was a baby, and before he learns about it, Truman thinks it is the perfect world. He has cameras watching Truman’s and the actors’ every move and broadcasts it for his audience. Christof brainwashes Truman to get him to do what he wants him to do by creating shows and commercials and orchestrating events that will cause his perception to lean towards what he wants. This is shown when he makes him think that he should not travel as well as the fear of water. Although Truman is not aware that he is being watched, it represents our relationship with God. According to Christianity, God watches us from above and knows about our moves and life. Christof is the master of Truman’s world while God is also viewed in Christianity as the master of the universe. The difference between the two is in how they use their power to control human beings. While Christof is obsessed in having Truman and the actors follow his will, God allows human beings to chart their own path.
Free will is also depicted in the movie in relation to Truman’s relationship with the creator. Free will is an fundamental aspect of religion as God has given human beings free will to choose what they want. Christof gives Truman very few chances to use his free will. He controls the people he meets and how he interacts with them as they are actors and actresses and reading from a script. This means that his reaction to them is predetermined as the producer knows beforehand what they will say and, therefore, can predict his reactions to them. In choosing whom Truman will fall in love with and marry, Christof is tampering with Truman’s freewill to fall in love through his own will. When he initially falls for another person, the producer removes them from the set to cut their relationship short. He, however, does not succeed in diminishing the love Truman has for Sylvia and in he secretly nurses a desire to go search for her in Fiji. He uses the fear of water and travelling to contain him in the area. This done by killing his father, in a storm, during a sailing trip and making it impossible for him to travel when he finally decides to leave by causing storms, traffic jams and making him unable to get a flight. He only exercises his free will, when he plans his escape and leaves his house. Again, Christof tries to stop him by creating a storm and even trying to kill him. However, in contrast to Christof, God has given human being free will and does not manipulate them into doing what he wants. He does not impose his will on them as Christof does but instead allows human beings to make decisions using their own will and control their own actions.
Another religious aspect of the “The Truman Show” is the presence of a person who enlightens Truman and opens up his mind to a different perspective. Sylvia, the woman Truman falls in love with, is depicted as a sign of liberation for him. His love for her is the driving force that makes him to start thinking of leaving his hometown and going to look for her. She is part of the ‘Free Truman’ campaign and even prays for him when he finally manages to escape from the basement. When he gets out of the dome, she goes to meet up and reunite with him. In religion, Sylvia may be seen as playing a similar role to the tree of life which makes Adam and Eve enlightened as to the things that God did not want them to know. The tree of life allows them to view the world differently. She opens up his eyes that his world may not be as perfect as he thinks and hence starts thinking of a way to change them. She is the motivation behind his escape. As with the bible, where eating from the tree of life is forbidden, enlightening Truman to what the fact that his life is all a reality show.
There is a symbolism of baptism in the movie. Christof orders a technician to create a large storm that threatens to kill Truman and he almost drowns. The boat, Santa Maria, capsizes and when it finally emerges, Truman is lying in crucifix position. The submerging of the boat with Truman in it and then emerging in this position can be seen as a representation of baptism in Christianity. This is, especially, more visible in view of the new life that he is embarking on after getting out of the dome. The crucifix and baptism are particularly fundamental aspects of Christianity. The crucifix represents the crucifixion of Christ and leads to his death and resurrection which are relevant to Christianity. Baptism is symbolic of one leaving behind their old life and being ready to start a new life. In most churches, one is required to be baptized in order to become a full member of the church. In the movie, Truman has to be ‘baptized’ by going through the water and the storm in order to the exit of the dome, to his new life.
There is symbolism of walking on water in the movie. Towards the end, Truman walks out of the water towards the stairway that leads out of the dome. This is similar to Christianity where Jesus walked on water towards a boat his disciples were in. This may be seen to represent faith, by Truman, which the stairway is going to lead him to his freedom. In addition, the stairway represents a way to a new life, an alternate universe. The stairway leads to the exits that will end Truman’s life in the dome. In religion, there is a heaven which people go to when they die. Similar to the movie is the belief in the stairway to heaven which leads to this new life. There is the perception in both religion and the movie that the stairway leads to a better life compared to the one in which we live in. In both cases, although one does not know what to expect from the other side, there is faith that it will turn out better than what we now live in. It is also clear than in both, one has to leave the previous world in order to experience the new one. Truman has to leave the dome in order to reach the other side where he is in control of his life despite the dangerous journey that he has to through to reach the exit. In a similar way, human beings (Christians) have to die in order to experience heaven.
Once Truman gets to the top of the stairway, his hands are stretched out with the exit door open. This is an analogous standpoint to the one that Jesus had as he was rising up to heaven during the ascension as described in the bible. The open exit door is also similar to light from heaven shining up on him as he rose to heaven. It has similar symbolism to the stairway as it shows they are rising up to a better place. While, at the exit, the voice of Christof comes from above trying to persuade him to stay. This is also comparable to the way a voice could be heard from the heavens when Jesus was baptized. However, while the voice in the bible shows approval for Jesus and his actions, Christof’s voice disapproval and persuades him to stay in the dome.
The movie “The Truman Show” shows how the power of a higher being, known or unknown, can influence the life of a human being, affecting their choices and the course of their lives. There is a ‘big brother’ figure in both cases watching over the actions of human beings and in the movie, Truman. In Truman’s case, the influence is more negative than positive as he uses his power to put him down and prevent him from making his own decisions. He imposes his will on Truman, determining whom he falls in love with and marries by eliminating the people who pose a threat to the course he has set out for him. When he finally discovers everything, he tries to kill him to prevent him from getting out of the dome. The need for Christof to control Truman is more evident when he tries to kill him after he tries to escapes. The executives in the show help save Truman’s life by refusing to let Christof kill him and eventually shutting down the reality show when Truman leaves the dome. In contrast, religion depicts God as giving human beings the free will to make decisions that they deem fit for them even though he has the power to control them more. This allows human beings to chart the course of their lives depending on the decisions they make about their lives. Depictions of religion in the movie include the presence of a higher being, and Christof representation of God, the symbol of baptism and resurrection, the perception of an afterlife/heaven, walking on water by both Truman and Jesus and the voice as Truman reaches the exit door at the dome and as Jesus is being baptized. Christof is more like the God depicted in the Old Testament who punishes those who do not follow and obey him as opposed to the one depicted in the New Testament who is more caring and forgiving. This is the God modern day Christians are familiar with. These religious aspects create the connection between the movie and religion, especially Christianity.
References
Feldman, E.S., Rudin, S., Niccol, A. & Schroeder, A. (Producers), & Weir, P. (Director). (1998). The Truman Show (Motion Picture). United States: Paramount Pictures.
