Thursday, January 6, 2011

Essay Perfection

Three perfect essays in a row can say no wrong.  And what mine are telling me, is that I should share.  I should also not worry mindlessly every day until I get the essay back, marked.

Yeah, because lately, the mark has been 100%.

&& I sit there, looking at the marking scheme, reading the 10/10, 20/20 until I get up to the top, where it says 100% in messy, teacher writing.

And then I check the name.  I check the essay.  I check myself.  Then I shout YES! and get really happy.

This is my essay on The Truman Show and EdTV.  It's my rough draft, as the real thing has been sucked into Computer No Man's Land.  :\



Meh.

Rough Essay: EdTV & The Truman Show


“People used to be famous because they were special, now they are special because they are famous.”  (EdTV, 1999).  At first, Ed embraces the fame his television show, EdTV gives him, only to quickly lose his true love, his freedom, and his grip on reality.  In contrast to that, Truman Burbank of The Truman Show (1998) was been born to fame, and suddenly becomes away that he has missed his chance at true love, his freedom and a “real” reality.  Ultimately, EdTV and The Truman Show demonstrate that in order to gain one’s own personal freedom, true love and a realistic view of reailty, one must lose their fame.

A life where all your choices are made for you is no life at all.  Truman Burbank, start of “The Truman Show”, has lived in such a life for as long as he can remember – since he was in the womb, not even born.  As he grew up, boundaries and rules made his own personal freedom sparse and limited his creativity and personal growth.  When Truman was a kid, he wanted to be an explorer.  Upon telling his teacher this, he was immediately shown a map of the world and told that there was no land left to explore.  Ruining his dreams and limiting his choices, Truman was backed into the same situation as Ed from EdTV.  When Ed tried to quit the controlling and invasive TV show, the director quickly told him that he would be wrongfully violating the contract, and therefore would have to pay for all the companies losses.  Ed could not quit the show, and therefore his personal freedom was lost.  He could not do what he wanted and lived to serve his countless fans and viewers.  In both films, it is obvious that once one loses their personal freedom, they are not the same.  Dejected, Truman and Ed realize that if they ever want to lead their own lives, away from the controlling media, they must leave their fame behind.

Styles and fads in society come and pass, but not for Truman Burbank.  His life is stuck in the media’s perception of a perfect neighborhood, and his clothes reflect a time that has come and gone.  Although his fake town is modeled after real life, Truman never experiences the mysterious and unexpected things that reality often brings and therefore does not have an accurate understanding of life itself.  Although Ed has grown up in the real world, he, just like Truman, is thrust into the media’s perception of a “reality” TV show.  For both characters this changes how they see life, giving them both a surreal, twisted image of what “reality” is.  In order to see the truth again and get rid of the lies, both characters know they must take drastic measures and lose their popularity with the media in order to experience reality again.

Everyone deserves a chance at true love, but the imposing presence of media and the world’s attention are sure to hinder one’s attempts at romance.  Both Truman and Ed experience problems with the media and TV shows interfering with their families and personal lives.  Truman for one has never had a real family member on his show, and has never had someone close to him that truly loves him.  His family, friends and wife are all paid to be close to him and play the part of the star’s friends, but it cannot be said that they truly care about him.  For Ed of EdTV, it is the opposite way around.  Because he already has family ties, the new presence of media in his life threatens to break the fragile bonds with his family and new girlfriend.  This becomes a problem for both men, and Truman realizes that once he gets into the real world, he may find his true love, and Ed realizes that he may lose his true love if he does not lose his popularity and fame.  Both characters know that in order to have a healthy lifestyle and be with the people you love, media and fame cannot be part of the equation.

Although a famous lifestyle seems to have many positive aspects, one cannot deny that the loss of personal freedom, love and reality can all be attributed to the achievement of fame.  Famous people have limited freedom, as many companies and other people seem to own the rights to their very own lives, like Ed in EdTV.  True love and family ties are often broken with the impeding presence of media in one’s life, and the famous person’s idea of what ‘reality’ is often twisted and much different from a normal persons.  Although fame seems to be the right way to be in modern-day society, the aquirence of it may lead to the loss of other, more important things that many people take for granted in their normal lives.

 --  if you have complaints or don't think I deserved the mark, this was my rough draft.  Most mistakes I probably fixed.  Desole.

Sarah

1 comment:

Golden Eagle said...

This is a great essay!