The Truman Show Paper

The Truman Show Paper

“Who are you?” Truman questioned. “I am the Creator - of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions.” replied Christoff. “Then who am I?” Truman asked. Chrisoff answered “You're the star.” The Truman Show was the first of its kind when it came out in 1998. It was confusing to the public that a show all about one person could get so popular even in a movie. The Truman Show was unique because of its creative camera angles, unrealistic plot, but had a disappointing ending.

The Truman Show used many different camera angles to enhance its plot. At first I found some of these camera angles to be annoying because it was different then most of the other movies I watch. But after awhile of watching I fought all the different views to be very creative. First there were camera on all the actors and Truman himself. These provided creative camera angles during all his conversations and interactions with other people. Along with camera shots of him while he thought he was alone. Second there were cameras in items he used everyday like his car radio, or in the newsstand he visited every morning. The radio camera provided views of him in his car at a different angle then most people are used to from the usual movie. Lastly there were cameras on the streetlamps, in his work, at the bank, and in the hospital. These cameras gave the movie tons of different angles to view Truman and covered the whole island so they could always keep an eye on him. These various angles added depth to the movie.

Though I did enjoy the movie I found several aspects of it to be unrealistic. First of all how they managed to keep Truman in the dome for 34 years. It was surprising to me that even though Truman was an explorer and wanted to explore the world he was still confined to the little island. Also sooner or later he would have to go on the water and conquer his fear. The second part that I found unrealistic was the actors. Not their acting but that they would give up many years of their lives just for the show. Also how they managed to stay in character for those 34 years and never accidentally reveal the secret to Truman. The last part that was unrealistic was the amount of camera they had. Chrisoff said they had 5000 cameras but that amount does not seem large enough to show coverage of the whole entire island. Think about it. It takes several dozen cameras to cover a single building and there was his work office, bank, grocery store, hospital, and hundreds of houses. Also all the streets, parks, and coastline had to be covered. For these 5000 cameras, how where they able to keep them all running and also hidden from him. You would think he would find one of the thousands of cameras sooner or later no matter how small they were. These unrealistic parts of The Truman Show hurt the movie’s realistic credibility.

The Truman Show was very enjoyable but had a disappointing ending. With the last view of Truman being him walk out of the dome into darkness I was left with a lot of questions. For one I wanted to know if he and Sylvia ever meet after he got out. Truman had been waiting to see Sylvia again for several years while stuck in the dome so the least the movie could do was show their encounter after all those years. Secondly it does not show what happens to the Truman show. It should have shown if the show ended because Truman escaped or did the show just find a new child to base the show after. Also since Truman was legally adopted by the corporation maybe they forced Truman to come back to the show. And what happened to Chrisoff after? Was he fired for trying to kill Truman? Lastly I want to know what happens to Truman now that he is in the real world. After living for 34 years with his “parents” and best friend did he ever try to see them again? And I can only guess that he decided to travel the world like he dreamed of ever since he was a young child. All the movie needed was an extra five minutes to show what happened to everyone and answer all the questions it left the viewers with. The movie’s open ending left me disappointed.

The Truman Show used creative camera angles and an unrealistic plot to create a unique movie but had a disappointing ending. The Truman Show was very unique for it previewed a world where tv viewers watched a show all about an average person, years before reality shows became popular. Chrisoff was like god in Truman’s world, watching over him for 34 years but he couldn’t hold back Truman forever. It was only time before he discovered that he was a real man in a fake world. The adventurer in Truman helped him to break down the barrier of false reality and walk through the door to freedom.