The Truman Show - Religion
The movie, The Truman Show, can be related to religion in many ways. Jim Carrey stars as Truman Burbank, a 30-year-old man, whose whole life has been the plot of an acclaimed TV show. The movie shows how reality can be altered and created when confined into a small space. The movie is set in the town of Sea Haven, which is built inside a studio in Hollywood, California. Truman was born and adopted by a corporation, and that's when the show started. Throughout the movie, there are three religious points brought up, the issue of free will, God as all knowing, and the ideas of Calvin. The director has made it clear that religion plays an important role in everybody's life, and it is hard to escape from God.
Truman Burbank was born and raised in Seahaven. Seahaven was not what he truly thought it was, it was a television set. Every person in his life was an actor, his job was not real, and his house was not truly his. The unfortunate thing was that Truman had no clue that his life was not his own. In the beginning of the movie Truman was more a Calvinist meaning everything was predestined for him.
The creator of the show, Christof, tried to play the role of creator. His name in itself is symbolic; it sounds very much like Christ. Christof watches over Truman's every move. Christof controlled Truman's life and knew what would happen next. For example, Christof has many people come in and out of Truman's life, for entertainment purposes only and this is where Christof is different from God. As creator of Truman's world, Christof controls the sun, the weather, the water, and even the behavior of Seahaven's inhabitants, but he is a total fraud. He is off from God, or "Christ-off". Unlike the benevolent God, he controls his creation with cold technology, calculation, and a disrespect of Truman's agency. Time and time again, he thwarts Truman's righteous desires and manipulates him for his own purpose. As God created the earth, Christof has created the set and all that is
Truman Burbank was born and raised in Seahaven. Seahaven was not what he truly thought it was, it was a television set. Every person in his life was an actor, his job was not real, and his house was not truly his. The unfortunate thing was that Truman had no clue that his life was not his own. In the beginning of the movie Truman was more a Calvinist meaning everything was predestined for him.
The creator of the show, Christof, tried to play the role of creator. His name in itself is symbolic; it sounds very much like Christ. Christof watches over Truman's every move. Christof controlled Truman's life and knew what would happen next. For example, Christof has many people come in and out of Truman's life, for entertainment purposes only and this is where Christof is different from God. As creator of Truman's world, Christof controls the sun, the weather, the water, and even the behavior of Seahaven's inhabitants, but he is a total fraud. He is off from God, or "Christ-off". Unlike the benevolent God, he controls his creation with cold technology, calculation, and a disrespect of Truman's agency. Time and time again, he thwarts Truman's righteous desires and manipulates him for his own purpose. As God created the earth, Christof has created the set and all that is
References: The Truman Show. Dir. Peter Weir. Perf. Jim Carrey, Noah Emmerich, Laura Linney. Paramount. 1999. Calvin, John. Institutes of the Christian Religion. Trans. Henry Beveridge. London,Bonham Norton. Levinas, Emmanuel. And God Created Woman. Ed. Melvyn New, Robert Bernasconi, Richard A. Cohen. Lubbuck: Texas Tech UP, 2001