Rewatching Truman Show For The First Time In A Long Time, And The Detail Thats Stuck With Me This Time

Rewatching Truman Show for the first time in a long time, and the detail that’s stuck with me this time is the set design.

The characters drive modern cars and hock modern products, but it’s all presented with a veneer of 1950s wholesome applecheeked Americana. Truman’s life is presented as an escape for the audience from the drudgery of the modern day, and the aesthetic they’ve chosen for this is the post-war economic boom. This is the simple time, the movie says. This is the good time. Doesn’t the modern day suck? Let’s go back and see our friends from the days when life was good.

And it’s a lie. Truman’s life is a lie, and the image of white picket fenced suburbia they’ve presented is a lie. It’s an elaborate construction to recreate a false memory that’s comfortable for advertisers. The movie is a satire, but it’s also a very blatant statement against the nostalgia for a golden age which never existed. It’s a lie. It doesn’t exist.

I don’t know. I’m spitballing. I’m biased because I despise mid-20th century Americana and I naturally treat it with hostility, but it’s very gratifying to see a movie kind of agree with me.

cinematic parallels

I have so many ideas for my trollssona it drives me fucking NUTS

THIS OH MY GOD

I’ve got more to say about Trolls y’all.

I get it, John Dory isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but dang it can someone please acknowledge the fact that he’s the ONLY ONE who openly admitted he TRIED to come back to Branch?! Not only that, but dude thought that Branch was DEAD for who knows how long! Clay was theoretically STILL IN THE TREE when they were escaping Bergen Town! How else would he and Viva had ended up at the golf course together unless he was with or saved by her when they left. Floyd PROMISED Branch he’d come back and he never even tried to, or at least didn’t admit to it.

Canonically, John Dory is the ONLY ONE who did. He was trying so hard the entire movie just to make sure everyone was okay, even if he came across as bossy or controlling, his main goal was always helps his bros be the best they could be and protect them. He had ZERO ulterior motives. He wasn’t even the first one to quit, just the first to leave!

Anywho, that’s all. 😂

gordon getting his ass beat stimboard