Movie Review: The Truman Show (1998)

Posted on February 22, 2017 by Brian Wright

Precursor to modern reality shows, mainly speaks to Bigger Picture idea

As I was putting together plans for a novel having a ‘Truman Show‘ type of controlled reality and mind control, I realized I had not seen the actual movie for several years. It’s a good one. IMDb gives it an incredibly high 8.1, which truly baffles me… because I don’t sense that that many people see the depth of the philosophical-political issues the movie conveys. No, I’m not saying people are shallow, but I guess I am saying that today the vast majority of people—The Truman Show’s rating is from more that 500,000 viewers—don’t get the essence of the New World Order (NWO). Because if they did they would be doing a lot more to put the kabosh on that jessie.

Sadly, it appears that the high rating of this movie stems from it serving voyeuristic proclivities, not social-commentary ones. Sigh. But times change… and Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) may come to represent a heroic figure and inspiration for humanity as it breaks free of the NWO. What can be more apt? Ordinary fellow comes to realize that he’s in a giant fish bowl, and being manipulated by actors playing his friends, family, business associates, and so on. Continue reading →

Brian’s Column: The Truman Prophecy (2015), Foreword and Acknowledgments

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Brian Wright

Notes on the title, key metaphors, plot, structure, and characters

Right away, many will ask what’s with the title, The Truman Prophecy? Okay, what happened is one night, shortly after I’d decided to write this—my ‘liberation’ (and first) novel—I refresher-watched the movie, The Truman Show (1998).

It depicts the life of a young man, Truman Burbank, (Jim Carrey) who has been raised since birth as the unknowing star of a television show—with actors, crew, sets, ubiquitous miniature recording equipment, on a domed stage visible in deep space—broadcasting 24/7 to billions of admirers worldwide.

!!Movie Spoiler!!
To make a long story short, Truman figures out what’s going on. In the climactic scene, fan-deified director Christof (Ed Harris), who adores his creation, implores Truman to stay on the show (enjoying a comfortable life in an idyllic community). [Though things have changed, haven’t they? Now that Truman knows.] Continue reading →

Brian’s Column: Liberty and Celebrity

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Brian Wright

Some thoughts on ‘being known for being known’
and what it means to the freedom movement

This definition of celebrity—being known for being known—is pretty close to a quote from a an interesting piece I read from a Web article by Daniel Epstein published a couple of years ago in The Weekly Standard of all places[1]. Actually, Epstein was quoting Daniel Boorstin from The Image: Or What Happened to the American Dream: “The celebrity,” Boorstin wrote, “is a person who is well-known for his well-knownness.”[2]

Epstein continues by making a distinction between fame and celebrity: fame being based more on actual achievement, while celebrity especially recently become more the art of being paid attention to by large numbers of people on television regardless of any personal noteworthiness. Probably the most classic example is Brian “Kato” Kaelin, the house guest of OJ Simpson. The Kaelin persona reminds me of the Woody Allen movie, Zelig, in which a nondescript man seeks to blend in and dissemble as if he were one of the famous people himself. Continue reading →