The Truman Show

Truman Burbank

A 29 year old insurance salesman who has unknowingly lived his entire life on the most popular TV show in the world (Jim Carrey)

Final Scene

Christof: Truman, you can speak. I can hear you. Truman: Who are you? Christof: I am the creator of a television show that gives hope, joy, and inspiration to millions. Truman: Then who am I? Christof: You're the star. Truman: Was nothing real? Christof: You were real. That's what made you so good to watch. Listen to me Truman. There is no more truth out there than there is in the world I created for you. Same lies. Same deceit. But in my world, you have nothing to fear.

Plot - Conclusion

Eventually though, Truman becomes determined to leave this island that he has never left before, despite his horrible fear of water (which began as a child when he thought he saw his father drown in a storm). As each way off the island is mysteriously blocked---from car to bus to boat---Truman grows increasingly closer to finding out the true nature of the world around him.

Examples of Control

In George Orwell's novel 1984, the Inner Party (tyrannical government) attempts to control the populace through use of subtle propaganda and by inventing a new language. Throughout the Truman Show, there are numerous examples of the television network attempting to control Truman, i.e. dangers of flying posters, school teacher saying that there is nothing left to explore, his father's death at sea, the rock climbing scene in Truman's youth, etc.

Lauren/Sylvia

Lauren is Truman's first romantic interest, and Sylvia is the actress who plays Lauren who tries to tell Truman about the reality of his life. (Natascha McElhone)

Opening Scene

The movie opens with the following statement from Christof: "We've become bored with watching actors give us phony emotions. We're tired of pyrotechnics and special effects. While the world he (Truman) inhabits is, in some respects, counterfeit, there is nothing fake about Truman himself. No scripts, no cue cards. It isn't always Shakespeare, but it's genuine. It's a life."

Christof

The television producer who created "The Truman Show" when Truman was born, and continues to direct it. (Ed Harris)

Plot - Context

This is the story of Truman Burbank, a 29 year old insurance salesman who lives in a comfortable town called Seahaven, which is located on an island, probably off the coast of Florida. Truman is a sincere and very nice person who begins to suspect that there is something very strange going on his life, and little by little, he learns the truth: Ever since he was born, Truman has been filmed for a live television show that is broadcast 24 hours a day to the rest of the world, and thus everything and everyone that he thinks he knows is in fact part of a giant television studio designed to record his life.

Plot - Discovery

Truman begins to discover the reality of his world when the television producers of "The Truman Show" begin to make silly mistakes that give Truman an idea of what is really happening. After listening to a radio broadcast that seems to be broadcasting everything he is doing, and then seeing workers who look like they're fixing his own office building as if it were part of a movie set (which it is!), Truman decides he needs to get away from Seahaven. He tells his wife and best friend that he wants to go to the island of Fiji, where the family of a girl he once liked very much had apparently moved. Thus, the producers of the show must think of every possible way to convince Truman that it would really be much better if he stayed home in Seahaven, without of course, admitting to him that his whole world is actually a giant, fake TV studio.

Truman's Mother

Truman's TV mom. In his real life, Truman was "the first child ever to be adopted by a corporation." (Holland Taylor)

Marlon

Truman's best friend for his entire life. (Noah Emmerich)

Kirk

Truman's father, who Truman thought he saw drown when he was a child. (Brian Delate)

Meryl

Truman's wife on the show, who sees no difference between her "real life" and her life as Truman's wife. (Laura Linney)