Film reviews

The Truman Show

Modern Slavery, Political Extremism, and Reality Television

Review by Nicholas Tyler Hartless

The Truman show is at face value; a criticism of corporations. But the movie also manages to criticize the little people,the working class.  This movie could be a criticism of America, but the movie doesn't seem to completely demonize it as in a different country with less freedoms the people wouldn't be permitted to call the show out for its mistreatment of Truman. I think this story is a warning of the potential of capitalism, and a tale of how two of capitalism's biggest principals can be weaponized and misused for evil. Capitalism is, in short, an economic system with focus on private ownership, less government intervention in the market, and the ability for the people to decide what's important with their money. Throughout the film we see all three of these principals stretched to their absolute worst.

Near the middle of the movie, the creator of the fictional show, Christof, talks about how Truman is the first human to be adopted by a corporation. This alludes to a cyberpunk-seque society where humans are owned by companies and these people are forced to work and have no legal way of fighting back. Despite being grounded in a very real world and close time period The Truman Show is a tale of Futuristic sci fi slavery and a slave's journey to freedom. Imagine you're born into the world and from the moment you exist a person has controlled your life, you work for this person and they make a profit off your work; You wouldn't even know there's another way. This is the journey of both Truman and any child born into slavery. Just as a slave was the property of their slave owner, Truman is essentially Christof's property.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." is a quote from George Santayana and it is very relevant when the topic of slavery is discussed. Any American when asked will condemn slavery, simultaneously these same people drink products from companies like Nestle and wear clothing from companies like Shein, both well documented to employ child slavery in the production of their goods. My point being that, if the enslavement is far away enough that we don't think of it, branded as something better, or even if the product we get as a result of this exploitation is good enough, people will turn a blind eye. The alternative America that the Truman show takes place in may seem impossible to ever become a reality but that's only because if corporations ever did gain the ability to own a person, they'd use it for much more hidden and sinister work like Nestle does on the Ivory Coast.

In modern American society it's becoming more and more evident that we don't vote with ballots anymore; we vote with money. In the Truman show, the American citizens are the reason for the show's long lifespan, if consumers simply didn't tune in or even protested it the show would've ended whenever the people wanted. In 2008 the American housing market collapsed because people were simply unable to pay their mortgages, this crisis destroyed the economy and proved that corporations have to respect the customer or else the people could erase your business. The opposite is also true, if a corporation is well liked and loved the people will be more lenient with its behavior, especially if their bad behavior doesn't affect themselves. This point is exemplified in The Truman show, all the consumers are in love with the show while the only ones thinking of the immoral aspect are those with a personal and emotional connection to Truman himself.

A government has many responsibilities, the main two being to organize and stabilize. The issue with having one giant system in control is that while it will attract those who just want to help, it will more often attract those who just want power. There is no governmental presence in The Truman Show, and that is much more troubling than if there was. This company owns a human being, and the director is controlling his entire life, making him live in a fake world. Any government fully concerned with its citizens' well being would've intervened the moment Truman learned to speak. The reason they don't is likely to do with power. This show being as popular as it was probably generated millions in taxes for the government and with how infatuated the American people seemingly are, anyone who intervened would swiftly drop in popularity.

In many ways we already have media like The Truman tv Show, they come in two forms. Reality tv and family blogs are both forms of entertainment that record the personal life of people, a family, or an entire neighborhood. Similar to The Truman Show, there is often manipulation behind the scenes to make these more entertaining to the audience, they'll frame someone for something or purposely start an argument and this is usually not known to the person being tricked. The main difference between these and the fictional show is that in these all parties are consenting, but there's a growing trend of recording people without their consent. Sometimes this is to embarrass or harass a person but other times, this is done with the purpose to prank. In shows like Impractical Jokers or any Prankster on youtube, people purposely mess with and record people without their prior consent, this isn't that big of a deal because it only lasts anywhere from thirty seconds to an hour. Just like the three principles of capitalism, these seemingly good fun things, if stretched to their extreme, would resemble The Truman Show.
The Truman Show takes on a psychological horror aspect as it's revealed to Truman that his existence is all a facade, this horror is deepened and thrown upon the viewer once they realize the fictional world that allows Chirstof to orchestrate something like this isn't too different from ours. With a few changes to the boundaries we operate within, our world could quickly resemble Christof's and that's why this movie is a warning of capitalism, not a criticism. It's a warning that while yes capitalism seems to serve us well, more is not better and we have to see the world as gray. It's a criticism of the extremes that die hard capitalists believe and as a result is also a criticism of all extremists believe in, this film urges you to believe in a middle ground and as best you can analyze the things occurring in our world from an objective standpoint removed from emotions, pre established political beliefs, and propaganda. This film, though fun and happy, has themes that are inherently psychological and horrific. It's about the modern American human condition in which capitalism has helped us so much that we're willing to ignore morality and believe in it, a world that ours is growing to reflect more and more where we are desensitized to the suffering of another. The Truman Show is a warning to you: don't be a Truman, don't be a Christof, and most importantly don't be an extremist.