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Examples Of Plato's Allegory In The Truman Show

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The Truman Show is a film directed by Peter Weir that depicts Truman Burbank as the unsuspecting star of a reality television show, which is broadcasted nonstop around the world. Truman was one of six unwanted infants from birth, and he was chosen by Christoff, director of the show, in order to star in the famous reality television show portraying his everyday life. Truman lives on the island of Seahaven, but he doesn’t know that the island is an absolute fabrication. An immense set surrounded by a protective dome is used to produce the most sophisticated imagery and effects to imitate the weather of the real world. Also, there are a plethora of actors in the film who do their best in order to keep Truman in the cave, or fake world. However, as the film progresses, Truman begins to realize that he is not in the real world, but in a world where he is the center of attention. In this essay, Plato’s allegory of the cave and theory of forms will be used to discern whether or not Truman …show more content…

As the film progresses, it is shown that Truman is afraid of water because his father was killed in a boating accident. Water acts as a chain that keeps Truman from exploring the world. However, Truman broke the chain when he took the boat out on the water, and he became the philosopher, or free prisoner. At the end of the film, Truman walks up the steps and leaves the show in order to experience the real world. According to Plato’s theory of forms, ideas go beyond the physical world and once they are thought of, they can’t be undone. Therefore, it is only better for Truman to leave the show if he is only going to pursue the truth through ideals, such as goodness, love, and beauty. However, if he leaves and doesn’t pursue these ideals then he is still living in a cave—a much larger

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