Edit my essay

tropical_pink · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 6:42 pm Post subject: Edit my essay

So I just did this draft essay and I need someone to edit it. Any help or advice at all would be nice! Thanks in advance!

The Truman Show demonstrates how reality TV prevents people from living their own life because they are caught up in the “reality” of TV. In The Truman Show, the viewers are obsessed with Truman’s life and choose to live vicariously through the television character. Instead of taking chances and making adventures of their own lives’, people across North America rely on the characters in television shows to live their life for them.
Truman is placed in complicated situations in order to get a certain reaction from him. In the beginning the actor that plays Truman’s best friend, Marlon, talks about the set. Marlon says, “It is not fake, nothing is fake, it is merely controlled.” He is referring to the set that is Truman’s life. Although Marlon claims that Truman’s life is not phony, the people in his life are all actors. The only thing that is genuine is Truman’s reaction to the set up situations. So even though Truman is a real person with real feelings and reactions, he is controlled by the circumstances that the actors put him in. The viewers believe that they are watching a reality TV show, but because Truman’s life is so unreal and controlled, they are watching a charade.
The media uses reality TV to manipulate and control peoples’ attitude and actions. Christophe, the creator of The Truman Show, uses certain scenarios to get the reaction from the audience that he needs. In one particular scene, Christophe makes Truman believe that his dad has died. His explanation for doing this is to keep Truman from exploring, but his choice to eliminate Truman’s father also influences the viewers at home. The audience is riveted by the reality show and prospect of an actual death occurring. Christophe knows that by having drama in Truman’s life, he will have more successful ratings. To create a certain appeal with the audience, the maker of the show produces manipulated scenes with actors. Truman’s everyday life is an example of the operation that Christophe has put together. Almost everyday, Truman wakes up in a “perfect world” where his neighbors always greet him with a cheery, “Good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight.” Viewers at home want to see Truman in high spirits because their own lives lack perfection. By viewing Truman have success and happiness, they too can share his feelings. Christophe knows that by presenting Truman’s up and downs, he will draw more viewers in and as a result, his broadcast will become more popular.
Near the end of the film, Truman outsmarts Christophe and the other producers by escaping. He sets up a dummy and a recording of himself snoring. While everyone believes he is asleep in the basement, Truman escapes and takes a sailboat to explore the water. Christophe soon realizes that Truman is acting peculiar, and sends Marlon over to check on him. As soon as Marlon pulls the covers back, Truman is no where to be found and Christophe, unable to find his “creation”, cuts the live connection for the first time. When the connection to the reality show is cut, people panic and go into turmoil without Truman’s life broadcast 24/7. This display of frustration from the audience demonstrates how obsessed the viewers are with watching Truman’s life and reality TV in general. After Truman is found, the live broadcast is reconnected and the viewers are once again, glued to the TV screen. The spectators watch as Christophe tries to drown Truman in an attempt to keep him on the set. After the drowning fails, Christophe talks to him and tries to convince Truman that life on a controlled set is much better than the real world. Truman decides to see for himself and after the first step into the real world, the transmission of Truman’s life is cut forever. Instead of the audience living their own life now that they cannot live through Truman’s, they flick the channel and ask, “What else is on?” All across North America, people are choosing to watch a stranger on a glowing screen fail and succeed rather than experiencing their own disappointments and accomplishments.
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DeadDisco · Posted: Wed Apr 30, 2008 9:26 pm Post subject:

I think that was really well done.
I didn't notice any grammatical errors.
The only thing I might change is the use of "Truman." His name comes up in every other sentence, so it gets a little repetitive, but I don't know a better way of phrasing it without using his name so that it still sounds good.
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Tick tock, you're not a clock
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