By Ricky Roubique (Originally written in August of ‘05)

Recently, one of my favorite movies aired on television and although I’ve seen it a few times, watching it this last time resulted in somewhat of an epiphany, particularly as it amazingly mirrors the state in which I resided before leaving the choking constraints of the organized church.

The Truman Show, starring Jim Carey as the innocent subject (Truman Burbank) of a cruel experiment that he knows nothing about and one in which his life has been under the excruciating glare of thousands of cameras that has chronicled his life from shortly after his conception through adulthood and which is televised throughout the world for all to see. Worse, Truman’s life has been maintained within a man-made world, or rather prison, called “Seahaven,” which is encapsulated within a monstrous structure that is large enough to be seen from space and where he has lived his entire life, is all he has ever known and where every “citizen,” with the exception of Truman but including his “parents” and “wife,” are actors in a gigantic production, all under the dictatorial oversight of the director Christoff (brilliantly portrayed by Ed Harris). It was Christoff’s vision to create a form of “reality TV” unlike any other and which was massively successful in the form of billions of dollars that were needed to construct and maintain a facade of this magnitude.

While allowing Truman to make some decisions throughout his “life,” Christoff’s manipulation of circumstances, such as “writing in” Truman’s college girlfriend and later “wife,” as well as his father’s unfortunate death at sea while Truman was a boy (although he is later reunited with Truman after he recovers from amnesia), which was designed to instill a paralyzing fear of water in Truman that resulted in an almost impenetrable barrier that effectively kept Truman from leaving Seahaven, negated Truman’s human right and freedom to make choices. Christoff was forced to take these extremes after Truman’s desire to explore the world was discovered, and discouraged, while in school.

The subsequent popularity of Christoff and his “world” afforded him power that few could equal. In one interview with a newscaster, Christoff was asked, “Why do you think that Truman has never come close to discover the true nature of his world until now?” to which Christoff smugly answers, “We accept the reality of the world with which we’re presented. It’s as simple as that.”

Fortunately, Truman, through a series of missteps by the production crew, witnesses situations that cause him to pay closer attention to those around him and, after some time, the reality that he is being watched by some “Big Brother” strikes home, prompting Truman to plan his escape. After attempts to leave Seahaven are thwarted (quite humorously so), Truman eventually slips out of his home and into his father’s sailboat and out to sea undetected. Christoff doesn’t find out until after an intense search of Seahaven proves unsuccessful, prompting him to turn the cameras on the sea. To prevent his escape, Christoff unleashes a fierce storm upon Truman in order to scare him into returning to the safety of his island home. Undeterred, Truman defiantly lashes out, “Is that the best you can do! You’ll have to kill me!” Then, to the horror of his production staff, Christoff orders the capsizing of the sailboat. After the sailboat is righted, Truman is seen (by the world, mind you) hanging lifeless over the boat’s side before regaining his composure and continuing his escape.

Finally, as the sailboat rams into the exterior wall of Truman’s “world” and the realization of the truth becomes even more evident to Truman, that he has been an unwitting guinea pig in the laboratory of a power-hungry despot, Christoff speaks to him in a booming, God-like voice from “heaven,” warning Truman that the real world that awaits him beyond the exit door is far worse than the make-believe world that was created for him. Truman hesitates for a moment and turning, bows out of one life and exits into another.

As I watched this movie, I was struck as to the degree that Truman’s world, constructed and maintained in order to keep him oblivious to the truth, paralleled the lives of countless other “Trumans” who have grown up in a church culture that has been constructed in much the same manner as that of Truman’s, all of which is designed to maintain a life-long dependency upon the man-made structure or organization of what has become known as “church.” Additionally, the measures that Christoff took to keep Truman in fear of ever leaving the confines of Seahaven is all too chillingly close to the reality of the attitude that countless souls who have dared to question the perception of his/her “world” have faced from those in power, who arrogantly seek to enforce their own version, or rather vision, of “truth” upon the unsuspected.

As for Truman, some may say that the life that Christoff created for him was “good” in that he was protected from the evils in the real world. While that may be true to a degree, the end (i.e., the fame that Christoff received at Truman’s expense) does not justify the means. At the very least, the withholding of truth with the intent of keeping people subservient is a gross violation of the free will that God gives to all.

To those of us who have escaped or are escaping our highly structured and very religious “Seahavens,” let us pray that we receive the strength to always embrace the truth, however uncomfortable at first it may be and to encourage others to do the same.

To those who haven’t yet mustered the courage to leave abusive churches and/or structures, my prayer is that you will, like Truman, begin to see the chinks in the armor of organized religion and that you will always challenge the accepted practice of what is presented as “truth.”

Godspeed.