rhetorical analysis of The truman show
Mrs. Hegwood
AP Lang. & Comp.
12/16/13
Creator
The Truman Show is about the intrusion of the media in the lives of celebrities and the disruption such scrutiny causes, such as in the life of Princess Diana. Or, it's a movie about the intrusion of the media into all of our lives, with shows like Oprah and Jerry Springer showcasing the lives of "average" people, delving into every nook and cranny of our private lives. It means that with the nature of the media today, we have no private life. That's what The Truman Show was trying to illustrate. In the Truman show, god, also known as Cristof, can control everything within the boundries of the dome besides whats going on in the heads of the individuals.
As the megalomaniacal creator and showrunner of The Truman Show, Cristof peers down at Truman from his live TV control room. He plays Truman's life as though he were the conductor of a symphonic orchestra. Intent on showing the "real" life of someone in a total way, Cristof creates a false reality for not only Truman and the audience, but himself. As he says in the film, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” Ironic coming from him.
Often compared to god in the film, Cristof is far less often viewed as a Big Brother. That is because while his imprint is everywhere, his image is nowhere. Truman has no idea Cristof even exists. The idea of an artificial utopia or satire of the American Dream-as-dystopia is also apparent to the viewer. But, what we might miss while thinking of Cristof is the words he uses. Maybe that's because we, as viewers, are also wrapped up in the spectacle of the film. We are busy being entertained and moved. Cristof's vocabulary echoes some of the common themes we recognize in national security language. Several of his statements and observations hit at the security vs. liberty debate Benjamin Franklin addressed in his time, and which we still grapple with in the post-9/11 years.
Camera shots were used
AP Lang. & Comp.
12/16/13
Creator
The Truman Show is about the intrusion of the media in the lives of celebrities and the disruption such scrutiny causes, such as in the life of Princess Diana. Or, it's a movie about the intrusion of the media into all of our lives, with shows like Oprah and Jerry Springer showcasing the lives of "average" people, delving into every nook and cranny of our private lives. It means that with the nature of the media today, we have no private life. That's what The Truman Show was trying to illustrate. In the Truman show, god, also known as Cristof, can control everything within the boundries of the dome besides whats going on in the heads of the individuals.
As the megalomaniacal creator and showrunner of The Truman Show, Cristof peers down at Truman from his live TV control room. He plays Truman's life as though he were the conductor of a symphonic orchestra. Intent on showing the "real" life of someone in a total way, Cristof creates a false reality for not only Truman and the audience, but himself. As he says in the film, "We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” Ironic coming from him.
Often compared to god in the film, Cristof is far less often viewed as a Big Brother. That is because while his imprint is everywhere, his image is nowhere. Truman has no idea Cristof even exists. The idea of an artificial utopia or satire of the American Dream-as-dystopia is also apparent to the viewer. But, what we might miss while thinking of Cristof is the words he uses. Maybe that's because we, as viewers, are also wrapped up in the spectacle of the film. We are busy being entertained and moved. Cristof's vocabulary echoes some of the common themes we recognize in national security language. Several of his statements and observations hit at the security vs. liberty debate Benjamin Franklin addressed in his time, and which we still grapple with in the post-9/11 years.
Camera shots were used