A white picket fence and 2.5 children is the standard model of the American dream. Niccol’s original idea of a gritty drama would have fit perfectly with other 1990s films where characters doubted their reality (e.g., The Matrix and Dark City). Trumans world is meant to be a utopia were Truman is living the American Dream. In a way, some of these celebrities are becoming prisoners of the fame they created, so they must think of ways to escape. Join Now Log in Home Literature Essays The Truman Show Alexis de Toqueville vs The Truman Show Democracy in America Alexis de Toqueville vs The Truman Show Anonymous College. According to Niccol, famed thriller director, Brian De Palma, was in line to direct the film, but once Carrey showed interest in the project, De Palma dropped out because he didn’t think Carrey was right for the role of Truman Burbank. The concept of the American Dream is present in the popular 1998 movie The Truman Show. Like George Bailey, Truman Burbank’s childhood dream is to be an explorer that travels the world. In this episode, we are headed to Kansas City and we're featuring Angie Ripley. And like George, Truman is met with obstacles throughout his life that prevent him from this dream. After reading countless script that he felt were predictable and derivative, Australian director Peter Weir asked his manager to send him the “broken scripts.” That’s when the script for The Truman Show came into his possession. He sought to shed the image he had built upon for so long and step into a new world. One of the primary ironies exhibited in the Truman Show is the dichotomy between the ways the respective forms of escapism present themselves in each Truman and his loyal audience. And that’s what Carrey was seeking. He saw contemporary shows like Seinfeld and shows from the 1950s like I Love Lucy or Ozzie and Harriet as examples of how “fantasy and real-life overlap.” These were shows were real-life actors were playing fictionalized versions of themselves. We have been drilled by our families and mass media to activley pursue the depicted American Dream. Characters in his films obtained their version of the American Dream. Frank Capra was a filmmaker who became synonymous with the American Dream during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Follow. For some, the American Dream is the journey. Overall, there’s probably a few different ideas to the American Dream. Easy-going insurance salesman Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is the star of the most popular reality show in the history of television known as “The Truman Show”. This idea would eventually come through in the script when he asked Niccol to change the setting of from rainy New York to a Norman Rockwell-esque Florida beach community. This is a show centered on positive media with real estate lifestyle and culture. However, Christof’s synthetic stereotype of suburban America relies heavily on striving for material well being, basically marketing the American dream as a product that people can purchase. Still, after researching, Seahaven Island is the American Dream. The film even has a disorder named after it. Like George Bailey, Truman Burbank’s childhood dream is to be an explorer that travels the world. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Jefferson Smith (played by James Stewart) stands up to corruption and wins. The whole idea of Seahaven being the American dream is changing to a nightmare for Truman because of his dreams clashing with a reality TV show. In It’s a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra shows George’s American Dream as the real thing George just didn’t realize it. The Truman Show is the antithesis of It’s a Wonderful Life. If he stays, then he is choosing comfort and normalcy, a picturesque American Dream. 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