“The Truman show” for Michael Jackson and his audience

Someone asked us if we had access to exclusive or non-redacted FBI files. I answered that we didn’t. The specific feature of this site is that we are not using any exclusive sources. All our sources are completely there in the open for everyone to see and analyze. The only thing you need for them is the desire to really look and study.

It is an absolute marvel to have all these possibilities open and freely available for doing research. Carrying out a small investigation of your own in such circumstances is a sheer thrill. What’s the point of reading fictional detective stories when you are given a chance to not only read, but actually take part in a real investigation, unraveling all those mysteries around Michael Jackson?

At the beginning I took up every new source of information about Michael with some fear – what if I find facts incriminating him? Though each attempt to enter those dark waters required bracing myself for the job, the desire to learn the truth was much bigger and the realization that this was the only way to know the truth finally prevailed.

However the more I looked, the more surprised I was to see that all those sordid stories were mere sand castles or speculations with nothing real to back them up with. Their primary aim was to shock you with some “glaring” horrible facts which were meant to baffle, confuse you and avert you from ever even trying to look any further –  however if you overcame the initial repulsion and did have a look, you were rewarded with uncovering another of their lies and learning the innocent truth.

As your confidence continued to build up there came a moment when you started realizing that even the worst of lies which looked completely unbeatable at first sight would be refuted one day – you only needed to be patient, continue research and never allow yourself to doubt Michael’s innocence. You went different ways in search of the truth and tried this and that, discarded the result of many hours of work, went back and started everything anew and though the process was really tiresome the thrill of finally finding the truth was incomparable to anything you had ever experienced before.

With so many facts of Michael Jackson’s innocence on your hands you were amazed that some people still believed  the nasty tales about him from Michael’s haters. All the facts that you examined turned out to be nothing but blatant lies – however your opponents persisted in their hatred towards Michael, defying all human logic and ignoring numerous facts of his innocence. Their insistence on all those absurdities was so great, so illogical and so inexplicable that this fact alone began to make you wonder…

It was then that I remembered the 1998 “Truman show” movie where a constructed TV reality was broadcast 24-hours-a-day to billions of people across the globe. The spectacular show revolved around one man who didn’t know he had been playing the main part for thirty years since his birth and that everything around him was artificial – his friends, relatives and colleagues were actors following the instructions of the genius creator of the show. The main character thought he was living his life for real while the actors were actually only using his life for advertising products they were consuming or wearing in the show.

Even before remembering that film I had a strange feeling that Michael’s life was also turned a kind of a show, a public lesson, or at least a game arranged by someone bored and aspiring to the role of a great world entertainer.

The gist of the Michael Jackson game is that its organizers arranged a thrilling harassment campaign of one man while the audience was supposed to enjoy it, take an active part in it, get distracted by it, swallow the lies repeatedly told by the cast and try to solve the mystery of the story.

Understanding it right was intentionally made difficult – the bulk of all arguments was on their side and he had only his single voice to testify for himself, but in spite of all their effort something was still making you think that they were not telling you the whole truth.

The doubt was there because small bits of truth were left in the open and everyone could see them if they wanted to. This was the greatest trick of the game – telling only lies about the man was not in the best interests of the producers as it would strip the show of all its suspense – so for those viewers who really wanted to know, some clues were left here and there and real facts were sprinkled over all the picture. The whole idea of the game was whether the audience would be attentive and finally notice. The organizers were probably even betting between themselves – “Will they notice? I bet they are too lazy for that …”

God-like Christof is monitoring Truman’s life from the lunary studio

Yes, Michael Jackson’s story definitely reminds me of the “The Truman show” where its great creator, who was monitoring the show from no other place but the Moon, said to the viewers something like “if he wants to learn the truth he’ll find a way to do it”.

Only in the movie Jim Carrey’s character was fictional and lived a life of quiet, stability and comfort until he finally got out of it, while Michael Jackson was a real human being who could really feel the terrible pain of the cruel game played with him.

