Escaping the Scripted World: A Lacanian Analysis of Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real in The Truman Show (1998) Film

Authors

  • Grania Sharenlie MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Josh Fitzkioshi Wijaya MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Michelle Whitney Ang MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
  • Pei Yi Cai MAKARIOS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

Keywords:

Identity, Mirror Stage, Reality, Symbolic, Surveillance

Abstract

The Truman Show (1998) was analysed through the psychoanalytic lens of Lacan to investigate the subjective identity, the illusion of reality, and the authority of the “Big Other” in the film. The methodology was qualitative and involved the analysis of dialogue, character interactions, the mechanics of the cinematic gaze, and the visual interpretation of cinematography through scene-based textual analysis, narrative close reading, and visual analysis. The paper explores the concept of the split subject that is split between a constructed reality and an authentic desire based on Lacan's theories of the imaginary, symbolic, real, and the big other, and analyzes Truman Burbank as such. The findings are that: (1) Truman's life in Seahaven is a precarious product of the Imaginary order disrupted by interventions of the Real; (2) The creator, Christof, is the Big Other, who regulates the subject's universe through surveillance and by controlling his narrative; and (3) Escaping is a radical subjective act of liberation, a subversion of the symbolic gaze. In the end, the film reveals the deep-seated feelings of alienation, desire, and resistance in a hyper-realistic world. This study adds to the psychoanalytic work that has been undertaken in popular film and proposes that further research be carried out on surveillance films or the Lacanian gaze in today's digital media.

References

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Published

2026-08-31

How to Cite

Sharenlie, G., Wijaya, J. F., Ang, M. W., & Cai, P. Y. (2026). Escaping the Scripted World: A Lacanian Analysis of Imaginary, Symbolic, and Real in The Truman Show (1998) Film. Boanerges: Makarios Education Journal, 4(1), 80–92. Retrieved from https://streamfly.tech/index.php/boanerges/article/view/60

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): BOANERGES

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