Postmodern at The Truman Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Postmodern at The Truman Show - Essay Example A tool by which to analyse The Truman Show is irony. What this means essentially is that the levels of meaning intersect only through the audience, because the levels of meaning are all contained in one artistic work but can only be dissected by the audience, who connect with the artist through the work. It is irrelevant which medium the work is in for it to be ironic and in fact the term post-modern essentially means only that it comes in the period after the modern. The audience and the artist have become familiar to such a degree that levels of meaning can be understood by one another without explicit definition or formulation, with shifting definitions and formulations seeming to be more of a conversation. We must use irony so that the conversation can be analysed. Much of the conversation is mediated by Christof, the character who created the Truman Show, who directs from the Lunar Room. Christof may be seen as a form of alter ego for Truman, because whereas Truman believes that he is leading his own life, in reality he is being led by Christof. The Lunar Room is a command post through which all the characters in Truman's world - Seahaven Island - walk on their ironic way from an ever intruding, yet supervening, reality. "It's a life", says Christof, about Truman in the opening sequence in the Lunar Room, although we are not given to understand whether he is referring to himself or to Truman. He speaks with a self-reflexivity, using the collective pronoun "we", but we - as the audience - do not know for sure whether Christof regards himself as the "we", because Christof is an actor in a movie. Perhaps the contextualising of the film means that the real irony lays in the fact that Peter Weir is Christof and Christof is Weir. Such appropriation of identity never really leaves us throughout the movie. Each character in the movie has multiple characteristics. For example, Meryl who plays Truman's wife speaks rapturously: MERYL Well, I mean, there is no--there is no difference between a private life and a public life. My--my life is my life, is The Truman Show. The Truman Show is...a lifestyle. It's a noble life. It is...a truly blessed life. The post-modern characteristic is that Meryl's life is not her life at all, it is not The Truman Show; it is neither public, nor private. This aesthetic denies that it is aesthetic through repetition and irony - note the repetition of "there is no", "my - my", "The Truman Show". What Weir's script and the magnificent acting of Laura Linney - as Hannah Gill, as Meryl Burbank - has achieved is to erase the lines between fantasy and reality; however we need a point of contact with the movie. It becomes essential for us to identify with Truman Burbank. There is a very neutral aesthetic running throughout The Truman Show whose purpose is to draw as many of the audience as possible into the drama. Along with the controlled action, which many audience members will be able to identify with, Truman works in the seemingly ubiquitous corporate world: TRUMAN (to mirror cam) I'm not going to make it. You're going to have to go on without me. No way,

Catholic Theology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Catholic Theology - Essay Example It will be demonstrated how Jesus fits into each definition. Jesus is considered a man of the Word. He had a more direct connection to the Word, as he is alluded to in the scriptures as being God, but in human flesh. Jesus was often quoted within the bible saying, "I myself, say unto you". This would lead us to believe that he spoke under his own authority, and on the authority of the Father. Jesus can be thought of as a messenger. In the Old Testament, prophets told the future and truths about God. In viewing a prophet as a messenger of the future, Jesus imparted the news of the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 21:20 - 22). Not only could he be considered as a messenger, but he was able to "read events and see them in God's way" (Hayes, 99). This would make him a visionary. Jesus was a man of the present. Through use of his vision, he could be called a social prophet. He challenged the patriarchal, purity, and dominion system that were in place during his time. He violated the purity system by healing those that were no longer recognized or considered unclean. He spoke with women, and considered them part of his group. Jesus utilized an open table fellowship in a time when eating was a political act, and it mattered with who you ate. It could be said that he was advocating for a different social outlook by challenging the current system (Howard). It is upheld that God was present in his divine yet human form as Jesus Christ to discuss with clarity his revelations for a new creation of mankind during his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1 - 2). It is believed by Christians that this served as a commentary for the Ten Commandments.The spirit was at work in Jesus. In saying "I myself, say unto you", brings up the issue of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is belief in God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. The argument is that God can be spoken of as one person or spoken of as three. Trinity means "three in oneness". So, in speaking of Jesus, you are speaking of not one but three people. It can be said that the spirit was at work in him. Through miracles that he performed, i.e. bringing the dead back to life, (Luke 7:13 - 16), he can be considered as much more than a simple prophet.Jesus performed actions that shook, aroused, intrigued, and caused people to change (Hayes, 100). His actions in the temple were anti-purity acts, which upset the people there to buy and sell to the elite (Mark 11:15 - 19). He aroused the masses through speaking the Word of God to one and all, but in doing so aroused the suspicion and anger among the Pharisees. He inspired vision (Mark 1:14 - 18), enabled others to act (Mark 3:13 - 15), and modeled the way (John 8:3 - 11).In most references within the Bible, Jesus has not spok en anything of prophesy but is being named thus. Jesus was chiefly talked about as if he was a pebble in the pond, and because of his birth, the ripples or effects of what came afterward led to the fulfillment of prophesies from the Old Testament. Jesus and his existence must be looked at from the angle as to how he fulfilled prophecy, if He is to be seen as a prophet in all aspects.In the Old Testament, numerous references to the coming of the Messiah sparked what is called Messianic Prophesy, which lists