Annotated clip of The Truman Show

Here's the link to my annotations of a clip from The Truman Show (it's actually a few clips pieced together): http://ant.umn.edu/vav.php?pid=61473167489250

The movie is about a man named Truman (Jim Carrey) who lives a comfortable, middle-class suburban life, all the while oblivious to the fact that his entire life has been filmed for a reality TV show. Cameras have been on him since birth, and his entire life--his job, his neighborhood, his best friend and wife--is artificial and full of actors who profit off of the popularity of The Truman Show. This clip shows some examples of how the show uses product placement; gradually, the ads become a big part of Truman's "awakening." In the last scene in the clip, Truman realizes his wife is using ad-speak when he's the only one in the room.

The film uses camera shots to show Truman from many different places and points of view. At times, he is filmed from angles suggesting that cameras are hidden all over the neighborhood. Other times, we see Truman directly through another person's camera. And sometimes we see directly through Truman's eyes, suggesting that a camera is on him or following his exact movements at all times. The cameras are shown to us, the audience, only through the lenses.

I think this clip, and the entire film, is incredibly effective. Millions of people enjoy reality shows because they give a glimpse of the strange lives of others we'd never meet in real life. This film allows us to be voyeurs in an unsuspecting (and later, unwilling) man's life, showing how easy it is to be complicit in the exploitation of others. When we see through Truman's eyes, from a camera on/near him, it is especially unsettling. At times, we even see audiences gathered in front of televisions and their genuine emotional reactions to the experiences Truman goes though.


Ultimately, the film shows how the presence of a camera can manipulate a scene and create an artificial environment. Near the end of the film, after Truman realizes his whole life has been a TV show, he says, "Was nothing real?" To me, this is a heartbreaking line that shows how reality TV is really not reality at all. All people, whether they watch reality TV shows or not, should be concerned about the ethics involved. Where is the line between observing and exploiting? To what extent can our own versions of reality be manipulated by what we see? How do we know an advertisement when we see one...or do we? Man, this is great stuff, and The Truman Show is a great movie!