The Truman Show Essay, Research Paper

The Truman Show is a movie

about a man who is held captive

inside a world that revolves

around him. Truman Burbank,

the main character has been

raised on a huge TV

Soundstage filled with hidden

cameras and actors who

pretend to be his friends and

family. This world is one

where he is literally trapped in

his own life by the surreal

existence in which he has

been forced to spend every

day of his thirty years. Since

the day he was born Truman

Burbank’s life was controlled

from a huge control panel in the

sky; controlled by a manipulation

of how life should be, in a perfect

world. At the hands of such

manipulators we see how the

role of media in our world

persuades us into living in a way

that we would otherwise not

intend to.

It is quite often oblivious to all of

us, the effect that media has on

us. However, where ever we look

the effects of media have altered

the coarse of living. The clothes

we wear, the sports we play, the

music we listen to and our

political opinions, are all aspects

that are influenced by the media.

Advertising is the chief culprit in

many cases.

We often see others responding

to the effects of media whether it

is consciously or subconsciously.

As victims of commercialism, we

then respond to those who have

been effected by media. An

example of this is the clothes

that we wear. We see people on

television and else where,

looking trendy and we respond

to it by going out and aiming to

look the same way, therefore

buying the clothes. There are

many devices that aid in media’s

effect on people. Television,

radio, newspapers, billboards;

magazines and the Internet are

all forms of media and they all

are forever surrounding us. One

or the other is sure to appease to

most people’s tastes.

Pessimism we can see is often a

device of the media; it seems to

attract much attention.

Newspapers constantly thrive on

human tragedy and pessimistic

issues to create a public interest.

Media is found wanting on many

occasions. These pessimistic

articles are only published to

sell. However, what they do not

realise is that behind these

articles there are actually people

who suffer, these people are

tools of a money making

scheme. This is also a good

example of Truman’s treatment

in The Truman Show. He too,

was being used as a lab rat to

make a profit.

The Truman show distinctly

reveals how we are forever

surrounded by the manipulative

effects of media and that each of

us like Truman are held captive

in a world that has been altered

without our permission. We in

our own lives are held captive to

the effects of media. In every

direction we move we will always

come to a wall, some form of

media or advertising will stop us

and attract our attention. It is a

reality that we are unaware of

and we can not escape.

Truman was cornered in a world

that altered his decisions.

However, in Truman’s case the

media’s effect altered his

decisions into conforming into a

very narrow lifestyle. The media

manipulated Truman into

remaining in the one place for

thirty years, creating phobias so

that Truman would never try to

escape the island. Many

exaggerations were made in The

Truman Show, however these

exaggerations showed effectively

how the media can create such

an impact into altering the

course of life.

We in the real world, are much

like Trueman, held in captivity to

this media influenced society.

The silent, but deadly effects are

evident and do pose

considerable risk to our race.

This is effectively portrayed in

the movie The Truman Show, yet

we still remain to ignore it, in an

ignorance to what is right and

what is wrong in our society.

Media has proved to have a

negative effect, as it sometimes

leads ordinary people into doing

things that they other wise would

not have done without the

influence of media. Media has

the ability to train peoples

opinions; this takes away the

freedom we are born with, the

ability to think for ourselves and

to make objective decisions.