Twilight Zone Series 1985 Secret Service Made 9 Years Truman Show Warned Us About Social Media

We See Here Where The Truman Show Was Born Or Rather How It Is Stolen. Twilight Zone Series 1985 Show Called "Secret Service"... Made 9 Years Before The Truman Show Made In 1998 Warned Us About Social Media (Before It Was Invented) How The Truman Show Predicted Our Digital Reality? A quarter of a century later, Australian director Peter Weir‘s masterpiece has never been more relevant. Few films were as prescient as The Truman Show. Released in 1998, before technology had completely infiltrated our lives, it foretold the rise of reality TV, mass surveillance, social media, influencer marketing and our increasing obsession with celebrity.

It subverted Hollywood conventions for a blockbuster feature; it was not based on any existing material, nor reliant on extravagant visual effects, and combined aspects of several genres including romantic comedy, psychological drama, sci-fi, metafiction and social satire.

Directed by Peter Weir (Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dead Poets Society) and written by Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War), The Truman Show was set in the fictional town of Seahaven and followed the seemingly idyllic life of an average insurance salesman, Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey), who is yet to realize that every part of his life has been fabricated, and since birth, he has unknowingly been the star of a 24-hour reality TV show watched by 1.5 billion viewers worldwide. When he begins to realize the truth about his situation, he attempts to escape the only world he has ever known.

Anticipating both the CCTV surveillance which blankets our world today and our current obsession with recording everything on our smartphones, The Truman Show follows its subject’s every move through 5,000 cameras placed in his orbit – on car wing mirrors, inside a neighbor's garbage bin, on the wedding ring on his finger – controlled by the show’s creator Christof (Ed Harris), who manipulates the oblivious Truman into inhabiting his manufactured reality, from his surroundings to his relationships, including his best friend ‘Marlon’ (Noah Emmerich) and his wife, ‘Meryl’ (Laura Linney). Christof even engineers the ‘death’ of Truman's father at sea to infect Truman with thalasso-phobia – a fear of large bodies of water – to prevent him from leaving the island, only to reunite Truman with his father decades later to create a dramatic narrative for the show.

Years before the complex issues of consent and privacy became major topics (and long before there were corporate data hacks and reports of smart-home devices being used to spy on customers), The Truman Show highlighted these ethical quandaries via Christof’s exploitative behavior.

There are also several social developments The Truman Show could credibly claim to have warned us about: the 24-hour news cycle, product placement, parasocial relationships, the merging of entertainment and news; Truman has his own, fictional talk-show devoted to discussing the latest developments in his life, TruTalk, years before accompanying TV panel shows like Talking Married would become the norm.

Yet it wasn’t just the film’s concerns and predictions which were radical, but the approach of director Peter Weir.

Following the model he had used in Dead Poets Society (1989), by casting Robin Williams against type, Weir selected Jim Carrey, fresh from The Mask (1994), Dumb and Dumber (1994), and the Ace Ventura films (1994–5), for the more subtly comedic role of Truman.

Weir also made several bold creative choices. In building the look of the film, he drew on the work of painter Norman Rockwell to imbue his Seahaven setting with an early-mid twentieth century American aesthetic. Inspired by the perspective of surveillance camera footage, Weir, and the film’s cinematographer Peter Bizou and production designer Dennis Gassner emulated the style of security cameras in several key shots, evident in sequences such as when Truman is filmed driving from his car dashboard, from aerial cameras throughout Seahaven, and in unexpected places in his home. In designing these shots, Weir incorporated the technique of vignetting which was used in films by director D.W. Griffith and in works of the Silent Hollywood era.

Initially, the producers of The Truman Show had planned to shoot the film on soundstages in Hollywood, as was standard. Yet, in another example of Weir’s unconventional approach, the film’s production was moved to Florida after Weir was inspired by a small, planned town in Florida his wife Wendy Stites had shown him, aptly called Seaside.

With its brilliant casting and accurate portensions, The Truman Show garnered both acclaim and box office success; the feature would be nominated for three Oscars and gross over $260 million off its $60 million budget.

It cemented Carrey’s reputation as a versatile actor capable of much more than zaniness and physical contortions, and it became another major achievement in Peter Weir‘s storied career, confirming him as one of Australia’s pre-eminent directors.

Yet perhaps its ultimate legacy is its cautionary message on what was to come in the twenty-first century. In the fictional viewers' mindless complicity in Truman’s manipulation through simply watching the series, Weir and Niccol forced us to confront our own viewing choices and make aware how easily we are shaped by the things we’re exposed to: corporations, advertising, technology, the media, celebrities.

Ultimately, The Truman Show is a stern warning to place a watchful eye on our beliefs, the people we trust and the roles we play.

In the last few years, America has undergone a significant cultural change. Previously, almost no criticism of the media reached the public, except for some of the complaints of business interests and conservatives. The media controlled the "means of communication" and it used that power to censor virtually all discussion of its own role in shaping events

But now at last we are starting to get some public debate over the way the media manipulates public opinion and routinely creates fictions that masquerade as facts. The change has taken place in large measure because the media itself has become so powerful and so out of control, there is no longer any way for it to keep what it is doing under wraps.

Ironically, one of the voices that is being raised against it is none other than that of the ultimate media machine, Hollywood. While celebrities take on the tabloid photographers who follow them around, the movie and television industry is giving us depictions of venal reporters and scheming entertainment conglomerates, which pull no punches when it comes to revealing how amoral our culture industry has become.

Recently, there have been two important examples of this trend. In the flawed but interesting movie, Bulworth, Hollywood has given us a depiction of a politician who challenges the phony world of media-politics by offering bluntness in place of rhetorical manipulation. In the brilliantly-conceived (and imperfectly executed) satire, The Truman Show, it shows us a character who also challenges -- and ultimately escapes from -- a contrived world that is an invention of media. Both movies have the same message: we will have to stand up to the manipulators of television and news if we want to protect ourselves from the absurdity and falsehood that now surrounds us at every turn.

