In the same motion as putting on his jacket Truman reaches for his suitcase. He walks through his perfect house nice, tidy and spacious. Exiting the front door he sees his neighbors across the road “Morning Truman”, “Morning, and in case I don’t see ya good afternoon, good evening and goodnight”. The white picket fences run down the street further then the eye can see it’s a perfect street of perfect houses with perfect neighbors in a perfect world.
This isn’t one of your typical Jim Carey movies; it’s a Peter Weir (Director) masterpiece. Truman Burbank (Jim Carey) plays a middle class husband who lives in a world inside a world. He lives in a studio where everything is fake and everyone fakes who they are. He is married to a fake wife and works for a fake company. He is unaware that his life is broadcast around the world twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. The only thing real in his life is him and his emotions.
The Truman show appears to be placed in a very definitive discourse ‘The middle class, double income, one or no child discourse’. The discourse is so obvious throughout the film cause it works on the stereotypical views that we all hold. Living in a beautiful neighborhood were everyone knows everyone and get along with no problems, the beautiful houses but not mansion that look alike to the one next door and the highways of white picket fences that bring a sense of purity to the whole place. This is all the features of a middle class family or couple. Its what everyone wants but little can have.
The film boarders on being very much like a normal soapie it goes through the lives of a middle class family showing off there highs and lows and the riches they earn an excellent example would be Neighbors. Neighbors’ focuses on middle class families living on Ramsey Street and just like the Truman show shows each and every part of there lives everyday. A movie duplicate of the Truman show would be American Beauty.
The main character lives in a white picket world, he defies his reality by escaping what everyone else has set for him and his life. All this links give a deeper look into a middle class life and how it’s always controlled by an outer factor. The obvious foregrounding present is the ‘White picket fence world’ a perfect world with everything that we all want, stability, nice jobs, nice house and nice neighborhood. The what’s privileged is what we don’t see the reality of the whole thing the crime, the homeless, the problems families face its all not shown in the light, all kept away to make it a happy lifestyle with not a problem in the world.
In the crucial scene, which also happens to be one of the last scenes of the film, Truman defies his reality and finally comes to the end of his search for meaning. Truman literally sails to the end of his world finding out the real truth behind his life when he finally gets to talk to Christof (Ed Harris) the creator of the ‘Truman Show’. The music and sound play a large part in the emotional side of the film. When Truman touches the wall of stadium and starts punching it all you can hear is the music and no sound of crying or pounding. This allows the audience to reflect on what is happening and to make up there own emotions.
The camera work in relation to where Truman is standing is always looking down at him to signify that when Christof speaks that he is a higher being living up to his name of “Christ_of” Truman. The lighting also helps in this cause as it’s bright and a beautiful day to represent the beginning of a new life, in this case Truman’s new life in the ‘real’ world. The dialogue in this scene is where most people finally find out the truth behind the whole film:
“Iam the creator of a TV show that gives hope, joy and inspiration to millions…” and Truman finally finds out the truth about himself: “Was nothing real?” “You were real that’s what made you so good to watch. Listen to me Truman there’s no more truth out there then there is in the world I created for you. Same lies, same deceit but in my world you have nothing to fear. I know you better then you know yourself.”
The whole film runs around lies and deceit wrapped up in a pretty cover of a white picket fenced world. The world couldn’t exist for long as it was too perfect and in time it all fell apart. We all want to have a double income family, live in a beautiful house, get along with our neighbors but for Truman that wasn’t enough he wanted everything else that came along with life, the problems and pains. So when the end drew nearer he got what he wanted in one way and the other.
