The Truman Show (1998)
If everybody is in on it, I’d have to be in on it too.
THE SUMMARY: Unbeknownst to him, a man’s entire life is a made-for-TV work of fiction, until he notices too much, starts asking questions, and confronts his fear to break the illusion. It’s one of those movies that’s way too relevant to today - in much the same way, we have those in power telling us we’re crazy for observing the obvious, until the conspiracy theory is eventually shown to be correct.
FROM MOVIE-PICKER SERGE: The only Jim Carrey movie that doesn't suck. A man breaks free from manufactured reality by conquering his deepest fear and overcoming quite a few obstacles from the powers of the world.
THE BEST:
Everyone would have to be in on it - or would they?: This movie directly challenges the most common critique thrown at any ‘conspiracy theory’ - how many people would have to be in on it? How would so many people keep a secret so well? How would the secret never leak?
If we’ve learned anything since 2020, it should be that a few power centers can convince a lot of other people to participate and even enforce completely irrational, often self-defeating behavior, using little more than perceived authority and social pressure. Not everyone has to be ‘in on it’ in the sense that they are intentionally deceiving people. If their paycheck depends on it, or their degree, or their family, or their home, or whatever other crucial resource, plenty of people will willingly perpetuate nonsense just to protect themselves.
That’s not exactly how the scheme is perpetuated in The Truman Show - in this case, everyone is in fact ‘in on it’ for deception, and are compensated for it. But that’s another lesson itself - never underestimate another man’s capability to lie to your face if his situation requires it. The scene where Marlon is giving Truman comforting words while being coached through an earpiece is legendary. ‘Think about it Truman - if everybody is in on it, I’d have to be in on it too,’ he says at the prompt of the director, denying he’d ever lie to his best friend, all of which is a lie itself.
During his interview, Christof, the director, says ‘we accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.’ That’s the fundamental lesson of the movie - as long as we willingly submit to other people to define the world for us, we can be taken in all sorts of nonsensical directions. It doesn’t require a sophisticated conspiracy with everyone in on it. It just takes a docile people who are too lazy or comfortable to do their own investigation.
Even the weather is controlled: Cue the sun! I appreciate the nods to the deeper conspiracy theories in this movie, though I don’t think it’s trying to be serious about them. Still, The Truman Show drops some truth bombs about the weather and astrophysics. Forget the theories that the moon landing was faked - that’s normie nonsense. True big brains are a step beyond - the moon itself is fake.
Confront your fear to break the illusion: A scared person is a controllable person. That’s another lesson we’ve learned the hard way in recent years. There’s a reason the show producers use fear to keep Truman in line and stop him from escaping the island. A man’s own fear can shackle him more harshly than a physical cage. Where there’s a will there’s a way, so just break the will, and use fear to do it.
The broad theme of Truman overcoming not just his fears of water and boating, but of death itself, is beautiful. It’s a lesson we should all learn before our time comes. An irrational fear of death will keep you from your life’s full potential. Shed that fear, and find out the horizon has been a fake painting the whole time.
The mentality of the elite: An underrated piece of the movie is the writing and performance of the director character, Christof. He perfectly represents everything wrong with today’s elite - constantly violating your rights for your own good, all the while convinced they are actually the good guys doing the right thing and perfecting an otherwise cruel world. Some examples:
No more truth out there than in here: Christof’s speech to Truman before he leaves the fake world is perfection. Don’t go, Truman - the world out there is full of all the same flaws as my world, he says. Maybe, but with one key difference - one is the creation of God or the natural order, and the other is a human imitation, and human imitation will never be a better substitute. Through respect for the natural world, we can prosper in it. Through trying to perfect and control it, we will suffer.
They know your life better than you do: Christof urges Truman to stay, because after all, Christof has watched him his entire life. ‘I know you better than you know yourself,’ Christof says. It’s a perfect representation of what people in power think of you generally. They should get to control your life, because they’re smarter, they’re wiser, they’re better - they know you even more than you know you. In other words, ‘trust the experts.’ In that final speech, Christof and Dr. Fauci are interchangeable.
The double standards and hypocrisies: And just like ‘the experts,’ Christof engages in all sorts of hypocrisies with a straight face. My favorite subtle piece of scripting is when Christof appears for the TV interview, and the reporter thanks him for the opportunity, saying ‘I know how jealously you guard your privacy.’ Nobody even smirks at this absurdity - not the reporter, and not Christof, whose entire career is broadcasting the violation of a man’s privacy.
It’s not just the irony and the double standard here - it’s that everyone accepts it sincerely. The only logic in which that makes sense is if there are two tiers of people: those with rights and those without. That’s exactly the way Christof and ‘the experts’ view the world.
The last thing I would ever do is lie to you.
Cue the sun!
I know you better than you know yourself.
THE WORST: I love this movie, and I’d recommend it to anyone, so these are less substantive criticisms and more just minor nitpicks to fill the review format. Of course any movie will require you to suspend some disbelief, but there are a few points of silliness to consider.
It’s legally nonsensical: Is it plausible for a corporation to legally adopt a newborn? Sure - I could see that happening. But adoption does not entitle the parent to control of the child as a grown adult. That’s kidnapping and/or false imprisonment. And for everyone in the world to be watching that crime, but no law enforcement to intervene, is something of a longshot to believe. However, I guess if I’m going to believe that hundreds or thousands of actors and production crew are in on it, how hard is it to get law enforcement in on it too? Or maybe this movie exists in some other legal context, in which the show has some sort of legal exception.
How and what does Truman notice, and why?: If Truman has spent his entire life in Seahaven Island, how does he have a concept of what’s ‘weird’ or not? Why would Truman think it’s weird for cars and passersby to be on a loop, if he’s been raised in a world in which that’s normal? Why would Truman notice subtleties like that, but not notice the million cameras everywhere all the time, including on his own wedding ring? It doesn’t make sense for Truman to come to outside world realizations, when the world of the island is all he knows.
Why would they raise Truman to know of the outside world at all?: If the show producers wish to keep Truman on the island, which they do, through use of fear, and fake obstacles, and other methods, why would they raise him with any concept of the outside world at all? Why wouldn’t they raise him to believe the island is all there is, and all there ever will be? Fear is a hell of a motivator, sure - but I might bet on obliviousness as a better security method. You can’t get curious about what you don’t even know about.
THE RATING: 5/5 Wickies - thoroughly enjoyed the themes, writing, and performances, all combining to make a great reminder to challenge everything about the world around you to discover what is really true, no matter how many times they call you crazy.
YOUR RATING: Vote here ⬇
NEXT WEEK: Weekend at Bernie’s (1989). Brokeback Mountain was once again narrowly edged in last week’s vote, and will now be retired until its nomination emerges again one day.
AFTER THAT? YOU PICK - VOTE! For the fifth and final Sunday in October, we have one week of nominations from our trusty production assistant and Call-In Show screener Dangerous Spaces. These movies are up for a vote this week and this week only, so choose wisely.
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