The Michael Jackson reality show was torturous, ruthless and deadly for its hero and a great, degrading thrill for its spectators. And as the game evolved, neither the main character nor the viewers knew that they were taking part in it, especially since no one ever bothered to explain them its rules.

And the rules were most probably very simple – you just needed to be attentive and take everything presented to you with a grain of salt. The producers of the show evidently even expected such interaction with their audience as otherwise they wouldn’t have left all those clues, traces and true documents  lying freely around. With such a marvellous arrangement of the show it is highly doubtful that they turned out to be sloppy and leave so many true facts for the audience to see.

What a shame we didn’t pay attention to those facts before and never voiced our protest over them – the man could have been alive now if we had…

Now that Michael Jackson has left the stage the show is still going on with the remaining actors still there. Is there a chance we will ever notice that all this was just not for real – with the media and other main actors just doing their job?

Truman was watched by the public even in the bathroom

The way the movie is described Michael Jackson could very well be a prototype for the movie the idea of which initially appeared in 1991.

• “Andrew Niccol completed a one-page film treatment titled The Malcolm Show in May 1991. The original draft was more in tone of a science fiction thriller with the story set in New York City. Niccol stated, “I think everyone questions the authenticity of their lives at certain points. It’s like when kids ask if they’re adopted”….

• He’s the star of the show–but he doesn’t know. Jim Carrey wowed critics and audiences alike as unwitting Truman Burbank in this marvel of a movie from director Peter Weir about a man whose life is a nonstop TV show. Truman doesn’t realize that his quaint hometown is a giant studio set run by a visionary producer/director/creator (Ed Harris), that folks living and working there are Hollywood actors, that even his incessantly bubbly wife is a contract player. Gradually, Truman gets wise. And what he does about his discovery will have you laughing, crying and cheering like few film stories ever have.

• 

  Truman’s wife advertises products as the ratings grow

  His wholesome hometown of Seahaven is really a vast soundstage equipped with 5,000 hidden cameras. His friends, neighbors, even his toxically cheerful wife (Laura Linney) are all actors, genuine as Nauga hyde. But Truman has yet to figure it out because it’s the only world he’s ever seen. He’s grown up on television.

• In a way, the same thing could be said for the rest of us, which is exactly the point of this cautionary fable superbly directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol.”

About the plot of “The Truman show”

The movie picks up on Day 10,909 of Truman’s life. It starts in the style of a television program, with opening credits and interviews of three main characters: Christof (the program’s creator), Meryl (Truman Burbank’s wife), and Marlon (Truman’s best friend). Throughout the film, footage of Truman is interspersed with scenes of people in the real world watching The Truman Channel. 

 His friends and family focus their efforts to control his growing unrest and questions about his life. Truman begins to piece events together that increasingly indicate to him that there is some kind of plot involving his entire life, though he is unable to verbalize what exactly it is. He begins to suspect “everyone’s in on it.”

He spots his wife crossing her fingers in a wedding photograph and notices that she is constantly showing up with great new items. After an argument and a struggle, she declares, sobbing, that she “can’t work under these conditions, it’s not professional!” and leaves him (and the show).

His best friend Marlon

His friend Marlon, being coached by the TV producer through an earpiece, insists on his loyalty and honesty, claiming “you’re the closest thing I have to a brother” and, ironically, “the last thing I would ever do is lie to you.” He then brings forward Truman’s “father” in a moving reintroduction scene.

A TV interview with the show’s producer Christof reveals that Truman was in fact adopted at birth by the television corporation and raised in a constructed stage set built as the entire town in which he lives. He reveals that everyone Truman encounters – friends, family, acquaintances, and bystanders – are in fact actors employed by The Truman Show producers. Christof acknowledges that he has orchestrated Truman’s entire life.

Despite his wife leaving, he still intends for him to father a baby with a new love; “the first on-air conception.” This way the program can branch out onto a second channel. Sickeningly, this would create another prisoner within Christof’s world.

He states that the reason Truman has never discovered the truth is simple: “We accept the world with which we’re presented.”

