The film, The Truman Show, outlines the encounters associated with morality, immorality and amorality that is highlighted in today’s society. The theme of immorality is portrayed throughout the lives of the two main characters; Truman’s wife, Meryl and the show’s director and God-like character, Christof. Meryl, Christof, Sylvia and the viewers of the television show are all integral components in Peter Weir’s comment on society’s conflict and struggle to differentiate what is moral, amoral and immoral.
Christof is a crucial example of the immorality which is represented throughout the film. During the course of the television show, Christof continuously disregards the personal moments and individual feelings of Truman by presenting this to the viewers of the show. This is established when Christof organises the dramatic death of Truman’s father, ending with Truman being traumatically scarred for life, just for the entertainment of the audience. This shows the immortality of Christof that is exposed as it seems Christof has little regard for Truman’s true feelings and emotions.
Christof also represents immoral behaviour when he acts as a God-like character when Truman attempts to escape, which results in Christof controlling the weather to the extent of clearly risking Truman’s own life. Truman is thrown overboard the small boat, facing his biggest fear of Seas. Christof chose not to discontinue his actions which almost caused Truman’s death, purely for the entertainment of the audience. This immorality is highlighted when Christof exclaims, “He was born on the set, he can die on the set”.
Christof’s immoral behaviour is also shown when Truman attempts to leave the set by other means, for example, by car and boat, however, is prevented numerous times, which also shows the extent of manipulation Christof is prepared to go to keep the show going. In conclusion, Christof’s neglect and disregard for Truman is a major example of immorality that is shown throughout the television show. However, this is not the case with Meryl as she is involved in Truman’s personal life and Truman is familiar with his “wife”.
Meryl, who plays Truman’s partner in the television show, The Truman Show, is another prime example of immorality throughout the film. Truman values Meryl as his closest friend on the television show, even though he does not realise Meryl is in fact deceiving and manipulating him almost to the extent of Christof himself, which is primarily shown in the film when Meryl fakes her love for Truman to the extent of accepting to have children with Truman for the sheer entertainment of the television audience.
This is demonstrated in the film when Meryl is crossing her fingers while taking her vows on her wedding day to get married to Truman, which is clearly revealed to the reader that Meryl will go throw anything for the entertainment of the viewers. Meryl also shows little care to Truman when she often outright lies to Truman and clearly advertising various items throughout the show, manipulating and driving Truman mad with suspiciousness and also shows that Meryl would do absolutely anything that the director conveys her to do.
In conclusion, it is apparent that Meryl shows little care towards Truman, will do anything to captivate the television viewers and highlights immorality throughout the show, however, not all the actors that participated in the Truman show were immoral, as is discovered when Sylvia is analysed. Sylvia is Truman’s long lost love in the television show and is an important example of morality within the show. This character is the only individual to express moral behaviour in the film.
For example, the scene early in the show when Truman was still in school, Truman and Sylvia are located in the library studying and Truman attempts to talk to her, Sylvia writes “Now” on her hand and tells Truman that if he wants her to go, he must go now. They travel to the beach when Sylvia tries to tell Truman the truth about his life, however, Sylvia is prevented by her father and is taken off the set forever. This shows that Sylvia expresses her true love and feelings for Truman and her desire for him to have a real life outside of the show and also that Sylvia does not value the viewers over Truman’s wellbeing.
In conclusion, Sylvia is a powerful character that portrays moral behaviour in the show. The viewers of the television show are in a different position compared to the actors to judge their level of amorality. The viewers of The Truman Show are a group of people that show a high level of amorality. This is for the reason that majority of the viewer’s realise that Truman is being affected negatively as a result of the show and they are primarily focused on their own voyeuristic entertainment, which means essentially, the audiences values their own entertainment over the wellbeing of others.
In conclusion, the main characters in The Truman Show, Christof, Meryl, Sylvia and audience, Show major levels of immorality, morality and amorality throughout the film. In particular, Christof and Meryl represent and influence the cruelness and immorality for the demand of entertainment in society today, which in term, negatively affects and emotionally scars Truman as a result to the point of violence and inhumanity, which can show the reader that this can and will leave a major impact on human being’s lives forever.