Everyone's watching you...
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A friend of mine recently railed on me for saying I thought "Something
About Mary", the new Cameron Diaz movie, was pretty funny. Excuse me
if I sometimes laugh at a dick joke or two. It was a funny movie. I
haven’t seen as many movies this summer as I would have liked to,
because I’ve been trying to save my money. But one movie that I did
see - and was disappointed in - was The Truman Show. I’d heard it
hyped and lauded by magazines, critics, and my friends. But when I
went to see it, I was, of course, disappointed. First off, the
premise was supposed to be all original and wonderful and stuff, but
who hasn’t, during their childhood, wondered if they were being
watched all the time? I know I did, but maybe I was just a paranoid
freak-child. I know I had a hyperactive imagination. Another
thing that bothered me was the product placement. Gee, how new and
innovative! It’s not like they’ve been doing that in movies and on TV
for years or anything. If my wife (my hypothetical wife, that is) and
friends and neighbors went around pushing products while I was trying
to have a conversation with them, I think I’d go insane. And I didn’t
understand how anyone could live their work like that - if it was just
acting, wouldn’t you get tired of it after a while? Wouldn’t you want
some variety? Fame isn’t everything, and an acted life is no
replacement for a real life. It’s pretty obvious that Truman’s "wife"
isn’t in love with him, yet they’ve been "married" for years and i
assume they have sex and stuff. Call me idealistic, but I can’t
believe the entire world would let the show go on for thirty years
without more than token protest. They put in a bit of resistance from
Truman’s original quasi-girlfriend, but that was it. The majority of
the world loved Truman, even though he practically didn’t know they
existed - and certainly didn’t know they were constantly watching him.
(Of course, people also watch Melrose place and daytime soaps
constantly, which also says something about human nature.) The world
never ceases to amaze me.
The point is, how could the government let this poor kid be duped for his entire life? A corporation was allowed to adopt this kid for the sole purpose of filming his every action? I know stranger things have happened, but with something that public you’d think they’d have to follow the law. Parents - even if they’re corporations - aren’t allowed to do just anything with their children. I don’t know that I’d want to live in a world where parents could do whatever they wanted with their children. There are some sick and irresponsible parents out there. Yeeps. The movie was okay; it was an interesting idea (hey, it called up all my old daydreams from elementary school), but it wasn’t as original and innovative and wonderful as everyone said it was. It was a little spooky, but only a little. And instead of making me think about the universality of experience and the triumph of human perseverance, it made me think how sick it is that I live in a world where everyone wants to butt in on the private lives of other human beings. When everyone was cheering for Truman, I didn’t feel uplifted, I felt sick. He’s not an animal in a cage, he’s a man with thoughts and feelings. People tend to forget that about celebrities, although they love those tell-all books where everyone’s intimate secrets are revealed (yeah, my ass they're revealed). I don’t understand the world. Or maybe I don’t want to understand the world. Then again, I haven’t been in it for that long yet. I suppose I should give it a chance before condemning it off-hand. Signing off for today, Captain Sparky |
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this page by sparky ( kumquat37@hotmail.com ) written 07/24/98