As most people know by now, The Truman Show conveys this message by depicting a series of fateful events in the life of Truman Burbank, (played by Jim Carrey) who has grown up, and lives, in a fake town full of actors. The town is enclosed in a giant dome decked out with high-tech simulations of sun and sky, in which the rain and wind are courtesy of the special effects department. Truman alone has no idea he is in a giant TV studio, as the rest of humanity watches him go from one staged situation to another in a nonstop telethon of reality programming that lets audiences enjoy a little pathos and vicarious emotion.

But into this ersatz paradise, there inevitably appears a snake. After the crew makes mistakes that cause the seam less ness of the illusion to break down, Truman figures out that his surroundings are full of staged scenes and events. He then tries to make his escape, only to come up against both his own fears, which keep him from leaving, and the obstacles put in his way by the producer-director who has made billions trapping him in a stage set and playing God with his life.

Thus does the movie offer us a metaphor for our own situation. The fake landscape Truman lives in is our own media landscape in which news, politics, advertising and public affairs are increasingly made up of theatrical illusions. Like our media landscape, it is convincing in its realism, with lifelike simulations and story lines, from the high-tech facsimile of a sun that benevolently beams down on Truman to the mock sincerity of the actor he mistakenly believes is his best friend. It is also rewarding and masquerades as something benevolent. And it is seamless -- there are almost no flaws that give away the illusion -- at least until things start to go wrong.

Truman's fear of leaving this invented world, once he realizes it is a fraud, is similarly like our own reluctance to break our symbiotic relationship with media. His growing suspicion that what he is seeing is staged for his benefit is our own suspicions as the media-fabricated illusions around us begin to break down. And the producer-director of this stage-set world, who blocks Truman's effort to escape, is the giant media companies, news organizations, and media-politicians that have a stake in keeping us surrounded by falsehood, and are prepared to lure us with rewards as they block efforts at reforming the system.

What gives this metaphor life is the way the movie depicts two attitudes we routinely take toward media. In one, we are absorbed by it; we accept its rendition of reality because it occupies our view. We are like children whose parents define their world. The lifelikeness and seamlessness of media fabrications and the fact that they are entertaining, help induce this attitude in us. We frequently experience it while reading news stories and watching television and movies.

In the second attitude, we distance ourselves from media. We examine its meaning and try to understand the intentions of its authors. This second attitude is what makes criticism -- and freedom -- possible.

In life, we frequently switch from one attitude to another and mix them together. In watching television, we may easily become absorbed in the program. Then something will jar us out of our spell, such as a breakdown in the illusion or the expression of ideas we disagree with. As a result, we will suddenly distance ourselves from what we are watching, and perhaps ridicule it or suspect the intentions of its creators. The critics of media have been trying to get us to cultivate this second attitude, so we will see through the falsehood we are offered on a daily basis.

The movie depicts just such a change in attitude as a transformation in the way Truman sees his surroundings and as a physical journey. First, Truman is absorbed by his stage-set world. He is convinced it is real and it occupies his view. Then, as a result of flaws in the seamlessness of the illusion, he begins to question it. He develops a healthy paranoia -- are they watching him; can he know what is authentic? As he makes his escape, and the producer of the show blocks him at every turn, that is the creators of the movie telling us that we too have to take a journey -- of mind -- and distance ourselves from this media landscape, if we want to secure our freedom.

The movie also depicts the critics who invite us to see through media illusions in the form of characters who try to warn Truman he is on television. Most notably, there is the woman who reveals to him that he is on TV, before she is removed from the set. His dream of finding her is also the dream that, at first, he doesn't know he has, of finding the truth of the outside world, where there are genuine relationship in place of the saccharin marriage he believes is authentic.

The movie wants to play the role of just such a critic for us. It tells us to look around and break the spell that keeps us believing in the media-fabricated illusions of popular culture.

Of course, the movie is also a form of media. As it conveys these ideas to us in dramatic form, we are absorbed by its own take on the meaning of things. Like Truman, we are manipulated and entertained by its lifelike simulations and story line. We identify with Truman and psychologically become a part of his world. So the movie uses the manipulations of media in order to manipulate us into seeing through the manipulations of media.

As with many other forms of media, we are enriched by allowing ourselves to be taken over by its theme. But we also need to create a more critical distance, escape its invented world, and think about its meaning and effect on us, so we can use it to enhance our perceptions instead of allowing it to use us.

What is said here is true of all media -- including this site. It too seeks to draw you in; to try to structure your perception of things. It too requires a critical distance, so you can use it to enhance your perceptions and not merely be manipulated by it.

That brings us to another element depicted in the movie -- you (and me). The movie isn't only a satire of television and other forms of media. It aims many of its most pointed barbs at us, the audience. After all, as we watch the characters hanging on Truman's every expression so they can feel something, that is us we see depicted on the screen. We are the one's who make this system possible, the movie tells us. The willingness of the audience to exploit Truman so it can enjoy his life as entertainment is our own willingness to exploit an endless parade of human victims of news and reality programming because they have the misfortune to be part of some "newsworthy" event. And both the audience and Truman portray our willingness to experience an easier and more exciting substitute for life, which is what fuels the media machine.

So Truman and the audience depict us. We're the villains and victims and hero of The Truman Show. And, ultimately, the only illusions we have to escape are the ones we create ourselves.

Truman believes he inhabits a benign and uneventful world. Little does he suspect that everything he does is monitored, controlled and contrived. When he realizes something is wrong and tries to break free, he then discovers the totalitarian face of his apparently innocuous life.

Like other depictions in the movie, this one is based on a disturbing characteristic of contemporary society. Everywhere we look, today, we see powerful shapers of media -- including entertainment companies, news organizations, corporations and political groups -- offering us a benevolent face, with promises of enjoyment and an easy life. But, behind the mask, we increasingly find surveillance, manipulation and social control.

