Blog 8

The Truman Show

Truman Burbank is a fictional character in the movie, The Truman Show. He was born and resided in Seahaven for most of his life. He lived what he though to be a normal life and got along quite well with everyone. However, he came to realize something was not quite right with his life and discovered his life was a television show. Despite his original thoughts, and some compelling evidence, Truman’s life was fictional.
There is no denying that there was some very real aspects of Truman’s life. He is a real man who was born, just like any other child. He grew up in Seahaven and had very real experiences like childhood, high school, marriage. He even was lucky enough to have a high school sweetheart. He had a real attraction to Sylvia and real feelings toward his wife, family, friends, and co-workers/ neighbors. All of the material objects around him were real. He had a real house, real car, real clothes, and he had a job. He developed a wonderful personality and was able to get along with everyone and establish a deep relationship with his wife and best friend. His daily routine was also very real. He woke up, got dressed, worked then came home to the wife. He went through real struggles, including how he felt about the idea of having a baby. Another very real part of Truman’s life was his fear of water. His father drowned when he was a young boy and it terrified him for a good portion of his life. Truman had real experiences that would make his life seem as though it was not a television show.
Although Truman’s life seemed to be normal, there are many points supporting the fiction side. Truman lived on an "island" in a giant dome. His entire life, up to the point of escape was lived on a giant set and filmed. He was sheltered from many things by the people who surrounded him. They were always protecting him to ensure he was safe and above all that he never found out that his life was a show. His father’s death was a sham. The producer made it this way so that Truman became afraid of the water and would never leave the island. Everyone around him was merely actors. His best friend was fed lines by the producer to make it seem as though he cared. His own wife was chosen for him by the producers when he was still in high school. Everything around him was a set up. Product placement played a huge roll in the show because it was their way of funding. Everything on the show could be bought on the internet and products were constantly being flashed in front of the cameras for the audience members. One day Truman sat in his car and watched people perform the same task over and over again. A man with flowers was appearing roughly every ten minutes, because he was simply walking around the block. When Truman started to realize that something wasn’t right, he still couldn’t leave because disasters kept popping up everywhere, preventing him from leaving. There was a forest fire, a power plant leak, and a traffic jam all dedicated to keeping him on the island for the sake of the show.
Despite some very real things in Truman’s life and the fact that he believed he lived a normal and healthy life for so long, doesn’t change the fact that his life was fiction. None of Truman’s friends were really his friends. His wife didn’t actually love him, and his father never died. His life was a televison show, broadcasted to entertain others’ lives. His life itself was real, but everything in it wasn’t. The only genuine connection he ever had was with Sylvia and she was taken away. Truman’s life was all fiction. He can’t really call his life real when he lived in a dome, on a fake island, went to a fake job and had a fake marriage. When Truman did discover the truth, he left. He walked out on his so-called life because he knew it wasn’t real. Truman’s life was fiction and even he believed so, after finding out the truth.
There are many points for both sides, to determine if Truman’s life was real or fiction. It would make a very compelling argument. He was born and had real experiences, but was surrounded by phony things and people. He didn’t have any true friends, and his wife didn’t love him. Truman’s life was fiction.