Daily Dialogue — July 25, 2017

Truman: [to an unseen Christof] Who are you?
Christof: [on a speaker] I am the Creator — of a television show that gives hope and joy and inspiration to millions.
Truman: Then who am I?
Christof: You’re the star.

— The Truman Show (1998), written by Andrew Nicol

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Television.

Trivia: According to a 2008 New York Times article, psychologists in Britain and the U.S. reported a number of people experiencing “Truman Syndrome” or “the Truman Show delusion,” the belief that they are the unwitting star of their own reality TV show. Reportedly, many of those afflicted have specifically mentioned the film while in therapy. More recently, on September 16, 2013, the detailed account of one Ohio student who suffered for years from the Truman-Show delusion is documented in the New Yorker magazine article, “Unreality Star,” by Andrew Marantz.

Dialogue On Dialogue: There are obvious parallels here to the Book of Genesis story about God dealing with Adam and Eve, only here instead of casting them out of Eden, Man (Truman) elects to leave ‘paradise’.