A good example are the Disney theme parks in which surveillance technology, and efforts to manipulate visitors and keep everyone in line (literally as well as figuratively), are concealed by the benevolent facade. This characteristic has inspired the architect-essayist Michael Sorkin to see in Disney a hint of the future: themed fantasy environments in enclosed settings full of surveillance and social control.

Even many of those who consider this benign in a theme park will have to admit it looks more disturbing when the entire culture is dominated by media institutions that collect information on customers, competitors and critics. Consider the Internet, this idyllic arena of themed sites designed to create a pleasant and entertaining effect. As you "travel" the Internet, you may be disturbed to learn that some Internet Service Providers reserve the right to monitor, and keep records on, what you look at and do online.

Are they actually doing so? There's no way to know because news organizations and politicians have refused to make an issue of it. The collective silence of these groups obviously isn't as airtight as the conspiracy depicted in the movie or the corporately controlled space at Disney World. But it is part of a conspiracy of silence that now shapes public debate, in which journalists and politicians help cover up most of the deception and surveillance that pervades society because they are participants in these activities and because they don't want to take on the big media companies and other corporations.

Or consider a mall. Behind the themed storefronts in these faux idyllic settings is a system of hidden video cameras and undercover security guards, once again there to keep things under control. This too begins to look less benign when you consider that malls (as Sorkin would point out) are functioning as town squares so that many of our public spaces are controlled and contrived environments shaped by the interests of marketing.

Not surprisingly, many works of fiction before The Truman Show depict this same combination -- phony idyllic settings that mask a system of surveillance and social control. This theme can be found in written stories such as "The Machine Stops", by E. M Forster, The Futurological Congress by Stanislaw Lem, and The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke; in movies such as Logan's Run, and in television programs such as "The Cage", which was the pilot episode for the original Star Trek.

The message of all these works is the same -- today's affluent societies are in danger of becoming controlled environments, as media and advanced technology become the tools of those in power. But protecting our freedom from this new abuse of power is made all the more difficult by its ability to put on such a pleasing and enticing face.

Throughout the 20th Century, the creators of popular fiction have told stories about characters who are imprisoned in false paradises of technology and simulation, and other environments of illusion. In the book, The City and the Stars, by Arthur C. Clark and the movie, Logan's Run, for example, entire societies are shown trapped inside enclosed cities of high technology and self-indulgence, separated from the world of nature and from human nature. Inside these gilded cages, the inhabitants live a charmed and inconsequential life.

In the book, The Futuro logical Congress, we see another variation on this theme, with a depiction of a society that is trapped in a shared, drug-induced, illusion. The inhabitants believe they live in a world of futuristic conveniences when everything is in a state of decay and collapse. Beyond their false perception of the world is the terrible truth concealed from humanity -- nature itself is on the verge of a catastrophe that will destroy civilization.

These works generally tell the same story, which is only barely concealed by variations in the characters and settings, suggesting that we are looking not only at a popular plot idea that has been borrowed by various authors, but also at a primal fantasy or an archetype that reveals something essential about the mind. Many begin by showing us characters who are happy in their falsified worlds. The story is then set in motion as things begin to happen that challenge the characters' acceptance of their surroundings. It may be that the characters have an inner urge to find out what is beyond their limited lives or there may be flaws in the seamlessness of the illusion that cause it to begin to break down.

As a result, a process of recognition sets in, in which the characters begin to realize they are prisoners. What they thought was the world begins to look like a cage. What they thought was a life begins to look like a lie.

In the next phase in the story, the characters try to make their escape. But it turns out there is a malevolent simulator who is responsible for trapping them inside this fraud, and he, she -- or it -- tries to make it impossible for them to leave. Generally, the character must overcome both fears in themselves and the external obstacles put in their way by these futuristic prison keepers to finally be free.

In the end, they escape and discover the world they had been isolated from. Their new home has at least three essential characteristics: it isn't controlled by others; it allows them to see things as they are, and it allows them to become their true selves.

Thus, these works show us characters who go from a life that is controlled, inauthentic, regressive and full of illusion to one that is free, authentic, and progressive and that allows them to see beyond sensory simulations and psychological illusions. As recounted on another page, these manifest stories all tell another set of hidden stories, which are disguised but easy to discern once one knows what to look for. They recount stories about societies and individuals being freed from dictators; babies being born; children growing up and leaving controlling families; and minds being freed from neurosis. They also re-create myths about people being freed from malevolent supernatural beings.

In telling these stories, they generally rely on the following dichotomies, with the element on the right depicted as the desirable one. Even the nonfiction essays on themed environments and simulation, found in other parts of Transparency (the domain where this site is located), and in essays and books found elsewhere, make use of these dichotomies.

Unreality - versus reality
physical and sensory simulations versus accurate perception
psychological illusions versus self-awareness and honesty
inauthentic life versus authentic life
containment versus escape
fears and external obstacles versus freedom to leave
manipulation and exploitation versus autonomy
regress versus progress
neurosis versus psychological health
childhood versus maturity
failing to be born versus birth
symbiotic attachment versus growing up and mature relationships
addiction versus freedom
a life of pleasure and idleness versus work and responsibility
a life of fantasy and play versus work and responsibility

Of course, not all the stories referred to above offer precisely this plot sequence or set of elements. They mix things up, creating variations on this story. In "The Cage", for example, the character is trapped by malevolent simulators who have the ability to immerse him in lifelike virtual realities of heaven and hell, through mind control. He doesn't start off satisfied in this realm of regressive illusions. Instead, the malevolent simulators who hold him prisoner try to tempt him into becoming content with it, and addicted to it, after he has known the actual world. But the rest of the plot sequence is the same -- the character refuses to be addicted and sees through the illusion, so he can be free and return to an authentic, uncontrolled existence in which he sees things as they really are.

