The Nature Of Perception, The Allegory Of The Cave
Michelle Tran
Mrs. Black-Knyazik
Theory of Knowledge/Period 7
15 October 2014
The Truman Show Concepts of perception, the nature of reality, and the allegory of the cave can be seen throughout the 1998 film, The Truman Show. In the beginning of the movie, Truman is seen literally with a rain cloudy only above him. But since his line of vision only saw what was in front of him, his perception of the weather was limited by what he could see. Meryl, his wife on the show, was constantly advertising for products without Truman noticing anything. He saw her as simply speaking to him about an object she had because he never knew anything different. Viewers could easily tell Meryl was an actress since her emotions were hardly ever real, but Truman couldn’t. Even though Truman wanted to be an explorer when he was young, his dreams were shot down because he didn’t know any outside experiences. Truman soaked up all his surroundings and perceived them as reality. His senses deceived him and only a certain amount of information was given to him. …show more content…
The nature of reality is seen as Truman finally begins to take steps toward leaving the set of the reality TV Show.
Right before Truman steps through the exit door, Christof tells him that the real world has the same amount of deceit and lies as the world he made for Truman. This controlled world was a safer version, but Truman wasn’t looking for safety. He was searching for something that was real. Christof told him that he, the star of the show, was real, but Truman needed his environment to be real. The created illusion failed to fill all of Truman’s curiosity and interests. His reality changed based on his observations of what he was surrounded
by. The film was similar to the allegory of the cave as the deceiver was portrayed as Christof, who created the world just for Truman. He led Truman into believing in this false reality. The town and the actors served as the shadows that gave false information to Truman. Even his best friend was only acting when comforting Truman in his real time of need. When interviewed by the outside public, Christof rationalizes his actions of creating a TV show about his adopted son by saying how one accepts the reality presented. This is similar to the allegory of the cave, as the prisoners only believe what they know to be true about the shadows created by the fire. Similar to Descartes, Truman believed everything about his life until he began to notice discrepancies. By Truman’s own perception, the nature of reality, and the allegory of the cave, he was able to break out of his own enclosed and controlled reality.
Mrs. Black-Knyazik
Theory of Knowledge/Period 7
15 October 2014
The Truman Show Concepts of perception, the nature of reality, and the allegory of the cave can be seen throughout the 1998 film, The Truman Show. In the beginning of the movie, Truman is seen literally with a rain cloudy only above him. But since his line of vision only saw what was in front of him, his perception of the weather was limited by what he could see. Meryl, his wife on the show, was constantly advertising for products without Truman noticing anything. He saw her as simply speaking to him about an object she had because he never knew anything different. Viewers could easily tell Meryl was an actress since her emotions were hardly ever real, but Truman couldn’t. Even though Truman wanted to be an explorer when he was young, his dreams were shot down because he didn’t know any outside experiences. Truman soaked up all his surroundings and perceived them as reality. His senses deceived him and only a certain amount of information was given to him. …show more content…
The nature of reality is seen as Truman finally begins to take steps toward leaving the set of the reality TV Show.
Right before Truman steps through the exit door, Christof tells him that the real world has the same amount of deceit and lies as the world he made for Truman. This controlled world was a safer version, but Truman wasn’t looking for safety. He was searching for something that was real. Christof told him that he, the star of the show, was real, but Truman needed his environment to be real. The created illusion failed to fill all of Truman’s curiosity and interests. His reality changed based on his observations of what he was surrounded
by. The film was similar to the allegory of the cave as the deceiver was portrayed as Christof, who created the world just for Truman. He led Truman into believing in this false reality. The town and the actors served as the shadows that gave false information to Truman. Even his best friend was only acting when comforting Truman in his real time of need. When interviewed by the outside public, Christof rationalizes his actions of creating a TV show about his adopted son by saying how one accepts the reality presented. This is similar to the allegory of the cave, as the prisoners only believe what they know to be true about the shadows created by the fire. Similar to Descartes, Truman believed everything about his life until he began to notice discrepancies. By Truman’s own perception, the nature of reality, and the allegory of the cave, he was able to break out of his own enclosed and controlled reality.