Dec 20 2008
Existentialism and “The Truman Show” - Part 3: Free from Rules and Absolutes
Lastly is the fact that “The Truman Show” perfectly illustrates existentialism’s ideal of being free of all restraints. Free to choose and live as you wish from person to person. I found some very fascinating writings about this. In what I’ve researched, Seahaven can be viewed as Eden, and leaving Seahaven as the act of taking the fruit and rebelling against God. When Truman decides to leave, it’s because he’s sick of someone else (God) having control over his life. He wants to be free from all authority. Christ’s name is even paralleled in the cruel show producer named Christof. Probably not a coincidence. Then, finally at the end Truman is freed, Christof is done for, and everyone’s incredibly happy about everything. But if we look at this as Christians, it can be seen in a completely different light. Truman is walking away from this perfect home (Eden) that Christof (Christ) has given him, and he’s walking into the freedom to believe anything and to live any way he wants. Sound like existentialism at all? The Christ figure and idea of being controlled by a higher power is looked on as something horrible, and freedom and free choice are the saviors of that “restricting” world. There’s no doubt that existential freedom plays a huge part in the shaping of “The Truman Show”.