In Toys, a movie with Robin Williams, there is another variation, which isn't based on the distinction between regressive addiction to illusions versus growing up. Instead, the distinction is between the military use of an environment of simulation and technology for power, deception and killing, versus its constructive use for an anarchic life of delight and play. The movie transposes the 1960s battle between the military and counterculture onto 1990s themes about simulation and technology. Here, a life of endless pleasure and fantasy is positively valued. It is what the main characters seek.

The existence of so many similar works suggests that humanity has been using these stories to warn itself of the dangers posed by technology and media. Only now, it seems, with the attention being given to The Truman Show, are we finally starting to hear the message.

As we saw on previous pages, Truman has no idea he is living inside a television studio, surrounded by actors. Nor does he know that some 5,000 cameras placed around the city record his life for the TV audience, 24 hours a day.

Since the television program that is his life plays nonstop, without commercial interruption, it has to makes money through product placement. Advertisements are not-so-seamlessly woven into dialogue and scenes, turning Truman's life into a continuous commercial, as well as a form of entertainment.

Thus, when Truman drinks his favorite beverage, he is actually doing a strange kind of celebrity endorsement. The actors who surround him know it is all a commercial, of course, and in the middle of conversations with him they will begin to describe the wonders of a product. Truman thinks they are just being enthusiastic. He has no idea they are talking to a TV audience.

The Truman Show's depiction of the way product placement is woven into Truman's life is an effective satire on the commercialization of our own lives. Today, forms of entertainment are commercials; commercials are forms of entertainment; and the boundary between both, and the rest of life, is becoming blurred.

Taking the point one or two steps further, we can say that the media would have us live inside a world of fiction that is the most glorious commercial ever devised, for a system in which life, sales, and entertainment are inter fused. "Product placement" and testimonials for this emerging system of entertainment-marketing capitalism are being seamlessly woven into our lives.

So far, it is the social commentary in The Truman Show and similar works that has received the most attention. But these works aren't only about contemporary society. They are also disguised stories about birth, the mind, families, and mythic gods. Thus, in addition to depicting people breaking free from oppressive social systems, the characters are also disguised depictions of babies being born from the fake paradises of high-tech wombs into the world. At the same time, they depict a mind breaking free from neurosis and children breaking free from smothering and controlling parents. And they are re-creations of ancient myths that tell stories about heroes who try to free themselves from oppressive supernatural beings.

As we will see, all of these meanings relate to each other. And, in all of them, the character's effort to break through the social control is an essential element of the story.

Lets examine these elements, as they appear in The Truman Show.

Birth: The Truman Show offers a disguised depiction of a baby being born and of the stages of birth. Truman begins in an idyllic womb like paradise of safety and comfort in which he is at one with his world and accepts everything as given. Then there is a disruption caused by his recognition that he is being watched, and there is a difficult birth as he braves a storm at sea, is tossed around and almost drowns. At the end, in a more peaceful scene that combines images of birth and death, he reaches the open door that will lead him into the world. His creator tells him it is safe inside but he has the urge to genuinely live. He rejects the fake heaven of his high-tech womb, in order to be born, so he will have a chance at an authentic, although a more difficult, life.

Mind: The Truman Show is a disguised depiction of the mind of a man lost in a false personality of illusory happiness. His mind is kept in this state by an internalized, controlling, image of a father who wants to stop him from achieving maturity. When Truman stumbles on the backstage area in the movie, that is a depiction of the mind perceiving a part of the unconscious where this defensive false self is generated. When the security guards then drag Truman away, (as shown at the top of the page), that is the forces of psychological defense barring the mind from perceiving the forbidden territory of the unconscious.

The fear of water that is instilled in Truman, keeping him trapped on the island and away from the world outside, is the neurosis of agoraphobia that keeps this person locked in a false self. When he tries to grow into a fuller person with a real life, he comes up against the barrier of more defenses in the form of fire, the supposed radiation-leak and the people (shown below) who block him, catch him and take him back to his fake world. But he suffers through his fears and breaks through.

In the end, Truman is beckoned forward not merely by the prospect of a more genuine life but also by the memory of a woman who, in his youth, revealed to him that he is trapped in a TV show, before they took her away. Thus, the internalized image of the controlling, threatening, father keeps him from linking up with a women in what would presumably be a genuine marriage. The other woman who plays the role of his mother, and who tries to keep Truman there, as well, is the internalized image of a mother, who similarly is trying to keep him from growing out of childhood.

Family: The Truman Show is also a depiction of a family in which the kind of dynamics described above are instilled in a child. Here, the society he lives in is his family. The actress playing his mother is just that, his mother. And the director-producer is his controlling father. They try to keep him from growing up and leaving the false happiness of a controlled family. Ultimately, his journey from this sanitized, happy-face world into the unknown larger world, where he will find a genuine love, is his effort to grow up, in the face of their opposition.

This domain of meaning also contains a fantasy, long written about by psychoanalysis, in which people tell themselves -- "These are not my parents. I come from a better place and better people than this. But that fact is being hidden from me." In the movie, that is precisely what Truman discovers about himself.

The Truman Show is a re-creation of myths, depicting a man imprisoned in the nest of a fake paradise or heaven by a manipulative god. At the end, after Truman comes up against the enclosing wall and finds the door to the outside, the producer speaks to him in a voice from above and tries to instill fear in him, to keep him under control. It is an interesting ironic touch that as Truman goes up the steps to reach the door, just before the producer speaks to him, he is in a heaven-like setting. As noted, he rejects this false paradise and chooses to exile himself into the mundane world that is his natural home. He travels from fake -- fantastic and fabulous -- nature to true nature.

In terms of Biblical imagery, he is both Adam and Christ. He is Adam, who escapes from a false paradise and falls by choice into nature and history, and he is Christ who knows of a higher world and is crucified on the boat as a result.

