The Truman Show
https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2011/dec/16/my-favourite-film-truman-show
How do you know what is real?
Who are you? How do you know who you are?
What does your society care about? How do you know?
How can we find out more about the possibilities of who we are or what the world is about?
What does Truman know about himself? His world? His society? His family? His friends?
How does what WE know about OUR lives compare/contrast with what Truman knows?
The “Up” series has tracked a group of children throughout their lives, every 7 years since 1964. Here is a link to an article about it and some clips. See below for an interview with the director, Michael Apted.
How does the process Truman goes through in the film link to processes we must each go through in order to achieve self-actualization?
In what ways does Truman’s path to self-actualization align with or differ from the conventions usually seen in a teenage “coming of age” film?
Where does paranoia, fake news, conspiracy theories, ‘deep state’ and propaganda for the purposes of control come into it?
Article about Fake News: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170301-lies-propaganda-and-fake-news-a-grand-challenge-of-our-age
Article about political leaning dictating the understanding of the Covid19 crisis: https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/3/31/21199271/coronavirus-in-us-trump-republicans-democrats-survey-epistemic-crisis
Article about the moral questions raised by the pandemic. Is it okay to sunbathe? Links to the ethical questions raised by the film as it links to a modern-day example in real life.
20 Years on – How reality caught up with The Truman Show.
This film was created before Reality TV was a routine part of our lives. Before Youtube. Before Instagram and Tik Tok. Even though it is commonplace for everyone to put themselves and their lives online today, it is still an interesting question to ask about the consequences of such exposure. Who is doing it? Why?
How valuable is Reality TV to humanity? What are its costs? What are its harms? What are its possible rewards?