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Manipulation In The Truman Show Numb

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In this report I will explore the theme of manipulation and show how it connects the four different texts I have studied. The four texts that I focused on were Macbeth, The Dark Knight, The Truman Show and Numb. Although each of these texts are very different, they each highlight and showcase forms of manipulation that are not only true in the text but relate back to the society we live in today. ‘Macbeth’, a text written by William Shakespeare shows the rise of a Scottish Thane named Macbeth who became King of Scotland due to the connecting idea of manipulation. Unlike ‘The Truman Show’ where Truman was being manipulated for the pleasure of the rest of the world, Macbeth was being manipulated by his wife, Lady Macbeth for his own greater …show more content…

Truman lives his life like he believes it’s reality. When Harvey Dent from ‘The Dark Knight’ came forward to the people of Gotham City, posing as the Batman he gave society their hero. Dent manipulated everyone into thinking that he was the masked vigilante. Similarly, everyone manipulates Truman into playing a certain role that he has adapted to, although all he wants to do is venture out into the world. However, whenever Truman tries to leave he is coincidentally stopped by a traffic jam which ever street he turns down or some form of ‘accident’. This is all done in order to stop him finding out the truth behind his ‘perfect’ life. Kristov, the creator has spent his whole life making sure Truman doesn't seek the truth but when the light falls from the sky Truman begins to wonder, questions arise and he starts noticing odd occurrences. The Truman Show gives the millions of viewers watching it everyday just what they want, a reality tv show that never ends. Unfortunately for Truman his whole life has been a lie, constantly operated and watched on by creators that sit high above Seahaven he’s continually forced to wear specific clothes, mow the lawns with a certain brand of mower all because he is manipulated into using these items, showcasing them to the entire world at the same

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However, one prisoner is released and forced out into the reality, allowing the reader to understand that the world one sees and experiences is not the reality, but rather an illusion. Similarly, in The Truman Show by Andrew Niccol, Truman Bank has been growing up in Seahaven Island, a place created just for him to live in for a television show that is all about him. Throughout the film, Truman realizes that Seahaven is not the real world, and viewers see his journey to get out of this illusion, and into reality outside the false world. Both The Allegory of the Cave and The Truman Show prove that the physical world is an illusion that prevents one from discovering reality. The concept of illusion versus reality is evident in both works through similarities in plot, similarities in symbolism, and differences in character.

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In Macbeth, Shakespeare writes about a man named Macbeth, who has a very strong ambition to be the the king of Scotland. His credulousness led him into believing the prophecy from the three witches without thinking rigorously. Because of this prophecy, Macbeth is willing to do everything he can to gain the throne, even to the extreme of murdering someone. Shakespeare uses syntax, similes, and personification to convey the evolution of Macbeth’s insanity.

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We identify ourselves with them. For example, we see the man who watches the show in his bathtub, the employees and patrons who enjoy the show in “The Truman Bar”, some couch potatoes, to name but a few. It is interesting that when they are observing the life of Truman every day 24/7, they are also observed by the real audience of the movie, which is as Bishop (2000) mentions that we think we are “keen observers of the media”, but in fact, it is we who sits in the cinema watching the film or at home watching the television is being manipulated by media. We depend very much of the media to help us make sense of our lives, but we don 't trust them. However, this paradox, presented in the The Truman Show, is not very much rendered in the fictional audience, but rather, the “audience” is being depicted as duped in the artificiality of the show.

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Manipulation is shown in many ways such as politics, the media, misleading information and false advertising. To convey one’s thoughts to your own advantage is seen as crude and unnecessary. However, many people have their reasons in manipulating someone whether they are good or bad. In Shakespeare’s Othello, the concept of taking advantage of someone through manipulation leads to unnecessary, horrible events.

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