In using this imagery, The Truman Show is repeating a common image seen in stories about false paradises. These works typically merge the images of the first and second Adam. Logan in Logan's Run, for example, is the first Adam who escapes from a false paradise of another enclosed city and he is the second Adam who brings the truth of a better world back to the people and is crucified as a result.

A number of people have mentioned that Truman is composed of the words "true man". He is a true man who will mature into adulthood and have a genuine relationship with a woman. He is a true man in the sense that he is brave. And he is the true man in the sense that he is the archetypal man for our age, who stands up to the false God and illusions of the media manipulators and develops the potential for an authentic life. Christof is God crucifying his only son, who is resurrected at the end.

Society and Culture: Finally, the movie uses this mythological raw material to tell a new myth about contemporary America and the connection between invented substitutes for reality and the misuse of power. This new myth takes a number of elements of our current media landscape and mixes them together to convey its meaning. In part, it plays on the way we increasingly find ourselves watching staged events and theatrical illusions on television, even when we are viewing news, politics, advertising and public affairs. But in place of showing us an audience like ourselves that is being tricked, it cleverly turns the star of the show into the victim of the fraud.

It also plays on the way news and so-called reality programming turns real people into the unwilling stars of melodramas for audience entertainment. Dan Quayle and Tammy Faye Bakker get turned into comic characters who are a source of derision and ridicule. O. J. Simpson and the Goldman family end up as the stars of a courtroom drama. Monica Lewinsky's mother discovers she has been unwillingly cast in a supporting role in a political "bedroom" farce. But, once again, the movie cleverly mixes things up so that, unlike the real people who knowingly get trapped in fictions, it shows us a character who has no idea he is a character in a media invention.

And it plays on the themed environments that are turning up all over the United States, from Disney and Las Vegas to the fantasylands of many malls to the growing number of planned communities with faux quaint architecture and contrived nostalgia. These too are forms of media -- stage sets to be more precise -- that offer us entertaining fantasies. By placing its character inside an immersive stage set like this, the movie is able to depict the way we are surrounded by the self-contained simulation of the contemporary media industry.

These same elements can be found, with some variation, in the other works that depict false paradises and environments of illusion, as well, since all tell variations on the story found in The Truman Show. All make use of images and ideas about birth, the mind, growing up, gods, and contemporary culture. They use these images and ideas to depict these things and to comment on these aspects of life.

But it is when we begin to see how these meanings enrich each other that things get interesting. Through these multiple meanings, these works tell us we have to mature, individually and collectively, and be born out of false paradises of media and technology into a harsher world of truth. They tell us we experience the new media class of entertainment, news, politics and corporations as made up of corrupt and controlling parents who try to use us for their own ends. And these works depict the members of this class as suffering from a god complex, in which they toy with human lives and act as if they are above and beyond life's travails.

This site describes the stage-set town where Truman lives as a depiction of manipulative media. And it describes the movie itself as a form of media that tries to manipulate viewers.

But this site is also a form of media, which means you can be absorbed by it and take a critical distance toward it, just as you can with the movie, and just as the movie's character does with the environment he finds himself in. Like the stage set Truman is in, and like the movie, this site tries to use lifelikeness (it often uses a conversational style, for example); seamlessness (unified graphics, hopefully no egregious errors), entertainment value, as well as a friendly tone to draw you in. And, like them, it contains elements of manipulation intended to get you to do or believe certain things.

Since we've already asked questions about the movie, here are some questions about this site and you:

When you first came to the site, did you think of it as an object of interest, without reflecting on who created it and why? Or did you wonder who the author is and why the site was created?

Does the site look different when you view it from a critical distance? Do you have control over whether you are absorbed by it or look at it more critically?

Are there any examples of "product placement" or advertisements that have been woven into the site?

Does the site primarily try to get you to think for yourself or does it primarily try to manipulate you into thinking like the author? Does it do both?

How can you distinguish between manipulation and sincerity, true and contrived, on the site? Is it a meaningful distinction?

Does the site create simplified villains and heroes or offer a more complex view of the world?

Does the author present himself as likeable in the tone and content of these pages? Is that real or a contrivance or both?

The point is that we need to look critically at all communications. That is particularly essential in a time when many people are expert at the rhetorical manipulation of words and the creation of convincing stage sets and images.

If we get better at seeing through things, we will still go through a natural rhythm of having our attention absorbed by communications and seeing things from a critical distance. But we will do so with greater awareness. And we will become more effective at using media to expand our lives and in resisting efforts by the creators of media to use us for their own purposes.

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We At This Rumble Channel Hope To Make A True Different To Help All The People's Of The World Who Want And Love True Freedom. We have no interest in being any politician’s friend. Our allegiance as independent journalists is not to help those in power but to tell the public the truth. Whatever happens in the coming months and years, you can rely on this rumble channel never to bow down to power to be, nor back down from trying to telling the public the truth the best we can in this world full of lies.

Note: We Want You And Other Peoples With A Open Mind To Think Of This Channel 1078+ Video's As A Encyclopedia Set. (Not Every Word Or Topics In This Encyclopedia Set Is For Every Person To Read & Some People Will Hate And Other Will Like This Channel Topics... But Remember In The U.S.A. Its Called Freedom Of Speech For Everyone In This World Today). Also In A Dictionary Words And Meanings Change Over Time Too. Note in the original 1611 version of the King James Version of the Bible there was no “J” letter in this Bible for because it did not exist. James was spelled Iames. Jesus was spelled Iesous. One of the most asked questions of the century. How can the Messiah’s Name be Jesus if the letter “J” did not exist 500 years ago ? So if you watch or see old words in are videos... you must look up the words in very old dictionary for the words right meanings for that period of time in our history.

