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Voyeurism of the Soul By Dan Buck | You remember The Real World don't you? In theory, it was MTV's venture into human laboratory experimentation. Six or seven annoyingly beautiful and young people living in an appropriately "phat" apartment trying not to kill each other. At first, people thought, "Who wants to watch real life? I see it every day." And yet, it was a hit. It's greatest shortcoming however, was that it wasn't real enough. Producers weren't gutsy enough to let you see the "boring" stuff, so they picked roomies with diametrically opposing personalities and formatted the show around the frequent squabbles and the occasional love affair. The other problem, was that they knew the cameras were there so they acted differently. Then, there came the internet. And, with it, a boatload of extremely weird stuff. On one site you could watch a Pop Tart ignite in a toaster and on another site you could beat the crap out of Barney the Dinosaur. And on one site in particular you could watch a girl named Jenni. JenniCam quickly became a very popular site. It wasn't complex, it wasn't flashy and it certainly didn't have any pictures of Teri Hatcher. JenniCam was simply a round of streaming pictures that would change every ten seconds. What were the pictures of? Jenni. Jenni had set up a camera on top of her computer that would take pictures of her dorm room and send them out to millions of loyal fans. It didn't matter if she was brushing her teeth, shaving her armpits or having sex with her boyfriend, the pictures went out. But it still wasn't quite real. It was closer than The Real World, but she still knew the camera was there. Enter The Truman Show. A television show based on the life-long observation of Truman Burbank. A man, who at birth was adopted by a corporation and made the unknowing star of the ultimate "real life" television show of all time. Every person in his life is an actor, every room in his house is a set and every sun that rises is a special effect. And the whole world watches. But why? Why do we want to see the "realness" behind the closed doors of other people's lives? Why do we want to see the cast of The Real World making pancakes, watch Jenni read her e-mail, or listen to Truman Burbank talk to himself? Because we know that if we see these things intended for no one to see, we have stolen a little piece of intimacy. It is that same thrill that comes when a girl falls asleep on your lap and you get to look at her face. It is the same excitement that comes from watching your new husband shave. It is intimacy. And The Real World, Jenni and Truman allow us to get it without paying for it. Without investing. It is voyeurism. The Truman Show is this summer's attempt to prove to Hollywood that people's brains do not shut off in high temperatures. While Jim Carrey's face is the one plastered all over the marketing for this film, the real stars are behind the camera. Director Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society) hits his mark solidly again as he works with screenwriter Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) a relative newcomer to Hollywood. Niccol is a natural born movie writer and his keen imagination for visual literature is an enormous boost to the cinematic arts. Carrey is perfect for this role and while he's not a standout, he effectively allows the film to reach excellence through his portrayal. One of the strengths of this film is that you really have no idea about the plot, even though you've probably seen two previews and heard three plot summaries. Just because it doesn't have lizards, asteroids and icebergs doesn't mean it is boring. This film is a deftly crafted and exciting story that explores rich subject matter. Christof (Ed Harris), the Creator of this television phenomenon, hopes to give the world a refuge from the sickness of the real world around them, by giving them Truman Burbank's perfect life. And yet, something goes wrong. Experimental scientists and psychologists would call it an uncontrolled variable, philosophers would call it "a priori" knowledge, theologians would call it a soul. No matter how perfectly scripted the show, Truman's soul cannot be dictated. He senses something is not right and so he explores the boundaries of his world. Truman is truly a true man. He's the only one not acting and ultimately it is this realization that makes him seek out more than his contrived world. The Truman Show, interestingly enough, overlaps thematically with Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. That whole "Can man create life?" issue. Yet, with Truman there is a significant difference. He is not pieced together with the parts of dead bodies and brought to life with electricity. He is born. And with that birth he is given more than just breath. He is given a soul. Which brings about some interesting issues about the indelible spirit of mankind. The Truman Show (the TV show in the movie, not the movie itself) falls into a similar problem as The Real World. The producers have planned everything out too nicely. They don't let Truman experience real life at all. His world is too pretty to be real. And even Truman knows it. So, that leaves us with two criteria for a good "reality" show. First, the subject must not be reacting to the knowledge that he/she is being watched. And second, the world around him/her must be real and not controlled by any human. Under these conditions we could see a fascinating world filled with all the intricacies and intimacies of life. The good news is, such a show exists. It's called your life. Chances are you've missed a good portion of it, but I hear there's big things planned for the next season. Don't miss it!