b. Simply by observing the characters in the film, we do not know their hearts; but at the same time, by their actions and words, we get clues about their motivations and beliefs.Giving actual examples from the film, discuss specific characters and what drives them to do what they are doing. Considering these motivations/actions (both good and bad), how do we see similar motivations/actions in our culture (either in general or specifically in our school)?
God gave us the desition to decide. Everyone loved Truman, because he was is a tv icon. Throughout the movie Truman starts to decide for himself rather than his wife telling him what to do like " You should leave in a couple weeks " ( referring to leaving for Fiji) The closer you get to the end of the movie he ( Truman) besides not to listen. Everyone in the movie besides Truman was an actor. It is almost impossible because they are acting the whole time, everyone besides Truman. Truman is driven to go to fiji by a girl he once had contact with. She was his first love, and that drove him to find her. He never loved his wife. It was as if he was just going through the motions. There's a lot of stuff and things that can pre-ocupi us and our lives like: the lunch line, we don't have to go through it to get our food but we choose to do because its what we are used to and most of us don't like change.
ReplyDeleteI think that a lot of the things we judge about are wrong, but I also think if we are judging someone or something in a positive way then i think there is a very good chance that we are right. For example if we see someone and we think that they look nice so they must be nice. Most of the time its a 50% chance that we are right and a 50% chance that we are wrong. But I still think that we should not judge.
ReplyDeleteI get what your trying to say, we can never really judge someone or something and be 100 percent right. What about people with lost of power in most stories. Almost all of the stories are of them being so mean, like the story of Cinderella. Her father dies and she is left with her step mother and sisters. There brats. They can put on different faces on different occasions. I feel like we all kinda do that. No matter how hard we try not to do that. We arnt perfect.
DeleteI think that C. Peistruup is right. We should not judge people from the outside. I think that in the movie and other movies you will see a lot of judging. I know in my case when I saw the people in the movie I thought that something was up. They all looked so perfect, but how did I guess this? I had just judged everyone in the movie by just their clothes.
DeleteI understand what you're saying about having a 50% chance on being correct about someone, but I don't think any of us will ever fully get to understand all of someone's thoughts and intentions. Everyone has their own world of thoughts and opinions and secrets they keep from everyone else, and if we're lucky maybe a handful of people will be able to see even a part of what they hide away. We can make assumptions about people, but we'll never fully know if we're right or not. Also, I disagree that making assumptions about someone is ever a good thing. Maybe you meet someone and think they're nice, but what if you make this assumption without getting to know the person and they turn on you and possibly even spread rumors about you? I've seen this happen various times especially among our class and people our age, so even if we're giving someone the benefit of the doubt we still shouldn't try to judge them without understanding who they really are.
DeleteHaley, I wasn't talking about their thoughts I was talking about how we judge them on the outward appearance. Sorry i should have said what i meant. But I really like what you said and I think that is all true. And i never said that we should judge them, I even said that by no means do I think we should judge any one. And it was just an example, i didn't mean that we should judge someone that way or at all.
DeleteThomas, I really didn't understand what you said, sorry, but i never said we can be right 100%, and i was talking about real life thing not in like a movie. I would love to talk to you more so I can try to understand what you meant.
DeleteWell i think we also see this happen in real life not only movies for example. I always see kids in our grade and others change personalities due to the audience. Like a guy would act like a complete jerk to another guy but when a teacher would walk by he would act like they where the best of friends.
DeleteI totally agree with C. Peistrup, no matter how hard we try to understand a person, we are never able to. When I first saw this movie I (for some reason) saw Truman as the liar. That just seemed like his personality, but then as the movie went on I soon realized that it wasn’t him who was the liar, but everyone else around him. This is an example of me judging Truman automatically. I was judging by what I see when the Lord judges the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).
DeleteChloe, I understood what you said about there's a 50% chance on being correct about someone. You gave the example that if someone looked nice they probably are nice. That's not true. Your example is being completely based on outward appearance and not on the heart. Scripture told us in the story of David that God doesn't want us to judge others by their outward appearance and that we should look at their hearts. Everyday people get judged for how their hair looks or what shoes their wearing but none of that matters. All the matters is if you have a personal relationship with Jesus not if you have swagger or look cool.
DeleteI totally agree Chloe. That's what I hate about the world today that's all we ever do. We judge and most of the time we are wrong about that person. So I can totally understand where you are coming from.
DeleteI also agree with Chloe in that if we see someone that looks like a nice person, we assume that they ARE a nice person. On the other hand, if we see someone with a green Mohawk and tattoos down their arms, most of us assume that that person is a punk, is mean, or something along those lines. The thing is is that what's on the inside is the only thing that matters. The class where Mr. Scott showed us the various pictures of people and had us think about what our judgments were really got me thinking about why we do this even though the Bible tells us not to. I guess that it is just because we can't resist sin because of the fall.
