Ssiscool

6th May 2018

The Truman Show (1998)

Question: I've always wondered why the actors (and Truman) wear 1950's style clothing even though the movie was filmed in 1998. Does Truman believe he's living in the fifties?

Answer: He wouldn't have known he was driving a modern car since his world consisted of whatever was brought in for him.

Well 50's looks includes 50's technology. If he really thought he lived in the 50's a 90's car would seem out of place. He doesn't get shown much from the real world but surely they have car magazines, kitchen appliances, gardening tools. Can't keep it all 50's. Plus, they want to sell stuff they have in the show, but 50's cars aren't made anymore and wouldn't be made specifically for the show, so they have modern technology. Therefor, he knows its the 90's. I'm sure he was taught proper history at school as well.

lionhead

Everything in his world is fabricated to what the shows producers want him to believe. If they are able to build a set that is visible from space, surely having magazines from the 50s or having him taught in 50s format is not impossible.

Ssiscool

Might be possible. But do you think Truman believes he is in the 50's? What kind of history did they teach him? Surely they can't censor domestic and world politics (like elections) and natural disaster events, which requires images to see. Sure they censor the studio, but they can't keep all images from the outside world away from him. Besides, I just put in a movie mistake myself that shows they at last have taught him world history the proper way.

lionhead

I didn't put the mistake in as the Truman show can take place in the future. What I found out that there is a scene of Truman as a kid in school and the teacher pulls down a map of the world, a 90's map. So they do teach him proper history. And since its a 90's map the Truman show takes place in the future and its the 2010's or something. But it shows Truman knows in what era he lives.

lionhead

Answer: It's all part of the set of the fictional show that Truman is unwittingly a part of. The '50s were viewed (by some) as a wholesome, uncomplicated time, so it makes sense that the show's producers would choose it for their wholesome, uncomplicated show. And if Truman did believe it was the 1950s, well, why not? He has no outside frame of reference.

Well, he did drive a modern car.

lionhead

Which is irrelevant. Truman wouldn't know the difference. A modern car was likely one of the many product-placement deals the show had.

Again though, during the segment where they look back at Truman's ambitions to become an explorer they show a world map which is accurate for the time. Also, it would be impossible to convince him anything in the world is different even if they would control the news and TV shows (history books), what about elections for example?

lionhead

Answer: You need to think outside the box. you know 50s stuff is different and modern appliances would stand out but for Truman, it doesn't. Magazines, TV broadcasts etc would all be controlled by the director so he has no reference to question that anything is out of place or "not of that era." To him, its not different.

The_Iceman

Answer: Dude how are you not getting this? They can tell him anything they want. He doesn't have any form of reference to say it's out of place. His entire world is what they've told him since he was a baby. They can tell him it's 2020 but still have 1950s equipment. To Truman, that's 2020 equipment. He doesn't know about all the advances since them. You, me and all the viewers know its out of era but Truman doesn't since he's grown up with it being relevant to whatever year theyve told him it is.

Are you talking to me? if you are, what are you rambling about? The question was if Truman believed he was in the 50's. I argued he didn't. That's all. According to you that's true even. Relax.

Answer: They created his world: the clothing, cars, electronics, everything around him is conceived by the producers of the show. You see some people dresses like the 50's and some like the 80's, and then his TV is 50's but the cars are 90's. He doesn't have a frame of reference so it seems normal to him.

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