God, Christ, & Eden on the Silver Screen

 

The Truman Show:

Dir. Peter Weir
Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich, Natasha McElhone

The Truman Show is a complex movie with a simple theme. Peter Weir, the film’s director, has given us a film with many layers and a multitude of symbols. At first glance the film is a simple satire of “real” television. As one peels back the layers and looks into the symbolism, however, it is clear that Weir is making a profound commentary on humanity and its relation to religion.

In brief, the film chronicles the life of Truman Burbank. Truman was the first child legally adopted by a corporation and raised on the world’s largest television set, an idyllic island called Seahaven. His life was controlled from sunrise to sunset of each predictable day. He was given all that he needed to live and survive. His family and friends were actors consistently manipulated as dictated by the scene. All progressed according to script until one fateful day when the illusion began to crumble. Slowly Truman realized that reality, as he knew it, was a farce. He took control, confronted his fears, and sailed off the island and into the back wall of the set.

It is simple to argue that Truman represents all men singularly. We are manipulated, much as Truman is, by the media moguls that are represented by the television show’s director, Christof. In turn, Christof is manipulated by the ratings provided by the show’s audience, which represents society as a whole. If we continue on this cycle, self-destruction is at hand. That is the simple message, the superficial layer.

By peeling back the next three major layers of the film, a more powerful statement on humanity is revealed. Weir challenges his viewers to look deeper into the film by using intriguing symbols and names. When viewers combine the symbolism with the lessons gleaned from the superficial message, a powerful declaration on the current state of humanity emerges.

The first major layer comprises the film’s two main characters. Christof is the director of the television show. He is the one responsible for adopting Truman. Although Truman is the star of the show, it would not exist without Christof. At first glance, “Christ” is easily visible. However, the viewer should not err in continuing this path. Christof is a derivative of the name Christopher, which means “one who brings Christ”. Indeed he has. 

Truman is Christ. The parallels here abound. The Bible tells us that Christ was the second Adam. Adam was, in effect, the True Man. God, the one who gave Christ, created Adam, just as Christof, “one who brings Christ”, created Truman. God placed Adam in idyllic Eden free from disease, filth, and harm. Christof placed Truman in Seahaven, a modern day Eden. God gave Adam a woman, Eve. Christof gave Truman a woman, Meryl. 

Christ was born of the Virgin Mary while Truman was liberated on the Santa Maria. Christ walked on water; Truman walked on water. Christ died and resurrected; the world gasped when Truman drowned, only to rejoice as he rose from the water. Christ ascended into Heaven; Truman ascended a staircase into the sky, a symbol of heaven. Christ faced His paternal Creator in Heaven; Truman faced his adoptive father and creator in the sky of Seahaven.

The second layer peeled back is the idyllic setting. As we tour Seahaven, we see that Truman is not the “every man” living in an “every town”. The crime rate in Seahaven is nil. The streets are antiseptic. Middle class is the ruling, and only, class. Through precise control is born the perfect community adorned with astonishing normality at every corner. Seahaven is a community to which an average man aspires yet in which he shall never reside. The town is glaringly white and pure, too pure for the average man. Seahaven is, in fact, a manipulation of Eden. It is here where Truman will grow to desire his forbidden fruit. He will gain his knowledge and leave, just as Adam did.

The final layer to be shed is the support cast, also riddled with religious suggestion. The adornment of the cast in at least one article of red during each scene is noteworthy. The color red symbolizes martyrdom. Roman Catholic priests traditionally wear red on days that celebrate the lives of martyrs. A connection is drawn between the support cast and martyrs in that they have given their lives to this television show and live only for Truman. 

Additionally, the names of Truman’s best friend, Marlon, and his wife, Meryl, are telling. The monikers Marlon and Meryl are both derived from the appellation Merle. The name Merle means blackbird. A blackbird is usually considered a bad omen. Conversely, two blackbirds together symbolize peace and good fortune. Of the dozens of times that Marlon and Merle appear on screen, they are only seen together on two occasions. The first time they appear together is when Truman first meets Lauren, a youthful object of infatuation. They next appear when Truman fully grasps his situation as he attempts to escape Seahaven. The former of the couplings is the more significant and presents itself clearly as a good omen. 

Lauren was Truman’s forbidden fruit. She was kept from him and was extracted from the cast for speaking to him. As she was forcefully taken away, she heralded the truth but Truman did not understand. It is by no accident that her name is Lauren. The name Lauren means Laurel Tree. A Laurel tree is a symbol of honor or victory. In Christian symbolism it has come to symbolize the triumph of humanity. As the movie closes, we are led to believe that Lauren and Truman will be reunited. Truman will find his honor and victory. Humanity will triumph. 

Or will it? 

We need to combine the superficial message with the three layers revealed above in order to make that determination. The final scene shows two men from the audience, representing society, looking for a TV guide. The Truman Show has been taken off the air, but society shows no willingness to learn from the message and is eager to fill the void with another show. Humanity does not triumph; rather it wastes a valuable lesson and plods on. 

Weir shows that by living our lives vicariously through the television and other media we will inevitably bypass our own lives. The audience that was watching the television show had relinquished their own experience and surrounded themselves with another, surreal life. They sat themselves in chairs, couches, barstools, and bathtubs as they voyeuristically peered into another man’s mundane misadventures. The audience supported a media mogul to the point where he became a god and created a christ who lived in an “Eden”istic paradise. 

The aforementioned discussion simply illustrates one interpretation of this film. The lesson, however, seems to be globally elementary. Through increased influence of the media, we become dangerously close to losing the fundamentally independent control of our destinies. We, like Truman, need to rise to the challenge of leaving our prison of “real” TV. We, like Truman, need to take control of and live our own lives. We need to do this before we create a false God, a false Christ, a false Eden. 

 

Brooke Hunter  the grrl behind grrl-e-grrl.com