DeleteI agree with C. Peistrup. I think that it is wrong to judge, but I also think that there are ways that it will not be completely wrong. Sometimes I will see someone and I can think, "Wow she is really pretty or she seems really sweet" that is not bad, when it becomes bad is if I think "Wow she is so much nicer than me, I am not a good person, or she is a lot prettier than I am, because I'm really ugly" Judging people comes on different levels, but it usually is not good for your heart.
DeleteTo: C.Peinstrup,
DeleteI see what you're saying but I don't think it's correct. Looks are deceiving. For example, Satan himself was one of the most beautiful angels in heaven, yet he was the first one that we know about to defy God and want to take His place. Also in the world today sin looks attractive because it's what we've been born into, and also because Satan makes it look really attractive. Also going off your example from earlier, I have looked at people and said I don’t have anything in common with them, but when I finally meet them I find out that we basically have identical families or identical situations. You never truly know what someone or something is like until you have experienced them.
I agree that sometimes we can look at someone and make an assumption about them and it can be totally incorrect. Though that is the way of life we live in a broken world so we aren't always going to be one hundred percent correct because most of the time we actually end up being wrong. I know that I am frequently wrong about assumptions that I make. Yes, I think that judging people is wrong. It can lead to great disasters and the harm of others. You could look at someone wearing pigtails and a pink shirt and think they are innocent. Though you don't know that, you don't know who they are. They could be a robber and you wouldn't know because you judged her on her innocent girl look. So I agree with Chloe, Judging people is wrong. So many people in our society today do it that it has become a second nature to us. Its not unusual and sometimes we don't even know were doing it. It is a very sensitive subject
DeleteTruman, during one scene of the movie, has a flashback. In this remembrance he recalls the day he had met Sylvia, an unhappy actress who disagrees with the way the show is run. Truman’s immediate judgement on her was that she is pretty. He wants to get to know her better. At one point, they run off together. At the beach they ran off to, a car pulls up and the driver claims to be Sylvia’s father. As you most likely know, this man is not her father, yet Sylvia is kicked off the show for talking. This raises supspicions in Truman’s mind. He can not keep from thinking about her. He obsesses about her to the point that he made her face out of magazine clippings. Truman looks for her everywhere he went. While his judging of her is positive, it is still judging. You asked if this judgement and all judgments are fair, my answer to the second of the two is no. For the most part judgements and incorrect. In some cases I would say yes. In this case I would say yes. You also asked if the Lord wants us to make judgments, I would say yes and no. Yes, because he might want us to judge and evaluate ourselves. No, because we do not know other people's hearts and minds. Only God knows other people’s hearts and minds.
ReplyDeleteI really agrre ewith you when you sais that God wants us to judge and evaluate ourselves but not other people. I think we often times want to say that we don't have to evaluate ourselves because God doesn't want us judging other people. But I do not agree with you that that judgement was fair. I believe he was just trying to recall her face.
DeleteI hadn’t noticed or thought about anyone judging anyone in particular in this movie, until I came across this question. I knew that Truman was making assumptions into thinking that everyone was “out to get him”, he would look at people in the streets and possibly be thinking that they knew something that he didn’t (which I would have had the same reaction). I see it now, but I would not consider it judging someone, I would use the word apprehensive about everyone around him. The only judgment (an obvious one) that I saw was made, was how Truman saw the girl, Lauren, under the tree and in the library and immediately fell in love. Although that’s not judging someone in the way that we consider judgement, it is one way. Which leads me into saying that I believe that not all judgements are wrong. You can judge someone and assume something that is for your own protection. For example, if you are walking home from somewhere all alone and you see someone across the street walking with his hood up and his hands inside of his pockets. What would you think? What would you do? I would walk the other way and assume that his intentions were not good. That’s me judging him for what I feel like is my safety.
ReplyDeleteI agree with A.Holtzman that it is okay to make judgements that are for your own safety. I also think that because God judges us we are allowed to judge others. Now I know that what I just said sounds wrong. But, what if we had no judges or courts. Life would be chaotic. Judging is necessary in some cases but completely unnecessary in most cases. Such as, judging someone by what they look like, what they listen to, what they wear, etc. We judge people without even thinking about it. This kind of judging is not okay. Here is what the Bible says about it in Matthew 7:1-5: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
DeleteI think that judging was not supposed to be on earth because when God created the earth everything was perfect and there wasn't any judging. I do think that there shouldn't be judging, but it is part of our society and has almost even become second nature.
DeleteQuestion B:
ReplyDeleteMeryl did not want to be Truman's wife. She was angered by him and she did not like to be around him. She was either doing it for money, or for fame. If she was doing it for money, that would explain when Truman got mad at her, she screamed for somebody. However, if she was doing it for fame, she would never humiliate herself in front of a live audience for fame.
