Truman Show

Bennett Con Issues 5/13/2013 Reality of Truman The Truman Show criticizes society through a dystopian theme. The most undesirable characteristics that the film portrays are how society is entertained by dehumanizing people, and how government and other groups are encroaching upon people’s privacy. Today’s society has options to address these privacy issues and can influence the personal information they provide. Reality television is the most popular entertainment in media today. Television series such as Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Jersey Shore, and John and Kate Plus 8 are part of this growing reality television endemic. Society watches and is attracted to these shows because they are supposed to relate to ordinary people’s lives. Even though it appears that their real lives are playing out on television, it is not as real as it seems when compared to people’s “real” lives. These “actors” have nothing to fear. They have security guards surrounding them when filming the show. They do not have to pay for anything because the company pays for their needs and wants. The director cuts and edits the clips to show the adience how he wants the actors’ lives and show to appear. The only difference between the reality shows of today and the Truman show is that Truman was not aware that he was part of a show. In today’s reality shows, the actors are very aware of their surroundings and display behavior that will make the shows more amusing to their audience. Truman’s world was in a way almost a “utopia” with no worries and no fear. It was, however, repetitive. Every day was the same. There were no difficult choices to make; much like reality television is portrayed

today. The decisions they make and the outcomes do not truly reflect what would happen if an ordinary person does the same. The actors in today’s reality television have welcomed the public eye to see everything they are doing, but this isn’t true for everyone in society. While the rest of the society

Bibliography: ACLU. "American Civil Liberties Union." American Civil Liberties Union. ACLU, n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. Privacilla. "Welcome to Privacilla.org." Welcome to Privacilla.org. Privacilla, 3 June 2012. Web. 12 May 2013. Solove, Daniel J. "Why Privacy Matters." The Chronicle of Higher Education. Chronicle Review, 15 May 2011. Web. 12 May 2013.