Part III Reviewing the Film

Activity 1 Opening Credits

  1. Write down what Christoff says in the opening credits.
  2. Why is the camera eye always trained on Truman at the beginning?
  3. Identify the visual tools used by the director to portray Truman and his situation.

Activity 2 Truman Unaware

  1. What are the clues given to Truman and the audience that his reality is contrived?
  2. How is conflict introduced?

Activity 3 Truman Becoming Aware

  1. What does Truman do to manipulate his pseudo world in order to discover his real situation?
  2. What does the name Truman Burbank represent?
  3. What do the images of bridges with no ends suggest?
  4. In what ways is Truman trapped?
  5. Are we trapped or confined in any way?
  6. When is the moment that Truman decides to break free from his contrived reality? How does he begin to break our of his world?
  7. What are we learning about Truman's viewing audience? Who is watching him and why are they watching him so faithfully?
  8. To what extent is our world manipulated as Truman's is?
  9. Why does Truman initially not try to escape?
  10. What do Christoff's words, "If he was determined to find the truth, there is no way we could prevent it," suggest about our situation?

Activity 4 Truman Breaking Free

  1. What are the obstacles that have prevented Truman from escaping?
  2. The rising action brings us to Truman confronting his "Creator." Describe this power struggle and the connections/allusions you can make.
  3. What images and symbols of freedom, confinement and new beginnings can you find?
  4. Truman hits the wall of his known world. Why is this a powerful ending to the story? Describe the symbolic elements of this ending and Truman's decision to bow like an actor at the end of his performance and exit to the dark back stage of the real world.
  5. Why does Truman's audience cheer?