Thursday, January 27, 2011

My Thesis

AN EXISTENTIAL ANALYSIS ON TRUMAN BURBANK IN ANDREW M. NICCOL’S THE TRUMAN SHOW

This thesis discusses on the main character’s existence in the screenplay entitled The Truman Show. Existential Analysis is the recommended theory to analyze the topic of the discussion. The screenplay tells about the main character named Truman Burbank whom experiences the existential crisis of his existence because he lives in artificial world made by movie maker named Cristof. Truman Burbank discovers his life in a constructed reality soap opera, the show is framed in the television show entitled The Truman Show. Truman Burbank is adopted by Cristof in order to make him as the show man whom his entirely life is filmed and broadcasted to the entire world every time without respite. And tragically Truman Burbank is unaware of it, Cristof put on this condition intentionally in order to capture the natural expression of human being. The executive producer Christof intends to capture Truman's real emotion and human behavior which the other shows perform the fake action from an actor. Truman's hometown of Sea haven is a complete set built under a huge auditorium and it is populated by the actors and crews of the show, and Christof controls every aspect of Truman's life. For the period of his 30th year The Truman Show on air as well as the Truman Burbank’s age, he discovers facts through some incidents, such as a spotlight that nearly hits him, his meeting with Sylvia who tell him about the studio and the real world, people who do the same thing every day without any spontaneous act like a natural human being and crew who forget to set up the new studio for the show and it is seen by Truman Burbank. These events initiate Truman to start wondering about his life.
The escape journey of Truman from Sea Haven is the climax of the story; he tries to be invisible from the cameras so he can escape from Sea Haven by sailing. In the end of the story, Truman and Cristof talk each other, a conversation where Cristof pursues Truman to stay in Sea Haven, but Truman keeps his feet moving on, and he says his last catchphrase as a show man which is sounded as “In Case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight.”
This movie criticizes the modern life that traps human in some orders life as the ideal form of prosperity, and they forget their truth ambition. Truman proves to us that there is nothing to fear to find out who he really is and to get his ambition no matter what happen, although he has to leave his prosperous life and go somewhere that he doesn’t know yet just for fulfilling his heart’s voice.
In the end of this discussion we will recognize the struggle and the motivation of Truman Burbank to reach his truly existence as free human being, moreover we can draw the understanding of Existential Analysis as the alternative way to analyze literary works as it is shown in this thesis.
The Truman Show is assumed as the noble life for all of the people in it except Truman Burbank. He is an unwilling child adopted by Christoff, a movie maker who wants to make reality show as real as real life by exploring the natural expression of human. For that reason, he builds the artificial studio similar as earth called Sea Haven and adopting child to make him as the star of the show. Truman Burbank lives in a structured city with people who love and care about him because he is the star of the show. His life is controlled by Chistoff including his ambition and his love. He wants to be an explorer but his teacher says that there is nothing left to explore. His teacher’s words break Truman’s ambition and make him to be the insurance employee. It is so to his love, he marries Meryl, an actress who is planned to be his wife although he loves Lauren, a figurine who is hired as Truman’s school mate. His meeting with Lauren gives Truman courage to find the truth and to chase his dream.
According to Frankl that every human is asked by life. S/he can only answer to life by answering for his own question, and s/he has a responsibility to life. Truman Burbank succeeds answering his life’s question although he has to leave his prosperity, fame, and others glorious life. The common question from life to us is ‘what we are and what we ought to be’; Truman finds the answer of life’s question by being the explorer. Reaching dream is not easy for Truman as the star of the most famous reality show in America; Truman is fully protected by the corporation to not leave Sea Haven. It is caused by his position as the money provider for the corporation and the genuine entertainer for the viewers. He faces many obstacles to leave Sea Haven. Defeating his fright to the Sea and trapped in the artificial storm until he almost dies are two of other obstacles, but he passes it successfully. He defeats his fright to the real world which Christoff says as the worst place to live, and he steps the stairs to the Exit door by saying his catchphrase as the allusion of the farewell to the corporation and viewers, he says “In case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night”.
The Truman Show is considered as the satirical story to react the modernism that are typically characterized by a return to traditional materials and forms or by ironic self-reference and absurdity (as in literature). The curiosity of Truman reflects the rebellion of human to the structured system which systemize human superficially. This analysis can be said as a precursor to the postmodernism as the reaction to the modernism. This analysis reflects some characteristic of postmodernism, because it rejects the system, cubical doctrine, and objective truth characterizing the modernism, and it supports the freedom, fairness, and freewill characterizing postmodernism.
The reality that media serves us the universal allusion and we accept what it is presented without arguing reflects the passivity and the apathy of the viewers to the media. It changes the concept of media from guidance to spectacle solely. The Truman Show also brings the allusion of philosophical aspect in human and God relationship. Cristoff is considered as the figure of God who controls Truman’s life. As a mankind, he represents the death of God caused by the arrogance of human. As it is reflected in the allusion of Christ-off (the death of Christ). Truman is considered as the figure of human who searches his freewill; Truman is the allusion of True-human, his rebellion to God’s rule (Chistoff) is considered as the reflection of human who breaks the old-fashion cubical doctrine about God.
An Existential Analysis on Truman Burbank in Andrew M. Niccols The Truman Show is expected as the criticism work which gives some information about human in Existentialism point of view as the precursor to the postmodernism. So we don’t trap in superficial system that makes us away from the essence of life. Life can be summed up into four words related to Existentialism, freedom, choice, consciousness and responsibility. As a human being, we have total right to choose what we want, but we are followed by the consequences that come with our want. And we have the responsibility to those consequences. When we have chosen our way of life consciously and full of responsibility, we are the existential human with the existential life.