The Truman Show and The Rise of Unreality TV | Little White Lies

LWLies Presents

The Tru­man Show and The Rise of Unre­al­i­ty TV

05 Jun 2018

Words by Leigh Singer

Double exposure image of a person wearing a police cap, surrounded by a collage of small photographs against a blurred cityscape background.
Double exposure image of a person wearing a police cap, surrounded by a collage of small photographs against a blurred cityscape background.
A new video essay offers an insight­ful reap­praisal of Peter Weir’s eeri­ly prophet­ic media satire.

When The Tru­man Show was released in June, 1998, it seemed a work of satir­i­cal sci­ence-fic­tion. Today, it’s more a cau­tion­ary tale, a sign of our media-sat­u­rat­ed times. But to what extent was Peter Weir’s film pre­scient in its depic­tion of mass sur­veil­lance, real­i­ty tele­vi­sion and the ero­sion of the gap between pub­lic and pri­vate life?

In this new video essay, Leigh Singer offers an insight­ful reap­praisal of one of the defin­i­tive films of the 1990s, explor­ing many of the search­ing ques­tions raised by this sto­ry of a man (played by a career-best Jim Car­rey) who dis­cov­ers his entire life is being lived out as a tele­vi­sion show.

Get more Lit­tle White Lies

Watch the video below and share your thoughts on The Tru­man Show with us @LWLies

You might like

A person with dark skin and curly hair, wearing a yellow jacket and looking directly at the camera.
LWLies Presents

Watch: Barry Jenkins in Colour

by Luís Azevedo

This new video essay explores the director’s evoca­tive use of colour, from Med­i­cine for Melan­choly to If Beale Street Could Talk.
Eye with the word "MONSTER" superimposed in large red text.
LWLies Presents

I, Monster: The First-Person POV in Horror Cinema

by Leigh Singer

Video essay­ist Leigh Singer explores the use of the first-per­son per­spec­tive in hor­ror cinema.
Young woman with dark hair wearing a white coat, looking thoughtful and resting her hand on her chin.
LWLies Presents

From Zombies to Cannibalism: Finding Humanity in Julia Ducournau’s Raw

by Grace Lee

Grace Lee search­es for mean­ing amid the so-called mon­stros­i­ty of this superla­tive 2017 horror.
Two people embrace in a wooded setting, a man in a denim jacket and a woman in a striped jumper.
LWLies Presents

Little White Lies and MUBI present… Maurice Pialat’s A Nos Amours

by Little White Lies

Join us for this spe­cial screen­ing of the teen movie to end all teen movies.
Woman with wavy, red hair standing in front of colourful, neon-lit curtains.
LWLies Presents

Come to a free preview screening of The Neon Demon

by Little White Lies

Fan­cy see­ing Nico­las Wind­ing Refn’s new film a month before it hits cin­e­mas? Read on…
Circular black and white eye icon with radiating lines.
LWLies Presents

Spotlight video review

by Clarisse Loughrey

Clar­rise Loughrey inves­ti­gates this year’s Best Pic­ture win­ner to see if it lives up to the hype.