Idealism In The Truman Show

In modern day, mankind vastly explores the ideas of utopias and dystopias. However, the thin line between them remains rarely investigated. In a way, they are two sides of the same coin. One could argue that neither could exist without the other. Generally, the definitions of both are generic, subjective, and are always too easily corrupted to be realistic. Elements of this concept overflowing with idealism are present in the brilliant movie The Truman Show, in regular life, and shown in Truman’s ultimately wise decision. In Christof’s eyes, he has created the perfect world for Truman. Despite Truman’s fabricated experiences, he appears to be living in a perfect town, one widely considered to be the best, according to his fraudulent newspapers.

There have been experiments and attempts. However, it gets corrupted quickly. Perhaps the greatest example is communism. In theory, a world where everyone is equal and no one feels lesser sounds like a utopia. But when put into practice, the society falls apart fast. To compare this to The Truman Show, Russia is an excellent example. The citizens’ lives are void of choice and freedom, similar to Truman. Likewise, the leader, Putin, controls everything due to the corrupted system. He receives everything from the hard work of the inhabitants. Similarly, Christof is selfish and wealth-oriented enough to nearly kill the star of his show rather than let him go free. Every minute of Truman’s life puts money in his pocket. That money, in a way, should have at least in part belonged to the big name of the show. In a less widely known example, one individual tested the idea of a utopia, later writing about his findings in the book The Utopian Experiment. He put together a small, almost colonial town and invited a few thousand people to live there. In a unique choice, he decided that they should pretend that this experiment took place after the imaginary fall of society. It’s easy to infer the ending as the book opens with the author waking up in in a psych ward. They even had to interrupt the experiment when someone injured themselves whilst chopping wood and required a hospital visit. In the author’s own words, “To call

However, he chose neither. He chose truth and reality. No one truly believes that modern society is perfect, and Christof forewarned Truman about this in their final encounter. However, when being forced to choose between two imperfect answers, he chose to ask what was real. In doing this, he showed great wisdom. Rather than trying to identify the easy route, he chose to seek reality, where he could make an impact and choose his destiny. His determination emphasizes this search for reality. Not only did he go through all the effort of busting a hole in the ceiling to climb out to the yard, he also struggled through a storm and nearly died. Yet, he still pushed forward, utterly intent on discovering reality. Ultimately, his pure hatred of the constant lies fueled him. Truth is, obviously, more important than any fiction or illusion of protection. So, Truman, in the end, made the brave and noble decision; he chose truth over what was