In the film ‘’The Truman show’’ directed by Peter Weir there were several important scenes, one of them being the interview with Christof on ‘’Trutalk’’ which really highlighted the theme of social control and surveillance. Christof was the director/ leader of the dome who directed the show. He controlled the dome and he was the one planning Truman’s life.
‘’The Truman show’’ is more relevant than ever as a predicted rise of ‘’reality’’ TV and society under tremendous surveillance. Our modern world is filled with examples of surveillance and it is fair to say that our privacy has become under threat because of this.
In the scene they who? interview Christof for the weekly tv show called ‘’Trutalk’’, they who? thank Chrisof for being on the show and note how he likes his privacy, this shows the irony in the fact that Christof is always watching Truman and that he is controlling him. Dialogue was used when the person interviewing him said ‘’Thanks again for being on the show Christof, we all know you like your privacy.’’ This relates to the theme of social control and surveillance, Truman is watched by millions of people 24/7 and Christof needs his privacy. This teaches me how selfish Christof is and that the scene highlights the theme of social control and surveillance.
Another film technique used was a flashback, when someone asked Christof how many cameras are on the island Christof replied saying ‘’we have around five thousand, however we started with just one’’. A flashback was used after that into an extreme close up shot of Truman in his mother’s womb. This relates to the theme of surveillance and social control and shows us that Truman is always being watched and has no privacy.
The next film technique used was an inset, this was used when Silvia/ Lauren who? was a caller on the show saying how much of a bad thing Christof has done. There was a close up on Christof’s face and Truman inserted in the corner drinking ‘’Macocoa’’, Truman looked unhappy and was looking for change, this shows the theme of social control and surveillance and shows us wants change but feels he is being controlled.
This scene shows the importance of the theme social control and surveillance, in the real world there are similarities, there is internet tracking, CCTV cameras, you carry a ID, medical or criminal record etc, it makes us aware of the fact that we are being watched even if we don’t know it. It helps us recognize that we should be more careful on social media and the internet. It also helps us recognize that your actions you have in public are not just seen by the people around you.
So to summarise, in ‘’The Truman show’’ directed by Peter Weir, the film had many important scenes one being the interview with Christof, it highlights the theme of social control and surveillance by using the three film techniques of a flashback, dialogue and an insert. The film scene helps us recognize how controlling Christof is over Truman and how Christof thinks Truman likes Seahaven.