He declares arrogantly that Truman simply does not want to discover the truth; that he prefers his “prison cell” and will never leave. As if to prove this, back in the program, Truman appears to be back to normal.

But while Truman pretends to be asleep, he sneaks away from his home and goes sailing to escape Seahaven, despite his fear of the open sea. All of the cast members are called out for an emergency search to find Truman and to help the search, Christof orders the sun to rise three hours early and light the set. They discover Truman is escaping by boat.

“You can’t kill  him on live television”

Christof creates a major storm to drive him back. Some of his co-workers protest that they can’t kill Truman on live television, but Christof, convinced that he has complete control over Truman, says “He was born on live television.”

However, Truman survives the storm and continues to sail until he hits a wall painted like the sky, the edge of the show’s set. Truman follows the wall until he discovers a door labeled exit. He opens the door, but before he leaves Christof talks to him through a loudspeaker in a last effort to make him stay. He shows a god-like compassion for Truman, telling him that he’s watched him all his life, “There is no more truth out there, than there is in the world I created for you,” says Christof.

After Christof is through talking to Truman, Truman says his famous line, “In case I don’t see ya… good afternoon, good evening, and good night!”, bows, then walks out the door. 

UPDATED April 29, 2011

To my total amazement my guess that the “Truman show” movie was based on Michael Jackson’s life was absolutely correct!

I’ve found some articles quoting the director of the film as saying that Michael Jackson was a prototype for Truman.  Both of them were treated as objects by the entertainment industry – but this is not the only connection….

I made this discovery when reading Spanish posts in mjhideout.com. Here is an article translated from Spanish by Google and though the translation is awful I hope its essence will still be clear:

“An interview with Hollywood director Peter Weir has revealed that the 1998 film “The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey, was based on the life of the King of Pop.

“With ‘The Truman Show’ and ‘Simone’ my intention was to leave a message to the public. If you see ‘The Truman Show’ and, I mean, Jim Carrey did a fantastic job, Michael Jackson is Truman. He is the person that I was based and is close to Truman. He embodies the ridicule of the celebrity culture. It does not take the negative side, it is an insult to that person.

The connection between Michael and Truman is simple – both have a heart and are treated by people as objects in the world of entertainment. And this is not the only connection. ”

“Let me explain. There is a scene in ‘Simone’ in which the Oscar nominations are prevalent in the headlines about the Middle East war and a bombing of a school. This is considered in today’s society as perfectly acceptable. Do you really value most people in the world of entertainment over the life of other human beings? “I find it absurd and so I decided to address this issue.”

http://mjhideout.com/forum/noticias-y-rumores/14802-show-de-truman-show-de-michael-jackson.html

The media has shown how to perfectly kill on live television

The same interview is mentioned by Popdirt. com:

Peter Weir in an interview, revealed that the 1998 movie, ‘The Truman Show’ was based on Michael Jackson.

“You watch The Truman Show and, I mean, Jim Carrey did a fantastic job, but Michael Jackson is Truman. He’s who I based him on and he is the nearest thing to Truman.”

Weir also says the movie ‘Simone’ was based on Michael. “And Michael Jackson, he is also the real life Victor in ‘Simone’. He had a talent and all he wanted was to share this and bring people happiness and escapism through entertainment. And people turn it around, they make it about the individual rather than the creation. It is the actual films, the actual music – that’s what it’s all about… People lose sight of this and the media make it all about the celebrity.”http://popdirt.com/the-truman-show-based-on-michael-jackson/9310/

Turman managed to get out of the show. Michael lived in it until his last day

I’ve also found out that the original script of the Truman show ended in a tragedy, however for the actual movie it was rewritten to have a happy end.

Remembering that the slandered, harassed and beaten-to-death Michael Jackson died only at the age of 50 it turned out that the initial variant of the script was much closer to life.

Another thing I’ve found is that the producer of the “Truman show” movie is Richard Luke Rothschild, or one of the family.  Could he be giving us a hint as to what games the people of power are playing and how they are enjoying themselves on a grand and truly cosmic scale?

