Truman Show And 500 Days Of Summer: Postmodernism Analysis

Hannabuss, Stuart. "Encyclopedia of Postmodernism." Reference Reviews 15.1 (2001): 9-10. ProQuest. Web. 16 Sep. 2015. The source explains in details all the characteristics of postmodernism. It says that postmodernism is “about knowledge and epistemology (knowledge about knowledge, how we know and what we know as true)” (Hannabuss). Hannabuss says that postmodernism is a unique representation of modern living (Hannabuss). Hannabuss also explains that “postmodernism has come a long way since 1960” (Hannabuss). The Truman Show and 500 Days of Summer share the characteristics that Hannabuss lists therefore the films fall into the postmodernist era.

To begin with, 500 Days of Summer is released in 2009 and The Truman Show in 1998; therefore,

It goes into details about the different types of postmodernist perspectives that can be found in American culture. Bloland says that the primary significance of postmodernism is “its power to account for and reflect vast changes in our society and culture”. In the films The Truman Show and 500 Days of Summer we can find many of the changes in our society and culture. To begin with, The Truman Show and 500 Days of Summer depict societal changes in technological innovations and ideology. For example, the technological innovations are depicted by Tom and Truman working in firms with computers, printers, and telephones. An example for ideology would be gender equality; in both films we see women working at the same level as men and having the same opportunities as well. In 500 Days of Summer, Summer works in the same place as Tom. In The Truman Show Hannah works at a hospital with other men, as well as Truman working at a firm with other women. Furthermore, the cultural changes seen in both films are adults living by themselves. For example in 500 Days of Summer, Tom lives by himself as well as Summer, as she lives in her own apartment. In The Truman Show, Truman’s mom lives alone after the fraudulent death of her husband and Truman lives by himself after Hannah leaves

"Postmodern American Literature and its Other." African American Review 43.4 (2009): 783-5. ProQuest. Web. 17 Sep. 2015. The source talks about the postmodern American literature and explains the conventions and writing styles of authors of this era. The article compares and contrasts the works of female and male authors, but overall Zhou says that postmodern is a “state of being that features chance, play, difference, relativity, and non-closure” (Zhou). The films 500 Days of Summer and The Truman Show feature all these characteristics therefore they can fall into the postmodern period. First, The Truman Show does feature non-closure. For example, when Truman realizes he is living in a set, Cristoff gives him the option to stay, but Truman just turns to the camera and says goodbye in his own way. The audience does not have closure because they have no idea to what happens to Truman. The public does not know if Truman meets with his one true love Sylvia or if he is able to adapt to the real world. Furthermore, in 500 Days of Summer the public finds non-closure when the movie reveals that Summer is getting married to someone else. The audience does not find closure because they do not know what happened to her ideals of not wanting to have a serious