“And who am I?”
-Truman Burbank, The Truman Show
In a way I’m glad that all the current movies are crap, since it gave me a chance to revisit a real classic, a movie that we will be watching for decades to come. The real genius of the movie, though, is not how it reflects our media-obsessed culture or our love of reality TV. That’s too obvious. It’s how the cast members and the show itself represent all the forces around us that are doing their damnedest to remind us that we have to understand our limitations.
“What are we going to do for money when we get to New Orleans?” says Truman’s wife. “And I’m going to have to call your mother when we get there. I just don’t know how she’s going to take this.”
We need to act, think, and be a certain way, or some bad stuff is going to happen. Everyone around us, every image we see on TV or any other media, everything tells us this. How often do we listen to those voices, rather than doing or thinking or being what we want to? How often do we question, even a little bit, the world that is laid before us? The role we are supposed to play? The pressures to live in lockstep with everyone else are so great – that’s why we celebrate, if guiltily, the tiny group of people who manage to transcend those boundaries. Watch the movie and see for yourself.
Cool detail: Truman has a Magic 8 Ball on his desk.