I think that the characters like Meryl and Truman's best friend judge Truman and think that he is just some guy that is stupid and would never figure out what they are doing, however, they under-estimate Truman. Their judgements are wrong and Truman proves that by escaping the show. I think that all of our judgements that are clouded by sin are incorrect. So, until we go to Heaven, we will never make a completely true judgement. We all expect the worst from people until we know them, so we can never make a true judgement until we go to Heaven.
ReplyDeleteChristof, was who i judged as greedy and heartless.He obsesses about making sure he gets high ratings and can control everything. I also think that he is heart less because he first thought he is an orphan it doesn't matter, not Mabye i can give him a family or home. I would say that all judgements are not fair to anyone. Meaning god is the only true judge in life. In some cases I would say yes. Because say God was leading you to be a jury or a judge then it could be okay as long as you do not judge th out ward appearance.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Emma, but I do not know that he said he was an orphan. Also I think he kept Truman only for the money. To take someone's life and throw it away is one thing. To take someone's life, throw it away, and turn it into profit. YOU ARE JUST CRUEL.
DeleteJ. Rahal, I thought the movie said that he was an orphan adopted by Christof and put in the show. I agree with you though when you said he kept him for the money. Because he show was the only thing Christof lived for, and he was the center of the show.
DeleteI think that the real judgments begin whenever Truman sees the makeup room behind the elevator. After that, he is suspicious of everyone, saying that they are watching him, questioning his wife on her odd behavior (advertising the coffee, etc.) and so on. The thing about all these judgments that Truman was making is that when you look at them, he was right about every one. He finds out that he is on a TV show and that his wife was in fact advertising the various household items. Although these judgments were right, I still don't think the Lord ever wants us to make any judgments because only He can see the heart. The main motive of Christof in my opinion was for the show to be successful. This is especially evident when he almost kills Truman just for the sake of the show! Another motive, this time Truman's, was to get to the bottom of everything. He goes crazy in the car ride with Meryl, almost killing both of them, just to try to escape the town. I don't really see any of these motives in real life because as far as I know, no movie/show director has tried to kill their star for the sake of the show and no one that I know of thinks that their life is a TV show.
ReplyDeleteI think that in the movie a lot of characters are judged. I think that E. Parres is right that God make the right judgements because he can look on the heart. In the movie though Truman starts to look at people with suspicion once he has found out the truth. I think that he starts to judge people because he can not look kon their heart like God can.
DeleteI agree with Evan that only God's judges are fair and just. He knows the heart and every detail of our lives. We sometimes can be right, but it is still wrong to judge. God does not give us the right to make decisions on whether someone else is good enough or not. God is a merciful judger. He gave us Jesus, because without Jesus we would be judged rightly and be sent to hell. If God judged like we judge others we would have no hope. I have to catch myself when judging others and think about how I have no room to be talking. The thought that I am worth nothing without God makes me double check my thoughts and actions. If I have God and someone else does not, that also does not make me a better more holy person. My attitude should be that we all need God and everyone is made in His image so we are all made equal.
Deletea. Truman sees his wife advertising this hot chocolate and always being perky and nice all the time. But this is a script. He starts thinking about how this is possible that she always knows what to say at each present moment. His judgment upon her is that she does not really love him but that she really doesn’t care because she is too much like a commercial. He is getting suspicious. His action was that he was going to kill her if she didn’t tell him the truth. I believe Truman was right to judge, but I don’t think his actions were appealing. I think it is ok to judge, but you have to be careful of your actions after because you can really hurt other people and make them feel about themselves if you don’t choose the right action.
ReplyDeleteb. Looking at Christof, his motivations are fame, wealth, and glory for his creation. He wanted to kill Truman so his TV show wouldn’t end. This is a hint at his heart because it shows he only cares about himself. We see this in girls because they will do anything like hurt other girls and gossip just so they can be popular. Friends would turn on friends just to put themselves out there to look cooler.
I think that before we can judge someone, we should judge ourselves because most of the time we are wrong about others lives. We will never fully understand what is going on in their life and whether it is affecting us or not. I think that if we assume the worst of people we will think that they are below us which is prideful, and a sin. In the movie the audience thinks highly of Truman just because of what he does. In that case they know everything that is going on in his life, but they do not know what is going on in his head or what he is thinking. I think that these judgements on anyone are unfair and wrong to both them and to you.