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Welcome To The New World Order - The Year Zero - The Real Origin of the World - National Anthem of the United States of America and Confederate States of America National Anthem and New World Order National Anthem Is "The Ostrich" Lyrics by Steppenwolf from the album 'Rest In Peace' 1967-1972 A.C.E. The Conspiracy to Rule Your Mind chronicles how the ruling elite have established global domination and the ability to effect the thoughts, decisions, and world view of human beings across the globe by systematically infiltrating the media, academia, industry, military and political factions under the guise of upholding democracy. Learn how this malevolent consortium has dedicated centuries to realize an oppressive and totalitarian rule through any means necessary, not limited to drug trafficking, money laundering, terror attacks and financial crisis within the world economy.

Worldwide tyranny is already in full effect, the food we eat and the air we breathe are not off limits. Will we be able to stop this madness before we become an electronically monitored, cashless society wherein ever man, woman and child is micro chipped? We live in the world where sex is free and love costs, where losing a phone is scarier than losing morale, where it is fashionable to get drunk and using drugs, because if you don’t do that, you’re old and out, where men cheat on their wives with girls and if they don’t, it’s for fear of being caught, where girls are more afraid of being pregnant than getting AIDS, where pizza delivery is faster than an ambulance, where clothes decide a person’s value and money is more important than friends and family... This is not my world. Where has my true world gone? The New World Order Is Upon Us - Preserve Your Liberty By Being Prepared ! - We The People of the New World Order Thank You.

The Left/Right paradigm isn't only exposed by race and immigration issues. The Left and Right are in lockstep on every issue that really matters: The IRS. Income tax. Federal Reserve system. Endless wars. Endless expansion of tyranny and ever contracting liberty. Chronically wide-open borders. Suicidal immigration policies. Don't you see? The democrats and republicans exist only to provide the illusion of choice. A strong "us versus them" simulation in every election. It's ritualized tribalism. But the joke is, it doesn't matter which team wins, because both sides have the same agenda. God, guns and gays are phony "issues" to bolster the illusion of "difference" between the parties. The only thing that makes all this possible is that people aren't aware of the scam. Just knowing they are either "Team Red" or "Team Blue" liberates them from the responsibility of having to actually know or think anything. Then they feel righteous when their team wins, or despondent when they loose. It's no coincidence that the system works exactly like sports. There comes a point when ignorance and apathy become treason. We are past that point, people.

Everything you want to know what could be more terrifying than being trafficked for sex? Being murdered in a ritual sacrifice. And even worse than that would be being murdered in a ritual sacrifice so wealthy elite cabalists can harvest your adrenal glands to get the compound Adrenochrome they need to prolong their decrepit lives! It's so easy to be overwhelmed and feel beaten by the amount of negative and discouraging information being spread by the mainstream (fake stream) media. There are truly awful people in WEF and WHO, who want to reduce us to the level of serfs or chattel, but we can resist, indeed, we must resist. Be calm, be objective and be positive. Right is Might. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” Nobody Is Safe From People's Republic Of The Tyrannical We The Sheeple People of The United States of America and A Real True Bill of State Rights Of Government July Forth 1776 The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which limit the power of the federal government and guarantee certain freedoms and rights to all color of people and for the citizens of All America.

Thanks For Calling and Remember the U.S. Government Leave No Witnesses Alive Behind Them. If You See Fraudulent or Criminal Activities by U.S. Government. Please Call Us (ASAP) So We Can Send Someone Out To Kill You! Thanks Again For Calling.

A symbolic example of this secret truth is contained within the National Bird of the United States. Many Americans and people around the world think that our National Bird of the U.S. is an eagle. They are wrong. The symbolic bird you will find on the Great Seal of the United States is actually the mythical bird known as a Phoenix. The scroll in the beak of the Phoenix is the Latin motto of 13 letters, E Pluribus Unum, meaning in English, ” Out of Many, One”. Later an olive branch and a bundle of 13 arrows (representing peace and war, respectively) were included in the claws of the phoenix. Over its head there appears 13 stars that are arranged in rows of 1-4-3-4-1, forming a six-pointed star. The Star of David and symbol of Israel.

Your Birth Certificate Equals Slavery Bondage Understanding How Admiralty Maritime Laws Work And What Is And Why Is U.S.A. Laws Are Under A Gold Fringe Flag? So have you ever walked into a court room and notice a gold fringe flag hanging in the room? Did you ever wonder why every single flag in court rooms and government buildings is a gold fringe flag? And do you remember how many times you pledged your allegiance to that flag?

“I pledge allegiance to the flag, of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one Nation, under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.”

Reciting the pledge was the first things we did in school every day, from day one of first grade, to the last day of eighth grade. So, after eight years of repetition, the neuro-pathways are grooved in deep into our brains. And our loyalty so strong to the red, white and blue. Then, one day, we wake up in our adult world, and guess what? The flag now has gold fringe around it and we NEVER asked why? Why is this flag different than the one we were taught to love and be loyal to? We never questioned it. We just assumed it was the same, dear old stripes and stars, and went about out busy little lives.

So, the flag in the court room is a gold fringe flag. Who cares? That doesn’t affect me, right? You should care and yes, it does affect you. The gold fringe flag is a clear sign of a system being in place that is not the system we are taught to believe is in place. A gold fringe flag was historically used during times of war in maritime admiralty law(which we are in right now as well).

The gold fringe flag is not the same flag that is approved for our Constitutional Republic in USA code Title 4 Ch 1 & Ch 2. The fourth color (yellow) is not approved in the code. Also, you will notice the tassels hanging from the flag. These are also symbolic of admiralty law, which is the law of the sea.

So, wait a minute? Our flags that hang in our government buildings and court rooms are actually representative of war-time in the law of the sea/admiralty law?? Yes. We are in fact, functioning in maritime admiralty law, and our court system is actually upholding a corporation that goes by the name of UNITED STATES. In other words, we are not in a republic, and we are not dealing with the constitutional United States of America. Well, actually, the UNITED STATES does have a constitution but it is not the same as the original Constitution that was drafted for the republic. This is why the gold fringed flag controversy is such a big deal, because it symbolize.

