The truman show: How does the film maker use crisis/crises to reveal a character's true nature - Essay Example

?Topic:  The truman show: How does the film maker use crisis/crises to reveal a character's true nature? In 1998, Paramount Pictures released The Truman Show. It was well received by audiences and critics alike receiving several Oscar Nominations and accumulating over $125 million during its theatrical release in the United States(imbd.com). The popularity of this movie may be attributed to the meteoric rise of the reality genre of television. The plot revolves around a man named Truman Burbank who is unknowingly been living out his life in front of the world as part of a carefully crafted reality-type program. This is a fact that Truman learns as the plot progresses and the movie takes the audience along on this journey of discovering his true character. The director of The Truman Show, Peter Weir, reveals the true nature of Truman Burbank and several other important characters by placing key crisis points in their path. As Truman Burbank is the main character, there are several crisis points in the plot that reveal his true nature. One of the first crisis points occurs when an object falls from the sky and Truman discovers that it is some sort of light fixture which confuses him as it appears to have fallen out of the endless blue sky(imbd.com). Automatically, the filmmaker uses this simple action as a falling object to reveal the curious nature of Truman that eventually shifts to extreme paranoia as he discovers more and more about his inauthentic existence. Towards the end of the movie, Peter Weir reveals another important aspect of Truman’s nature when the character nearly dies in an attempt to sail away from the town. The creator and director of the fake world that Truman has grown up in—Christof—is desperate to keep his creation in his clutches, so he sends a terrible storm to deter Truman’s escape. However, Truman refuses to turn back and nearly drowns because of it(imbd.com). This scene reveals several aspects of his character: desperation and determination. The situation is made even more dramatic since Christof instilled a fear of water into Truman at an early age; this was done to ensure that he wouldn’t be able to leave(imbd.com). He is desperate enough to discover the truth that he is willing to overcome his fear and perhaps perish. Utilizing a dramatic action scene and information recall, the filmmaker illustrates the inner workings of Truman Burbank in a believable manner which engages the audience without demeaning them at the same time. In the end, he does succeed and is able to enter into the real world for the first time. The same scene also reveals the true nature of The Truman Show’s creator: Christof. Up until this point, Christof did not appear to be dealing with a major crisis as he was able to thwart Truman’s attempts to find the truth. Once Truman decides to take action and actually tries to escape, the rage and selfishness of Christof becomes apparent. He intentionally places Truman in danger by creating a storm over the body of water(imbd.com). Peter Weir utilizes this crisis as a means to show Christof as a villain and a control freak who will stop at nothing to regain control over his entire creation. It is only when Christof is confronted by the audience’s potential reaction to this situation along with seeing Truman’s true determination that persuades him to end the storm and relinquish control over Truman’s life. The filmmaker allows the audience to interpret Christof’s true nature at this juncture. Christof is either truly selfish and only frees Truman in order to save face or his heart has softened by the crisis and he wants Truman to live a real life. Two important female characters also experience a specific crisis in the film which illustrates their true nature. The first is Meryl who Truman believes to be his wife; however, she is really an actress playing a part on the reality show that is his life. Throughout the film, as Truman becomes more and more aware of the truth, Meryl is instructed to keep by his side in order to prevent him from discovering anything more(imbd.com). Her true nature is revealed by the filmmaker in a scene where Truman attempts an escape by car and Meryl is along for the ride(imbd.com). She attempts to dissuade him from this plan, but to no avail. However, Christof has set up traffic jams, fires, and road blocks as an alternative means to keep Truman from leaving(imbd.com) It is in this scene that Meryl is afraid for her life and it is through this interaction that the filmmaker makes it much more obvious that Meryl has no emotional attachment to Truman and merely views her present situation as a job and nothing more. This business-like nature is further supported in a subsequent scene when she attempts to slip in an advertisement about a particular drink while maintaining a heated conversation with Truman at the same time(imbd.com). On the opposite end of the spectrum, the filmmaker presents the character of Sylvia/Lauren. She works on the Truman Show for a short time and becomes something of a love interest for Truman in high school. However, this is not the person that Christof wants Truman to be with, so he makes it very hard for the two to connect. Sylvia—otherwise known as Lauren—does not agree with the way Truman is being deceived and controlled. Her crisis point comes when she and Truman rendezvous at a beach. She attempts to tell him the truth about his existence, but Christof sends in a person posing as her father to take her away(imbd.com). She is removed from the set and banned from ever reentering. This interaction reveals Sylvia’s true nature as honest, loving, and compassionate. The filmmaker juxtaposes this character with Meryl making them the antithesis of each other. Sylvia wants to save Truman and makes it her mission to help him get free. Meryl, on the other hand, does what she is told to do and does not wish to ruffle feathers. Peter Weir utilized Truman as the focal point of each of these crises. All of the characters reveal their true nature in some form or another during an interaction with Truman. This is interesting to note as the idea of a world revolving solely around one person is an important concept within this movie. Drama and action are key elements in each of these crisis points which is also an important element as high tension moments tend to reveal the inner truth of a person’s character in the real world and likewise in a movie world as well. References "The Truman Show(1998)." IMBD: International Movie Database. 2010. Web. 19 May 2011. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120382/ . Read More