'Truman Show' blurs line between TV, reality

Unknown to Truman, he is the star of a 24-hour television series that has followed his every moment since his birth. Truman lives in a fishbowl with the entire world watching. However, Truman, played by Jim Carrey with great comic pathos, develops a creeping suspicion that something is wrong. The fi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inThe Philadelphia tribune (1884) Vol. 114; no. 50
Main Author Mixon, Veronica
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Philadelphia, Pa Philadelphia Tribune 23.06.1998
Subjects
Carrey, Jim
Entertainment
Harris, Ed
Motion pictures
Niccol, Andrew
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Unknown to Truman, he is the star of a 24-hour television series that has followed his every moment since his birth. Truman lives in a fishbowl with the entire world watching. However, Truman, played by Jim Carrey with great comic pathos, develops a creeping suspicion that something is wrong. The filmmakers have created a sunny, safe, plastic world on television that enslaves the TV viewers as well as the star. "The Truman Show" raises the question of maniacal control of what information can be fed to us and how much we can be influenced by weird creatures like the series creator, Christofe (Ed Harris), whose all -encompassing control over Truman is terrifying. Seahaven is a place that clearly excludes the messiness of the world, and Christofe has purposely done this. He's rejected the world (where the TV viewers live) and enclosed himself and Truman in a bubble. When Truman decides to escape Seahaven at any cost, Christofe sets out to stop him -- at any cost. "The Truman Show" touches on our millennium fears of the future and America's perverse fascination with "15-minute stardom." Unlike another recent film, "Bullworth," The Truman Show manages to sidestep reality and truth even though these are the things Truman sets out to find.
ISSN:0746-956X