Voyeurism In The Truman Show

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The Truman Show engenders question on the authenticity of behavior and virtue in the face of pervasive voyeurism(which I will refer to in an exclusively non sexual manner). The Truman Show expostulates that an unaware participant in this perverted voyeurism, no matter the level of cognizant awareness, is still inauthentic because of the pervasive manipulation by Cristof and his cronies and the willing deception by Truman Show 's costars. These factors engender a contrived scenario that forces Truman to act in an expected manner—rather than natural--much like the intrusive Mr. B and English society (but really Richardson) forces Pamela to act virtuous. Pamela is an apt point of comparison for the Truman Show because both mark the genesis of a new medium in their respective cultures. Pamela is regarded as one of the catalysts for the epistolary novel and elevated novel in England; in …show more content…

Richardson 's Pamela was not the first epistolary novel--Aphra Behn had even famously utilized the genre many years early in Love Letters Between A Noble-Man And His Sister. However it was a cultural turning point in how print media interacted as well as substantial entry into the reactionary anti-novel genre. The Truman Show similarly recycled the trope invented in The Twilight Zone but elevated it to an international level. Furthermore The Truman Show did not receive the same direct backlash Richardson received through the satirical or even hostile rebukes that followed--Shamela, anti-Pamela ect. However, it can be argued that the rise of Reality TV following the release of The Truman Show can be seen as an indirect response, and furthermore the cultural apathy towards the question of the authenticity of these shows could signal a popular disregard for The Truman Show 's concerns about voyeurism motifs presented by the

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