The Truman Show (5/9)

MEDIA ANALYSIS

        With the rise and dominance of social media in recent years, the 1998 film The Truman Show has never felt more relevant. Yet instead of being the unwilling and unknowing victim trapped inside a carefully structured world with no privacy at all, we now have the ability to share our own life to the world with advertisements sprinkled throughout.

        In this scene of the confrontation between Truman and his wife Meryl, we are able to see the conflict of genuine and fake. The dialogue showcases the absurdity of jarring in-your-face ads in the middle of Truman’s heart-breaking mental breakdown and confusing of having someone who he suspects never loved or even liked him. Truman’s suspicions and little glances and details hidden throughout the film culminates in the revelation of Meryl’s views through her cry of how unprofessional it is to “work in these conditions,” at the end of this scene. For Truman, it is a rare glimpse of her real thoughts in a lifetime of deceit. Today, in YouTube videos and other social media apps, we are no longer unfamiliar to these in-your-face advertisements, with content makers frequently giving shout outs to their sponsors and affiliates. 

        The camerawork in this scene also highlights the fact that this confrontation is just a scene in a reality TV show for our entertainment. Through closeups of the cocoa powder being advertised and cuts between the different POVs of Truman and Meryl further reinforces the notion that whilst this is a serious seeking of truth from Truman, for Meryl it is simply a test of her improvisation skills.