The Truman Show - Assignment Example

The Truman Show Kenneth Gergen has amazingly drawn upon the dilemmas of identity in the post-modern world. In his book, The Saturated Self, Gergen develops the idea of the relationship of Man with the technology that has been innovated as it impacts his ability to see oneself as an individual. There is an overwhelmed feeling within that is an artifact of the multitude of things to be done but within a limited time frame. A syndrome that occurs in such situations, termed as multiphrenia, the individual gets caught in the dilemma of being a single personality or a multiple identity. However, the condition is not necessarily a ‘disease’ as technology takes a more dominant role in the lives of post-modern societies. In his book, Gergen has explored the relationship of Man with the artifacts of his creation with whom he to come to terms with although this may be incorporated into the daily lives as something essentially normal. As individuals gets caught in the novelty of modern life, they begin to saturate their cognitive capacities leaving them to be complex individuals. A similar aspect of post-modern city life in front of the screen is considered in the film The Truman Show where life seems to be centered around a mere piece of technological gadget - a Television. The film bases its plot around the central character Truman Burbank and his TV show called The Truman Show to demonstrate the pervasiveness of technological media into the lives of post-modern societies. The film depicts a form of an ideal life which itself is an irony in its form having gone through a period of cultural change subsequently after the arrival of popular media in the present era. The character, Truman finds his life to be a part of a popular television show filming each day of his life is to a wide audience of curious fans. Reality to Truman is the presence of his self in the world but which is distorted to make him believe so. To the rest of the world, Truman is the most popular character starring in the show The Truman Show where every day of his life is part of the ‘script’. In a dreamlike fashion, the wonderance is turned into reality for Truman where a life an individual lives is what millions of television watchers want to see and are seeing. The film appropriately shows the dilemma of identity experienced by Truman as he wonders whether is life is real or is part of a staged drama, with its script written by other controllers. This dilemma which he experiences is part of the multiphrenia referred to by Gergen in many respects. First, the self population of Truman in his own life and the presence of a large audience watching Truman’s activities through hidden cameras is a determinant of the fact that Truman has a multiple sense of ‘self’ where one is himself and the other is the Truman being watched by the audience. Even the world around Truman is part of the staged “reality” based in the sets of Seahaven thereby creating an artificial world for Truman to dwell in. While every other character in the show is an actor, Truman is one who is just living his life like a supposedly normal individual, but which is a show for the world outside. Although Truman seems to be quite a popular character from the television show, it is important to understand that Truman himself has been isolated from the external world just as Gergen described is an implication of the inculcation of more and more individual values. Before being himself, Truman is put in front of others in the world making him an object similar to a commodity or a good that is understood in terms of its demand among the people. Gergen gives a critical thought on the set of interpretations made by the audiences who base their meanings out of some pre-knowledge gained through experience. Gergen has called this ‘forestructure’ or ‘perspective’ which is a set of prior understandings which enable an individual to derive meanings out of any textual or verbal information. Since the same perspective has now adopted multiple forms, there has been an increase in the complexity of truth. This fact also introduces confusion as to concept of rationality within an individual. Although Truman is able to find his way out of the fake world he had been forced into. In many ways, Truman is living an ideal life: one which is illusory and fake, and the way his life differs from an average human being largely lies in the perception of Truman’s world. Truman’s life in the film exhibits controlled actions and behavior that is controlled by the crew members of the television networked demonstrating the dangers of the new society that has incorporated a set of planned language to control the populace. The life Truman lives is otherwise meaningless as he is merely a character in a show that has gained wide acceptance among the audience. To Truman, he is still living his life in a perceived world that in reality is fictitious. Truman initially accepts the life he has been given and the surrounding he has been brought up into though later, he starts questioning the staged “reality” around him. Reality is the planned deception of Truman through the controlled environment of Seahaven. What has been motivating the television network into deceiving Truman is the material gain they have rake in as a result of filming Truman’s life in the so-called popular television show. In many ways, the film depicts life in the age of ubiquitous technology and media: where the television has to be switched on regardless of day or night and when media becomes so pervasive that is goes on extreme paths characterized by an eagerness to watch other people’s lives even when they are doing things that are a matter of normal life. Thus, the film truly represents the societal failure that has been brought about by the introduction of an illusory ideal life through a controlled plan. Read More