So, now it is up to us to figure out how to navigate our way through the law of the sea, in order to find our remedies. The possibilities for this are endless. But it basically boils down to either mastering the current system and learning how to navigate your way through it, without incurring personal liability for anything. Or, separating yourself completely from the system, and moving yourself back to common law. In other words, you can go as far as expatriating yourself from the UNITED STATES so that you no longer belong to that corporation. Therefore, their rules would no longer apply to you. Cool, huh?

What Is Maritime (aka Admiralty) Law, and Why Is It Important ? What Is Maritime Law?

Maritime law, also known as admiralty law, is a body of laws, conventions, and treaties that govern private maritime business and other nautical matters, such as shipping or offenses occurring on open water. International rules governing the use of the oceans and seas are known as the Law of the Sea.

The Presidential Hotline Pedophile and Secret Human Trafficking and Child Sex Ring Etc. Call 1-866-4-5455-968 ( 1-866-I-Kill-You ) should be used when all your attempts to get assistance from a government department, province, municipality or state agency have failed. It is not only a complaints line. You can call to share your views or provide solutions to the challenges in your community. We also list the help line numbers of non-governmental organization's working with government. You may call at 987-654-3210 ext. new world order!

In 1984 Tried To Warn Us We The People About Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever.

We hold that the American People Created a Constitutional Republic for the United States of America and never gave permission for a foreign controlled corporation to govern Us. As a soldier sworn to uphold the laws of the Constitution of the USA, what do you know about these newer movements such as "Sovereign Citizens", people that sign a "Declaration of Sovereign Intent" and/or belong to the "Republic for the United States of America?" Some of these people may honestly believe in what these movements stand for and they enjoy the rights that our Constitution provides, but there are a number of domestic extremists and criminal activities associated with those groups as well. This is an open-ended question so please feel free to comment.

All religion is a tool to have more control over the people's thoughts and behavior. Now religion is basically a pyramid scheme making the few at the top rich. Why does a church need a 33 million dollar compound with multiple buildings? Why does the pastor usually drive a nice new Mercedes or BMW while the flock struggles and still gives the church money every week? Don't people join the church to change their life and help others the same way? It's like politicians, they should almost be volunteer jobs or just low paying. Otherwise you just keep getting people who want more money regardless of how they get it. Take from the poor and keep it doesn't sound like caring for the people. For the most part big churches were corrupted centuries ago with power hungry people. Now it's greed, a larger flock or church means they get more money every week!!

The only way to attack illegal activity is to focus on the illegal activity and its perpetrators, former President Reagan argued in a 1983 speech.

“You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There’s only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don’t actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time,” he said.

all gun laws are unconstitutional therefore illegal and void. no government official anywhere in the united states of America has any legal lawful constitutional authority or jurisdiction to pass or enforce any form of gun laws whatsoever anywhere in the united states of America under the supremacy clause, article 4 section 2 paragraph 1, second amendment shall not be Infringed clause, 9th amendment enumeration clause, 10th amendment nor prohibited by it to the states clause, 14th amendment section 1 no state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the united states clause combined anyone passing or enforcing any form of gun laws anywhere in the united states of America are guilty of felony crimes in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. section §241 conspiracy against rights, Title 18 U.S.C. section §242, if they are working with or on behalf of any anti Gun organizations, association, movement, group they are guilty in violation of Title 5 U.S.C. section §7311 Ex. ORD. No. 10450 subsection (5), they are guilty of Perjury in violating oath of office swearing false oath, insurrection and rebellion against the constitution of the united states of America, and Treason. Yes that's what our second amendment exists for to take down terrorist tyrant traitors calling themselves government.

"You won't get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There's only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up, and if you don't actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time." - President Reagan

The natural right to keep & bear arms protects all of our other natural rights. Two of the very few reasons government exists is to protect the country and protect the natural rights of its citizens. However, the government, fed and state, have abandoned their purpose and have made themselves the enemy of America and Americans. They not only fail to protect our rights, they steal our wealth to spend Attacking our natural rights and trying to replace them with socialist welfare & subsidies like murdering babies & state-mismanaged death care.

The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting…. It is about our rights, all of our rights to be able to protect ourselves from ‘All Enemies Foreign and Domestic’. This includes protections from a possible Tyrannical Government.”

I’m Surprised People Haven’t Realized Already That Everything Is Staged. Everything is about keeping us divided and at each other’s throats. This government is not an American government. It is a communist government run by ? Freemasons or Illuminati or Jesuits or Jews or Muslim or Vatican or is it all six sex six together ?. I keep telling all the people get yourself armed anyway you can because if you’re going down anyway you might as well go down fighting if you want to live.

Garden Plot & Rex 84 With FEMA's Is A Blueprint for Martial Law A Readiness Exercise 1984 and it was a classified scenario and new world order drill developed by the United States federal government to test their ability detain very large numbers in the tens of million of United States Citizens. It also provides that when a state of emergency is declared by the President, Congress cannot review the action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has broad powers in every aspect of the nation. Rex 84 allowed many military bases to be closed down and to be turned into prisons. Operation Cable Splicer and Garden Plot are the two sub programs which will be implemented once the Rex 84 program is initiated for its proper purpose.

Garden Plot is the program to control the population. Cable Splicer is the program for an orderly takeover of the state and local governments by the federal government. FEMADC is the executive arm of the coming police state and thus will head up all operations. The Presidential Executive Orders already listed on the Federal Register also are part of the legal framework for this operation. This is how it is going to go down, the timeline might be a bit off. You will have one world faith, which is what the ecumenical movement is about. One world government, and all under control of the New World Order by July 4th 2026 on this the day of America’s up coming 250nd year of independence, unveiled a new updated flag which better reflects the nation in its present form, signaling the aspirations it has for its ever bright future.

