The Truman Show is prefaced on the idea that Truman is living in the manufactured world of a reality TV show, yet he does not realise it and believes he is living his own normal life. This concept plays into Nagel’s concept of the absurd: ‘the absurdity of our lives often has to do with space or time’ (p717) – this is true for the case of Truman, as the absurdity of his life arises from the fact that he is living in a liminal space distinct from the real world, and his life is designed to be watched on TV.
However, the most apparent absurdity of The Truman Show arises when Truman begins to clock onto the incongruities of his life and those around him. Nagel describes absurdity through the example of a mouse: ‘he is not absurd, because he lacks the capacities for self-consciousness and self-transcendence that would enable him to see that he is only a mouse. If that did happen, his life would become absurd, since self-awareness would not make him cease to be a mouse and would not enable him to rise above his mousely strivings.’ (p725) This seems to in some way parallel Truman’s journey to comprehending the absurdity of his life: at first he lacks any knowledge or suspicion around his condition as existing in a bubble of ‘fake reality’, he lacks any motivation for studying the world around him with the focus needing to uncover the reality that he is living a falsified observed life. However, over the course of the film, Truman comes to understand and acknowledge the absurdity of his life, as the knowledge that he is living in a reality TV show cannot (at first) allow him to escape his day-to-day life.
This clip from the film depicts the absurdity which arises from the situation which manifests in Truman and his behaviour- his recklessness, maniacal laughter, mixing up words and general sense of panic and confusion is played with an unnerving comedy fitting of the absurd, exacerbated by his character being played by comic actor Jim Carrey.
However, the interesting conclusion which arises from Nagel’s conception of the absurdity arises also for Truman – ‘if a sense of the absurd is a way of perceiving our true situation (even though the situation is not absurd until the perception arises), then what reason can we have to resent or escape it?’ (p727). In Truman’s case, given that the sense of the absurdity of his life only arises when he learns the truth of his situation, why does he have any reason to fear or long to escape it? This prompts further questions for this example: is Truman’s eventual escape from the fake reality he inhabits reflective of a wider desire to escape the absurd nature of our lives, which contradicts Nagel’s conclusion?
This film is a really great example to apply Nagel’s ideas to. It interesting how you take note of the clear shift as Truman becomes more aware his ‘normal life’ becomes ‘absurd’. In the world of film where reality differs and we extend our disbelieve, the audience look to the actions and demeanor of the protagonist to recognize if their reality is suppose to perceived as absurd.