What does the Truman Show tell us about human nature

With the growing popularity of the reality television genre and the habitual "over sharing" that comes with access to social media, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate what is real about a person and what is a construction intended for the consumption of an audience, no matter how small. While Truman Burbank has grown up in an entirely manufactured environment with actors playing the roles of all his friends and family, his reactions and emotions are real. Christof cites Truman's "authenticity" as the reason that so many people love to watch him, but it is also the most difficult aspect of the show to maintain. It takes thousands of people and nearly 5,000 hidden cameras in order to give the viewers the authenticity they love in Truman. However, over the course of the film, Weir makes it clear that even though he lives under surveillance 24/7, Truman's emotions and dreams are his own. "You never had a camera in my head," Truman tells Christof before leaving Seahaven Island for the first - and last - time.