The Truman Show: Dystopia or Not? (Light Analysis)

The Truman Show is a 1998 comedy drama film that portrays dystopian elements to the film. Although is the film really a dystopian film or not? In this analysis article I hope for you to make a decision whether it is part of the Dystopian Hollywood theme or not.

How does the film exactly portray dystopian elements? Well there are a few. Firstly the film presents total surveillance which is an element of dystopian films. In this scenario Truman (played by Jim Carrey) is unknowingly a reality TV star that broadcasts every aspect of his life to the global audience, which is robbing him off of his autonomy and privacy.

Secondly is the Artificial Reality. Truman’s entire world is an elaborate set including the characters in the film. The characters within his life are paid actors to play that role which creates an artificial reality. The controlled environment strips away from Truman’s authentic human connection.

Lastly, the film presents Lack of Free Will. Everything Truman does within the film is carefully orchestrated and his action are restricted for the purpose of the show in the script. His individual freedom is diminished for the purpose of entertainment and profit.

Whilst the film does present dystopian elements it can be argued that it is not a dystopian film or is a dystopian film. There are elements which are not shown to illustrate that it is not a dystopian film. Here are a few examples:

Firstly the films society and environment only applies to one individual rather then a group of people which in this scenario does not fit the traditional requirements of a dystopian theme film.

Secondly there is no widespread oppression on any of the characters is shown.

Thirdly the setting of the show is not post-apocalyptic which usually adds to the dystopian elements

Lastly the film does not exemplify totalitarian rule. This does not present a segregation in society and power surge on one entity to contain authority.

In conclusion the film does present elements of a dystopian theme but also does not possess enough the elements to be considered a tradition dystopian film. In my opinion I take the film as an enjoyable film to watch and think of it as a unique dystopian film that does not fit the characteristic of traditional dystopian film. This is largely due to the fact that it is also a comedy film and the genre of comedy doe not correlate with a traditional dystopian film although the concept does and that Truman does have his own dystopia which is not affected to the other characters but for himself which begs the question do you thinks its a dystopian film or not?