The Truman Show and the fallacy of reality
*Spoilers Ahead*
As the new Arts & Entertainment editor, the best way I can break in this section is by discussing one of the most influential films I've ever seen: the 1998 classic The Truman Show directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. This is a film near and dear to my heart and one I guarantee you have at least heard of in passing.
In short, this film centers on Truman Burbank (played by Jim Carrey) an orphan raised from birth in an artificial city filled with actors, having his entire life secretly broadcast worldwide as a serialized television show. It is a story that deals with intense questions and gives no clear answers, forcing one to introspectively put oneself in Truman’s place, trying to unravel the ever-tangled web of reality. Consequently, I am not here to lecture on the ins and outs of this masterclass staple of filmmaking; rather, I’m here to show you how we can apply this twenty-five-year-old film to our modern day.
The life of Truman, up until the age of 30, was entirely manufactured, only ever experiencing one sole instance of genuine interaction throughout that entire period. Genuinely experiencing life, the sole aspect of existence one has dictation over—one Truman believed he had agency over—was never his. He was a puppet forced to conform to the will of his Godlike master, Christof (Ed Harris) the show’s director and creator. The implications of an event like this are unfathomable for one’s psyche, especially in modern times.
If one were to wake up in the place of Truman, would they have any idea? Could they escape, even if they wanted to? How would one go about uncovering this? Who’s to say this hasn’t already occurred? All these questions come to mind, but the most damning of all has to be, what if we are living in The Truman Show?
No, this is not meant to feed into anyone’s main character complex, nor allude to a Machiavellian-level mastermind controlling our every action—rather, to illuminate the possibility that our perceived control over our lives isn’t our own.
As we all move through our college experience and pave our paths forward, we are reminded at every turn of the unpredictability of the road ahead, and the possibility that our course will be different from the one we currently are on. We have the means to carry out any task and overcome any obstacle with all the agency of one of the greats, yet there is forever a wavering thought that this path could detrimentally change. Because of this profoundly human feeling present within all people, we can use this film as inspiration, a living example of this existential fear and how to conquer it within oneself.
For Truman, though he never had agency in his life he was able to reclaim this agency through an unwavering will. Many of us place ourselves on this path, trying to overcome this transparent force responsible for the negative aspects of our lives. Yet, unlike Truman, we cannot escape the confines of our world to find the one that is truly for us, but we can create an environment to thrive and become who we want ourselves to be through this unwavering will.
It is beyond important to remember, especially going into a new semester, that, like Truman, our lives may not be entirely up to our control. It is what we do with our limited control that matters. We all have agency, an independent will, and a hunger to achieve our goals, and we must employ them accordingly. We must express ourselves, utilize our agency over our free will, and make something of ourselves that we can call genuinely ours. If not, we can remain forever stagnant, trapped within the confines of our artificial reality, complaisant to the invisible will being forced upon us.
Life has so much to offer every person, but the road to uncovering this individual proposition may be clouded, filled with roadblocks meant to deter one from living their truth. The only way to find your path is to traverse the unknown and carve through the unventured.
Do not stay static within the confines of this shroud: take risks and experience the bounds of your will! Just as Truman found a world of opportunity, so can you, but the only way is to surmount the unknown and live according to your wants.