I was just wondering -- suppose a reality TV show just like the one in The Truman Show was built in our real world. Could it ever fly from a legal perspective? Especially since our Constitution is becoming looser and looser every day. I mean, it does violate human rights, but I can't help but wonder: if the corporation had enough lawyers to argue their way around loopholes, and there was heavy lobbying from business and media interests, maybe the law would allow it to happen. After all, except for the "nuclear leak" episode and the final part where Christof creates a dangerous storm to capsize his ship, there was never any physical force involved to keep him there, only suggestions and persuasion. That could bring charges of conspiracy against Christof, but then -- conspiracy against what, exactly?
Even if it becomes illegal to keep Truman on the island once he's older than 18, they could still go for the proverbial frog in the kettle approach. You could argue that when Truman is still a child, there's nothing illegal about the show, so the law allows the show to go on. Then, when he gets older, you could then argue -- well, since we're already doing this for so long, and his life is very happy so far, why don't we allow it to run longer? And once he's a legal adult, and they must release him by law, Christof could then argue: look, he already thinks this is the "real" world, and he thinks this is his Mom, and he has all his friends and a job and everything, and if we suddenly break the truth to him that, "nope, this is all fake", we'll have to invent a whole new field of psychiatry just to deal with all the issues he'll be having! Do you think that's good for him? I don't think so. And perhaps the public and the law would grudgingly agree.
Anyways, just wondering. What are your thoughts?
Even if it becomes illegal to keep Truman on the island once he's older than 18, they could still go for the proverbial frog in the kettle approach. You could argue that when Truman is still a child, there's nothing illegal about the show, so the law allows the show to go on. Then, when he gets older, you could then argue -- well, since we're already doing this for so long, and his life is very happy so far, why don't we allow it to run longer? And once he's a legal adult, and they must release him by law, Christof could then argue: look, he already thinks this is the "real" world, and he thinks this is his Mom, and he has all his friends and a job and everything, and if we suddenly break the truth to him that, "nope, this is all fake", we'll have to invent a whole new field of psychiatry just to deal with all the issues he'll be having! Do you think that's good for him? I don't think so. And perhaps the public and the law would grudgingly agree.
Anyways, just wondering. What are your thoughts?