Character Analysis: Meryl Burbank

Meryl Burbank, Truman Burbank’s wife, played an important role in The Truman Show.  She started the movie as being Truman’s totally normal wife, but as the story progresses, she created the doubt that led to Truman’s ultimate discovery that his whole life he had been living a lie.  The problems arose from the fact that she was an actress trying to play the role of a real wife to Truman.  Her name was actually Hannah Gill, but, while in character, she was supposed to have a baby with Truman.  She also did things like blatantly advertise products for the show right in front of Truman which helped fuel his doubt.

While Meryl was pushing Truman towards the breaking point, she was also being pushed to her breaking point.  Meryl occasionally committed acts that made it seem like Truman was being controlled.  For instance, when Truman talked about leaving SeaHaven for Fiji, she immediately began to subtly discourage the idea.  She also randomly talked to the audience about products, and since Truman had no idea who she was talking to, it seemed fishy to Truman.  Ultimately, when Truman saw she had her fingers crossed in their wedding picture (implying the marriage was null), he hit the breaking point and began to test her to see if everything he knew was real.

Truman’s tests began when Meryl came home to find Truman sitting in his car.  He proceeded to predict everyone that was walking around their block in order and noted that it is curious that the same people would just go around the block continuously.  Truman then recklessly drove around SeaHaven attempting to get off the island with Meryl as she tried to talk him down.  The pressure began to build with Meryl as she couldn’t stand Truman and felt that her life was beginning to be at risk.  Her pressure came to a head when Truman took out the knife and continued to act wildly.  As he approached her, the fear grew, and when he touched her she shouted out, “Do Something.”  At this point, Marlon came in to help her out, which confirmed for Truman that he was indeed living a lie.

Meryl through this whole time was in a tough place.  She was living a lie as much as Truman because she had to be Truman’s wife in all facets.  Unfortunately for her, she knew it was all fake.  Buber can diagnose the overarching problem between her and Truman.  Meryl sees Truman from an I-it relationship standpoint, whereas Truman sees her with an I-you relationship.  What this means is that, for Meryl, Truman was just a way to get a paycheck.  She couldn’t see him as a person because she knew that everything and everyone he came into contact with was “controlled.”  In a world that was controlled, she had to deal with the one variable.  She also had to love someone who, in her mind, wasn’t real.  She had to carry out orders that would make her fake.  For instance, she was supposed to have a baby with Truman.  Why would she want to have a baby with someone she didn’t love?  The answer is she really didn’t, and her being taken off the show was helpful in that she is liberated from living the lie.  Her whole life, she was living in a world of I-It relationships.  It would be hard to live through a large portion of your life, and not be able to be attached to anything because you know it isn’t real.

Meryl’s character is eventually dismissed because she can’t handle the continued pressure of living a lie.  She was as shackled in that dome as Truman was.  She couldn’t start a life of her own when she was making a fake one with Truman.  After she left, we wonder whether the paycheck was worth it to live that long in Truman’s world, but we ultimately don’t know.

Jack Skaggs

Character Analysis: Christof

Christof (Ed Harris), the director and creator of The Truman Show, displays qualities of being both a genius and an exploiter. Christof creates the most successful television show in the world based on the concept of following the life of Truman Burbank from his birth to his death. He constructs an illusionary world for Truman to live in by creating a massive set and hiring actors. He produces and designs a reality for Truman to exist in. Christof, although a creative mastermind in television production, alienates Truman by treating him as a commodity rather than a person.

During an exclusive interview, Christof describes how Truman came to be the star of the acclaimed television show. He explains that of five babies, all from unwanted pregnancies, Truman was the first to be born. He was adopted by the television corporation and was immediately put in front of the cameras. The 30-year run on the television show generates a yearly income that is greater than the gross national product of some small countries. Christof has developed the use of product placement throughout the show to generate profits. The entire show that Christof has created is done so at the expense of Truman. Christof choose the life that Truman was forced to live, and has manipulated every aspect of his life for profits. Truman is treated as a commodity not as a human and Christof is to blame. Any and every person that Truman has ever known or loved, including his wife, parents, and best friends, was all plotted and controlled by Christof.

This way in which Christof treats Truman would be cause for serious concern to philosopher, Martin Buber. In Buber’s book “I and Thou,” he examines human life as it relates to society. Buber asserts that exteriority plays a larger role than other philosophers may have believed. He holds beliefs that humans are all connected to one another. Human’s are not self-sufficient beings, but rather require others to gain an understanding of him or herself. Buber also explains that there are two styles of comportment to other beings in the world, I-Thou and I-It. I-Thou is living one’s life through encounter. In other words, we begin a relationship with a being or object and see it as a whole. We can value this being for all that it is and has to offer. I-It, however, is the breakdown of a being into its sums. When this I-It relationship exists, the being is not seen for all that it is. Distinguishing these comportments is crucial for Buber’s idea known as “the sickness.” Buber believes that humans live in an age of alienation due to everyone treating others as I-It. People do not see each other for their whole beings, but rather only parts of who they are. Christof is a prime example of a human who has “the sickness” based on the way he treats Truman.

In an effort to continue his television show, Christof views Truman in the I-It style. Christsof is willing to force Truman into total alienation. He hires actors and actresses who are only ever able to see Truman in the I-It style. Truman is no more than an object that they trick and control simply to make a profit. Christof’s obsession to continue the show without considering its consequences to Truman proves Christof has only a partial view of Truman. Christof exploits Truman by treating him only as a commodity rather than a person.

Despite his ingenuity in television broadcasting, Christof is a part of “the sickness.” He embodies Buber’s notion of being a person who only looks at the I-It in life. Christof is a self-centered and selfish character. He does not view Truman and his entire being, as a human, but rather as a way to create success. Truman is alienated due to Christof’s selfishness. Christof is responsible for continuing “the sickness” that is alienation.

Katie Gallagher