The Truman Show - a Satire about Media

Rating: 8/10 (12 September 2016)

The Truman Show is an example of satire, and though the use of satire, it shows how media has affected our everyday lives, and has influenced us in ways that it probably shouldn't. In this movie, we follow the life of Truman Burbank- who lives in the community of Seahaven (which is actually a giant domed television studio). In Seahaven, Truman is the star. He is recorded, observed, and judged. Everyone else is actors- only Truman is real, and he doesn't know it. Right away you can link the Truman Show to what media does to us today. You can see the satirical tool inflation being used to get the point of the Truman Show across. The problem of being lied today in media is conveyed by making lies a much bigger issue in Truman's society. The "dome" that is Seahaven feeds Truman lies about his whole life- just as media does to us today. We don't know what to believe, just as Truman didn't know the truth about his life. Christof (the creator of Seahaven) put it best when he said: "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented. It's as simple as that.". And isn't it? People believe what they are told to believe, and this satire highlights that perfectly. The Truman Show also brings to light the issue of morality in the media- which takes place at the very end of the movie; when Truman finds out about his "fake" life, he asks Christof to explain. Christof states: "There's no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you. The same lies, the same deceit". This can be compared to our society today. Just like Truman, we don't know what our beliefs are until we are forced to question them. I think that the Truman show is an effective satire that is able to pinpoint an issue that is still present in our society today. We are still looking for ways to solve this problem, but- In case we don't solve it, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!