Research Paper On The Truman Show

Using the film The Truman Show as example, the essay discusses on the ubiquitous surveillance in today’s increasingly IT-based society with the theoretical lens of culture. Using Internet, be it the conventional computer-carried Internet or the cellphone-carried mobile Internet, people tend to rely on online communication more and more than face to face communication. In particular, among the young generation, the cyber culture can be no less important than the culture in the real world. One undeniable reason for the popularity of cyber culture may be the free of others’ surveillance from the real world. Another reason, which can be proved by the prevalence of Facebook and Twitter, is the human desire of knowing other’s secrets. This coincides with what is shown in The Truman Show: Truman’s escape from others’ surveillance is like people’s escape from the real world; and audience’s interests in the Truman Show is like putting surveillance on others through peeking. In today’s Internet-based culture, things like the Truman Show constantly happen. In the year when the film was made, which was 1998, the Internet social networking sites were far less advanced or popular as today. Audience had to deceive Truman for his entire life and limit him in a bio-dome in order to satisfy
If it is, then it would not be so popular and prevalent. Kempley from the Washington Post said in her review of the film: "The Truman Show" is a sugar-spun nightmare of pop paranoia that addresses the end of privacy, the rise of voyeurism and the violation of the individual. Not that there's anything wrong with that.” Her comments can also apply to Internet networking sites. The last sentence is especially important: “Not that there's anything wrong with that.” The truth is that the Internet culture meets the weakness of human nature existed in everybody. It satisfies people’s desire to confide and to peek, at the price of being peeked. It is rather