by moshe 17 Replies latest jw friends
I watched it again last night...
Interesting comment by my wife (her first time seeing it) at the point where Ed Harris' character talks to Truman at the end and tells him he can't leave. As Truman looks up and we're all waiting for his reaction my wife says, "I'd say 'fuck you' and walk out".
Everytime I see the ending I think of Mickey Mouse's avatar...
" everyone around him tries to redirect his focus away from his epiphany "
I particularly identified with this bit
I don't know what happened with 1984 and Netflix. I could swear that I rented it several years ago but now it is unavailable.
Really? I was just watching that on Instant Viewing with Netflix like, a few months ago. Is it gone now or something? (Also, Mad, was just listening to a recording of your radio show last night. Good stuff! If I was smawt enough, I'd totally want to be on there...but I's nawt...)
I remember watching 'The Truman Show' as a teenager, and finding it to be somewhat interesting. I'm sure I wondered, why can't this guy figure out that something is wrong, that things are just too choreographed to be real? I don't think I was conscious of just how many 'think outside the box' kind of stories I'd seen in the past; it only more recently started to hit me. I was trying to watch this again recently but my computer was on the fritz at the time so I didn't get to finish watching it. I did see enough to realize it was just great to be watching again at this time in my life.
I don't think any JW would be able to make the connection. In my experience, even being fully aware that the Society was making stuff up, there was just a tendency to trust them, and a fear to do otherwise, despite knowing you probably wouldn't die of AIDS or get beaten to death in a bar if you left the religion. So I don't think JWs would hate it; they'd never comprehend its relevance to their lives, more than likely. Something gigantic usually has to happen to bring you to your senses about that sort of thing.
--sd-7
sd-7, you are absolutely right!! JWs just see it as a story. It takes something to really shake one, to make one stop going through the motions and look at things differently. The problem is the trauma of that can break the person.
I always knew that something wasn't quite right with being a jw. It just took me a long time to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Movies like this, and The Village, certainly helped me along.
Now when Jim Carrey- Truman Burbank- figures it out and becomes self aware of the lie, everyone around him tries to redirect his focus away from his epiphany , then convince him he is the only one who see's a problem.
Oh, Truman you know you can't drive over water (leave the truth/KH) , let's go home (the KH/JW org) where you'll be safe. ( from all those worldly people)
I had to resurrect this thread.
So many of us went through this when we were first beginning to wake up. I remember the fear, the guilt and paranoia I felt when first looking up 'apostate' sites and reading ray Franz's book crisis of conscience that same year.
I remember walking into the hall each week thinking I was the only one who new the real truth about the organisation. I had absolutely no one to talk to about it. It was such a weird experience, similiar to how Truman was feeling. Everything suddenly felt fake.
Now when I walk into the kingdom hall it feels like I am walking into a parallel universe. On the one hand, everything goes on as normal at the meetings as if nothing has ever happened within the organisation. No one ever EVER mentions anything negative about the organisation. EVER!
On the other hand, all over the media, we find that the organisation is perceived by many as a cult, a high control religion, a captive religion. I read daily (on my smart phone) about the various controversies and scandals both past and present within the organisation.
Sadly for many of us who are awake, WE are the ones who are portrayed by our own family and friends as having a problem. God's organisation (the WTB&TS) is where we can only ever feel safe. Many of us are in our very own Truman show sitting on the beach staring out over that endless sea.
It's a great movie and really does resonate with the JW experience and the awakening that can happen when you realize your entire world is a sham.
Another good one is "The Village".
Both also greta movies and worth watching in their own right.
For me, The Firm was an eye opener.
The fake friendships, the loyality first, just like jw world.
G.
