Fang Renhe, Class 2, Senior 1, Shenzhen Foreign Languages School Instructed by Li Furong Imagine a seemingly absurd scene: You are the main character of a soap opera, but you don’t know anything of it. All your acquaintances are actually actors and actresses. Though it sounds ridiculous and terrifying, that’s what the movie “The Truman Show” is about. Truman, the hero of the film, is a warm-hearted middle-aged man and easy to get along with. He is married and works as a business manager in a company and living an ordinary life like all his neighbors. However, he has his own ambition, which is to go to Fiji with his beloved one. As he has an intense fear for the ocean (his father lost his life in the sea), he never turns it into reality. He enjoys his quiet, peaceful and comfortable life without knowing his life is actually arranged and filmed under cameras within a studio. One day, Truman comes across his “late” father on the street. Then he witnesses some strange behaviors of his wife, hears some weird sounds in the radio and experiences some abnormal accidents… Truman begins to grow suspicious of people around him. He senses something is wrong with his life and is pretty sure of his suspicions. After realizing that his whole life is a complete drama and he is only person who has been kept in the dark, Truman decides to take a risk and make a change. Having escaped the surveillance of dozens of cameras, he makes his way to the sea. When faced with a fierce wind and huge waves, this time he shows no fear and struggles to the door of the studio at last. Without any hesitation, he steps out of the door of the studio and into the real world. From that moment on, he is no longer a blindfolded character; he is able to embrace the genuine world. The town in which Truman once lived is what we refer to as “a comfort zone.”Actually, he could have chosen to remain in the zone, as most of us do today, even after discovering the truth. He could also have taken advantage of his fame and asked for more fortune. However, if he does that, he knows he would be nothing but a puppet of the film director. To Truman, a 30-year-long life journey is far from enough. He knows exactly what he wants and that his life must be in his own hands, whatever ups and downs he may experience. He also knows that a filtered photo may look gorgeous, yet it loses its natural beauty. This is what I have learned from the movie. The movie also places an emphasis on bravery and determination. Whatever we encounter in the future, we should never hesitate or lose heart. Escaping from the town may have seemed impossible for Truman, but he finally made it. | 