ReplyDeleteI think judging is something very normal in our culture. Every magazine, song, and movie judges us or leads us to judge others. We aren't as good as that model because she is gorgeous, or I'm better than that girl because she has no money. Those are some of the common thoughts in our culture. We want to look like the popular people and we want to be accepted. We base who we are on how we look. Truman instantly fell in love with a girl because of her beauty. He never stopped thinking about her. Even in Truman's world there were magazines dedicated to showing the bodies of flawless women. No one can go through life (except for Jesus) not feeling judged by their looks or judging others. It is sad how impossible it is to avoid. I would even go as far to say that we can not go a day without being judged or judging.
ReplyDeleteI really understand what you said about how no one can feel NOT judged. I've never really thought about it before, but constantly I am thinking about what other people think about me. There are almost no times when we feel like I am totally accepted by everyone and nobody in this world can harm me by what they think of me.
DeleteI was thinking about this question and I found it to be really hard to answer. I started to think about me judging people and even in this movie I was. Now obviously these are characters and not real people but I was definitely judging the viewers. I was thinking “My goodness what are they doing they are so mean and wow is that guy fat or wow they are lazy.” I realize that some of these characters were to add comedy and flavor to the movie but I would have done the same thing if it was a reality show. What I am saying is we live in such a judgemental culture that sometimes we do not know when we are judging and that can be dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI think that our judgmental thoughts can affect our outlook on life. even if we think someone is lazy or has low morals, we need to realize that their judgment from God is good. We judge people by the outside and that is not fair to them because we do not know what is going on in their lives. Not all judgments are wrong because sometimes we can assume right, but most of the time we are wrong because we judge from the inside when we should look at their heart. I think that God doesn’t want us to judge people because then we will compare them to ourselves, which causes us to be prideful.
ReplyDeleteA. Humans are judgmental creatures. We immediately pick out all the little things in people when we meet them: kind of shoes, clothing, are they athletic?, what they look like. These are wrong judgments. However, I do believe that we should make some judgments. We should know who to pick to hang around with and make the right decisions for us based on what we know about people.
ReplyDeleteB. One of the easiest people in the movie to understand is Christof. He is a power-hungry man who stops at nothing to earn a name for himself. He controlled Truman for 30 years just so that he could be rich and famous. In some ways at WCA, we can see this through people trying to do everything just to be cool.
These questions on appearance are really hard! I think one time a character made judgments based on the outward appearance was when Sophia called in to the Truman Show during interview. She called Christof a bunch of names and tried to free Truman. She obviously hates the man and sees him as evil. Another time I saw a character make judgments was when Truman judges his world as a normal and good thing. He just went through life as if everything was great, never saying verbally this is how the world should be, but he lived it. The last one I can remember was when Christof judges the worlds. He judged the real world, as in the one we all live in, as a terrible place. He judged his world as a place where all the evils of the outside world supposedly don’t exist. Some of the judgments the characters made were wrong and others were right. I think a few of the judgments we make are right, although most are dead wrong. For example, my parents decided where we would live by looking in an environment, not truly experiencing it first just looking at it, but they still made a good judgment. My parents also make judgments on how I feel by looking at my face and my demeanor. They definitely don’t always get it right, but sometimes they do make the correct judgments. The Bible verses I’ve read lead me to believe, that God doesn’t want us to judge at all. One passage was Matthew 7:1-5, it says “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” It’s very hard to live these verses out, we naturally judge people so that other people will pay attention to everyone else’s faults, instead of our own. Plus what you see in somebody else that you don’t like (the speck), is normally around the same something that you don’t like about yourself. Take one of my pet peeves for example. I hate when I have someone going in front of me very slowly. It drives me nuts, because I hate when I go so slow I hold everybody else up. Though it’s a simple example it’s one that helps me remember not to judge people, because I hate being judged. I know God hates when we judge each other. In fact in Romans 14:4 says: “4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.” To us this could mean: “Who are you to judge people, you are just as bad and sinful as they are?! They are going to be judged by their master anyway during the rapture.”(I see the masters as Satan and God, and God making them stand as the rapture.) So, yes God totally hates when we make judgments and He really doesn’t want us to.
ReplyDeleteOne of the characters in the Truman Show that stuck out to me was Truman's best friend Marlon. Even though I don't know Marlon's heart I can tell that he really cares for Truman because when he had to tell Truman that he would never lie to him, He started crying. Since he started crying it made me think about how hard it probably was for Marlon to say that to his best friend, who he is not supposed to lie to. Another example would be when Trumans ex-lover tries to tell Truman that he is living in a fake world. She is trying so hard to get to him and he just cant get close enough to understand She obviously must feel awful inside and she wants to helo Truman out so he can live his own life. The way he wants it.
ReplyDeleteA) In this movie, I didn't really notice people outwardly judging each other. There was the occasional comment of "you're beautiful" or "you look awfully handsome today. Also, for all we know, the characters could be judging each other "in there heads". I know that more often than not, if I'm judging someone, I don't say it aloud for everyone to hear.
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