Lecture notes
TOK truman questions and essay
- Module
- TOK
- Institution
- Abacus College, Oxford
The document is an essay about the morals of the truman show. It was for IB TOK.
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TOK Truman questions homeworkTOK questions about Truman:
1. Can other people know us better than we know ourselves?
In some ways and in some ways, no. Referring to the movie, yes other people can know us
better than ourselves. Everyone knows about Truman’s life at work, home, friends etc. They
watch him 24/7 and know him well enough to control his actions and feelings towards things.
However, people can’t know our inner thoughts or real personal opinions. Towards the end, it’s
revealed that the producers of the Truman show actually don’t know Truman as well as they
thought they did. Christoff thinks he knows Truman so well that he won’t have the willpower to
go across water (because his father died by drowning), therefore the director never feared
Truman leaving the place. However, the producer is proven wrong when Truman gets on the
boat. He also believes that Truman can never escape his normal life, and he is proven wrong
once again when Truman tricks him by pretending to be asleep and leaving town. The whole
audience is shocked, and this is what really attracts the audience: the unpredictability. This is
what makes humans special, nobody knows each other completely.
In conclusion, other people can’t know us better than we know ourselves because no matter
how normal a person’s routine is and how predictable they seem, every person has different
ways of thinking. Just because someone knows your daily routine, your hobbies and family life,
they will never know your thoughts/opinions.
2. Was Truman’s lack of knowledge a source of powerlessness?
There can be many different opinions and answers to this question, but personally I think that
his lack of knowledge was a bliss, and he only became powerless when he gained knowledge. In
the beginning of the movie, Truman does his daily routine happily, smiles at neighbors, doesn’t
have overbearing thoughts and seems to have a healthy marriage with his wife. He had no real
struggles in life, most people would be happy having Truman’s life. He is secure in life, he
doesn’t have power over others, but he has power over his life and decisions. He has no
problems at work or at home.
Eventually Truman starts noticing weird things happening in his life, weird things happening at
work and people acting differently. He feels like he’s being followed, everyone seems to know
who he is. I think he starts really doubting things when he sees his father dressed as a homeless
man (who we later find out was an actor trying to warn Truman that he’s living a lie). People
such as his mother and wife keep denying his feelings/thoughts. Throughout the movie we see
Truman picking up on increasing amounts of decreasingly subtle cues that something is deeply
wrong. Truman's situation seems terrifying/disturbing. He doesn't have any power in his life,
the producers control it all. However, his lack of knowledge allows him to still feel control over
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