*  *  *

And this is what the public says about the movie  (they do not know yet that the prototype is Michael Jackson):

• “A phrase that caught my attention in the film was Meryl’s comment that Truman actually wants to become an adolescent again. Ironically, Truman seems to have not reached that mental maturity within his life despite his physical growth. He in essence is a man-child.  In ways I can relate to his desires to escape his confined environment and seek true freedom. However, I felt these desires when I was a teenager.”

• Every aspect of Truman’s world is an elaborate fabrication, from the specifically placed products to his family and friends. Yet the most important person in Truman’s life is someone that he has never met. Christof, the creator of the Truman Show, controls the people, events, and even the weather in Truman’s world. Christof is perhaps the character that generates the strongest feeling of the uncanny in the film mainly because of the amount of power he has.

  Christof’s role in this film could, in a way, be seen as the role of god. In this sense, Christof is both loved and feared for his role in this world. Everyone obeys his every wish, and follows the plan he has laid out for them. He even chooses what people say to Truman. The actors obviously don’t view him as a god, but it is an interesting parallel. At the end of the movie, the first time Truman ever speaks with his “creator”, the dialogue is reminiscent of an encounter from the bible where god calls out from the heavens. One can only imagine what Truman would feel in such a situation as he has just reached the end of the earth, and is now being called to from an unseen powerful voice from above.

• The characters outside Truman’s world have effects on several levels of comprehension to make their presence at once comforting and uncomfortable.  They are people who are fans of the Truman Show; watching Truman and the actors in his life. We also understand them as actors playing people watching actors playing people on a TV show. We further understand them as characters which we watch: we are people watching actors play people who watch other actors play people in Truman’s world, in which they maintain the act for him.

It is this expanding understanding that makes us uncomfortable in that it draws us into the movie’s matrix of surveillance. As we expand our appreciation of who is watching who and who is acting for who, we become aware of the movie’s reference to our relationship to the content and people we watch on television, film, and computers. Simultaneously, the characters we see watching the Truman Show are the most endearing because they are the most easy to relate to since they represent the anybodies of the world, a group we belong to.

Our empathy for them is linked to the ability of these outside characters to represent for us the heartfelt authenticity in the movie, which itself is so focused on reality’s mutability. “We accept the reality that is given to us” says Christof, explaining why Truman hadn’t doubted his constructed reality earlier.

• In 1998, “reality TV” had not yet become a reality. Television was still governed by good old sitcoms like Boy Meets World, Dawson’s Creekand Friends. By 2007, we have witnessed: Survivor, The Bachelor, Big Brother, American Idol, The Apprentice, etc. Prying into the real emotions, secrets, insecurities, and lives of normal everyday people has become a disturbing yet acceptable reality. What these shows have in common however, is the willingness of the “nobodies” to knowingly and consciously permit “reality TV” to broadcast their lives to millions.

• 

  What right does the media have to take a baby and turn his life into a mockery?

  What differs with The Truman Show is that the star is born to the show; he has no idea that he lives a fictional life that is watched constantly by millions of strangers, and the greatest overarching uncanny fact is that the world has allowed for a baby to be born to media. Truman, “the first child to be legally adopted” by a television show, manipulates and imprisons an innocent life for the entertainment of others. What right does media have to “take a baby and turn his life into a mockery?”

• Also the malign inversion occurs when the network executive warns, “For God’s sake, Chris! The whole world is watching. We can’t let him die in front of a live audience!”  To which Christof responds, “He was born in front of a live audience.”This sudden transformation of the Creator into the Destroyer shows the disturbing complete control that media has on Truman’s life. His unwilling and unknowing birth into a television show was just a matter of arriving on schedule for the pilot episode.

• “The proximity of this film to today’s reality cause the same disturbance generated by the uncanny valley. Our society has already produced twisted people out of child celebrities, raised in the entertainment business (Michael Jackson for example) but never to the extent of being unknowingly and literarily born to media… but perhaps that is just a matter of time.”

No, it is not a matter of time. The biggest world reality show has already taken place and was  broadcast for almost 50 years of Michael Jackson’s life.

Moreover, it is still going on.