Free Will In The Truman Show

The Truman Show’s plot revolves around the average, mundane, daily life of Truman Burbank. As Truman goes through his seemingly normal life, he is unknowingly being observed by the vast majority of the earth’s population in the form of a television show. However, Truman does not know that his whole life is a lie that is being perpetuated by the creator of the show, Christof, who controls the outcome of every situation Truman is presented with. Truman becomes somewhat aware of the idea that his life may not be what it seems when a girl attempts to tell him the truth. Eventually through a number of discoveries, Truman finds that it is in fact true that his whole life has been contrived by Christof as a form of entertainment for the masses. Finally

In this instance, it can be said that Truman has a sense of false free will; that is, until he discovers the truth. This false free will can be defined as situations in which Truman feels as if he is in charge of his actions and whatever he does, but there is an ever present outside force that is causing him to make choices he may not want. As the movie progresses though, he finds things to be more unrealistic and forced on some occasions. After this idea becomes more noticeably present, Truman decides that he should test his theories and find evidence that it is all being manufactured by some outside force. At this point in the film, Truman has the most free will he has ever experienced due to the fact that the creator, Christof, cannot really control what Truman does. However, Truman is still restrained in the vast majority of his actions aside from a small few action that are random and

All of the aforementioned situations and occurrences help to perpetuate Truman’s attempt to escape and life free of restrictions, limitations, and coercion. After a multitude of attempts to stop his resistance and attempted escapes from The Truman Show, Christof carefully details why Truman should stay in the bubble that he is currently trapped in instead of releasing himself to the freedom that is the real world. Despite all of Christof’s persuasive words, Truman ultimately chooses the path that will lead to true free will. This resolution solves the problem of Truman having absolutely no free will since at the end, as he rejects the choice to maintain his Edenic lifestyle and chooses instead to pursue one with true free will where not every outcome of every situation is determined for him. A freedom from coercion and an unreal life that has been pressed upon him since he was a baby is obtained by Truman once he leaves the show. All in all, the life of Truman in The Truman Show was very plain and systematic way that provided Truman with little actual free will. Even though the illusion of free will was present, he ended up seeking more than just a mere illusion. What Truman really wanted was actual free will where not every situation is predetermined. The true freedom though, is the imperfections and hardships that Truman will find in his