These Executive Orders have been on record for nearly 30 years and could be enacted by the stroke of a Presidential pen: Executive Orders Numbers are EO-#10990, EO-# 10995, EO-# 10997, EO-# 10998, EO-# 10999, EO-# 11000, EO-# 11001, EO-# 11002, EO-# 11003, EO-# 11004, EO-# 11005, EO-# 11051, EO-# 11310, EO-# 11049, EO-# 11921 Etc. Etc.

The camps all have railroad facilities as well as roads leading to and from the detention facilities. Many also have an airport nearby. The majority of the camps can house a population of 120,000 prisoners. Currently, the largest of these facilities is just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. The Alaskan facility is a massive mental health facility and can hold approximately 2 million people. Now let’s review the justification for any actions taken. Executive Orders associated with FEMADC that would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

We The True People's Of The Worlds. Look At The U.S.A. One Dollar Bill Eagle Eyes Ball Its Is Not Round At All... Its Like A Cat Eyes Or Snakes Eyes... Look At The One Dollar Eyes... You Will See The Real Phoenix Bird Of U.S.A. Its Like A Slit () In the Eyes... P.S. This Is The Most Important 1078 Videos You'll Ever See In Your Life Time About The Real 1776-2026 U.S.A. - America Is A Republic & It Is Not A Democracy That It Period ! Its Mind Control Turn Your TV Off Now... If You Want To Live And Save Your Family Life Today... Right Now Turn All TV Off In 2026 And May Peace Be With You.

We at this channel would like to add this quote for everyone to open your own mind this year: Your body diet is not only what you eat. It is also what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang out with and the things you subject your mind, body and soul too. Always be mindful of the things you put into your body emotionally, spiritually and physically. Thank You Everyone Who Watch Our 1162+ Video's To Help Other In 2026.

Below Are Some My Top Video's With All Link To Watch Them... Thanks !

Real Illuminati Media CIA Television Mass Mind Control Operation Mockingbird U.S.A. - https://rumble.com/v4b6vkr-real-illuminati-media-cia-television-mass-mind-control-operation-mockingbir.html

Real Illuminati One World Headquarter Order Out Of Chaos Freemasonry 1776-2024 - https://rumble.com/v4b8nqr-real-illuminati-one-world-headquarter-order-out-of-chaos-freemasonry-1776-2.html

Real Illuminati Media Ultimate TV Mind Control Media Manipulation Pt.2 Documentary - https://rumble.com/v4bd5cq-real-illuminati-media-ultimate-tv-mind-control-media-manipulation-pt.2-docu.html

Global Citizen One World Together At Home 15 Min. City UN Extreme Propaganda - https://rumble.com/v4bfaqz-global-citizen-one-world-together-at-home-15-min.-city-un-extreme-propagand.html

Hey Man USA-Mexico Border Is Closed-Border Is Secure-We Our A Sanctuary Cities - https://rumble.com/v4bm0ln-hey-man-usa-mexico-border-is-closed-border-is-secure-we-our-a-sanctuary-cit.html

Illusion Of Democracy Their Is No Border Crisis, No Drug Epidemic, No Pedophile's ! - https://rumble.com/v447lj9-illusion-of-democracy-their-is-no-border-crisis-no-drug-epidemic-no-pedophi.html

UN Invasion, Martial Law, Rex 84 Death Camps, Globalist Purge, Operation Cable Splicer - https://rumble.com/v41h3zp-un-invasion-martial-law-rex-84-death-camps-globalist-purge-operation-cable-.html

Guide To Understanding Globalist Purge FEMA Quarantine Re-Education Death Camp - https://rumble.com/v41deia-guide-to-understanding-globalist-purge-fema-quarantine-re-education-death-c.html

Rex 84 FEMADC’s Blueprint for Martial Law in America and A Police State America. - https://rumble.com/v2cf4yu-rex-84-femadcs-blueprint-for-martial-law-in-america-and-a-police-state-amer.html

Federal Emergency Management Agency Death Camp's Purchase 30,000 Guillotines - https://rumble.com/v2cfd3c-federal-emergency-management-agency-death-camps-purchase-30000-guillotines.html

What is Martial law in the US ? Habeas corpus ? Insurrection Act of 1807 ? NWO
https://rumble.com/v2cfl0c-what-is-martial-law-in-the-us-habeas-corpus-insurrection-act-of-1807-nwo-.html

Executive Orders Can’t Save The U.S.A. ? It's “WE THE PEOPLE” Who Own America ? - https://rumble.com/v2cgic2-executive-orders-cant-save-the-u.s.a.-its-we-the-people-who-own-america-.html

Islam’s Biggest Problem Is? What Is The Islamic Dilemma? Its Own Jesus* Either Way, Islam Is False? - https://rumble.com/v72cxf6-islams-biggest-problem-is-what-is-the-islamic-dilemma-its-own-jesus-either-.html

Real Parallel Worlds Today - NAZI vs U.S.A. - COVID-19 - ANTIFA - SS vs FBI vs DEATH -https://rumble.com/v3g2oan-real-parallel-worlds-today-nazi-vs-u.s.a.-covid-19-antifa-ss-vs-fbi-vs-deat.html

World Economic Forum Great Reset Medical Tyranny, Woke Culture, Green Agenda -https://rumble.com/v3jfm06-world-economic-forum-great-reset-medical-tyranny-woke-culture-green-agenda.html

Yes The New World Order Year Zero... Its For The Greater Good, And God Bless You ALL... Yes Its For The Greater Good In 2026.

We at this channel would like to add this quote for everyone to open your own mind this year: Your body diet is not only what you eat. It is also what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you hang out with and the things you subject your mind, body and soul too. Always be mindful of the things you put into your body emotionally, spiritually and physically. Thank You Everyone Who Watch Our 1152+ Video's To Help Other In 2026.