EXT. EARTH

                                                                                                                                                                   After watching the film, talking with friends, and reading up on the themes in “The Truman Show”, I have come to some interesting conclusions about the film.  It has a message of existentialism that is quite easy to see if you look at all of the elements. First off is the conflict between objectivity and subjectivity.  Meet Truman.  He lives in Seahaven, has a wonderful wife, and has a good paying job.  He even has the white, picket fence.  Everything in his world and life has always been in order, and the rules have always been very clear and organized and everyone follows them.  In many ways, this is like the objectivity (not the perfection unfortunately) in law and commandments that we have as Christians.  We have our orders, and there’s no way around things like murder and coveting.  They’re sins, and that’s just the way it is.  Truman lives in virtually the same world of morals and standards. It isn’t until he starts to find out that the world he’s living in is a fake that he starts to plot and scheme and rebel.  He’s breaking away from commands and law.  He’s breaking away from obedience into rebellion and risk.  He’s crossing over from objectivity to subjective thinking.  The ideas of freedom and self-determination are sinking into his brain, and he’s acting on them with no second thought.  I also want to bring to light the fact that objectivity is perceived as the bad guy throughout all of this, and subjectivity is Truman’s saving grace.  The horrible television executives and actors on “The Truman Show” are out to get him.  The movie wants you to feel a hostility toward law and morals.  It’s all part of the existentialist way of thinking.

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