Reality in the Truman Show

We live each day of our lives without questioning the life around us. We have an innate belief, or faith in our world, and our reality. In the film The Truman Show, the lead character, Truman Burbank, is born and raised in a mock reality. He grows up having faith that his world is reality, and never questions it. He grows up in a world where his destiny is controlled, but not fake. These concepts and more lead to an inevitable question: Is Truman's world imaginary? It is nearly impossible to define imaginary versus reality, and it is for this reason that one must approach this question from a different angle. It is better stated as: What makes a world real? Reality is defined by three characteristics: material possessions, relationships with others, and faith. Truman Burbank embodies these three characteristics to the fullest, and for this reason, it can be said that Truman's world is not, nor ever will be, imaginary.

A house, a car, a television set. Each of these can be found in the life of a middle-class citizen, much like Truman. They are concrete, physical objects which we can see and touch. These objects undeniably are used in society as measures of success, which is no different in the miniature society of The Truman Show. Material possessions are universally accepted as a method of verifying the world we live in. For many people, they seek to prove their success and place in the world by purchasing items of excessive grandeur and dollar amounts, while others live more modestly. Truman's reality is affected by materialistic possessions through the advertising spots which the actors on the show are required to subtly include in conversation. As Truman is in the basement, fixing the lawn mower, Meryl enters and looking ...

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... knowledge that it is true, based on the foundation he has formed with the base of his close relationships and material possessions. If it had not been so unfortunate for the single light to fall from the ceiling above, it is likely that Truman never would have begun to speculate as to the state of his world.

In the final minutes of the film when Truman finally realizes the truth of his life, he shows great poise in questioning Christof by saying, "Was nothing real?." Christof's vague answers only prove to anger Truman further and he lashes out; "You never had a camera in my head!." This last statement is likely to be the most important, critical statement of his life. It is the one thing Truman had to himself, which was completely his own. No one could ever know what he thought privately to himself. It is impossible to be inside his head. While the viewers could