The Truman Show

Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs

In Episode 18 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing the iconic and much-beloved 1998 film, The Truman Show.

In this episode we discuss the appeal of reality television and what it says about our society.

We look at how The Truman Show posits Seahaven as a 'utopia' and the price that Truman is made to pay for his so-called safe and comfortable existence, with reference to the social contract. We also consider what is 'utopian' about the constructed reality of the show.

We look at the character of Christof, in particular, as creator, protector, god-figure, and megalomaniac. We discuss the parallels with freedom within or beyond religion, the prisons we make or accept for ourselves, and the extent to which we are the produce of our social environments.

We reference the following books and articles in our discussion:

Simone Knox, Reading "The Truman Show" Inside Out

Alex Fitch ‘Dark City and The Truman Show: Surveillance and the Destabilization of Identity’ FILM CRITICISM

Peter Marks ‘6 Identities’ Imagining Surveillance: Eutopian and Dystopian Literature and Film

Tony E Jackson, Televisual Realism: "The Truman Show"

Keeping a Sense of Wonder: Interview with Peter Weir

Slavoj Žižek ‘Welcome to the Desert of the Real!’ Cultures of Fear: A Critical Reader, 2009, pp. 70-78

Christopher Falzon ‘Peter Weir’s The Truman Show and Sartrean Freedom' in Existentialism and Contemporary Cinema: A Sartrean Perspective

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