Unwilling Reality TV Stars
Truman Syndrome Makes Life Like The Truman Show
Maybe you’ve seen or even heard of the Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show. The blissfully unaware Truman Burbank comes to realize everyone he knows, including his family are actors; and everything he has experienced has been witnessed by a television audience.
Imagine your life –not just the dressed up parts, but the whole thing - documented by cameras for the world to see. Some people don’t just imagine such a scenario, they believe it.
According to researchers, some people believe they are actually living Truman’s experience. An Associated Press story reports that researchers have documented cases of people suffering from what they have identified as Truman syndrome. Sufferers believe their lives are fodder for hidden TV cameras playing to a reality TV audience. Every moment is observed and discussed. The people they know may or may not be actors. The corner of the world they occupy could be a soundstage. It’s maddening.
The 1998 movie, made long before the peak of the reality TV craze, illustrates the power pop culture can have to influence the human mind. Unfortunately, unlike reality TV stars desperate for their 15 minutes of fame, many Truman syndrome sufferers want no part of what they see as a falsely constructed, invasive world.
One man diagnosed with the syndrome reportedly presented himself at his local federal building asking for release from the show. Another patient felt so tormented by the imagined privacy violation of living on reality TV, he said he would end his life if he could not get out of the show. In this world, you are always on view and unsure of who to trust.
Dr. Joel Gold, a psychiatrist, and his brother Dr. Ian Gold, a psychologist, have presented their findings, based on interviews with Truman patients to the medical community. Not surprisingly, they found others in the community that had similar patient experiences. In this age of not just reality TV but, phone cams, YouTube, Facebook and people becoming famous simply for being famous, it is easy to see how the lines between the real and imagined can become blurred.
Delusions in general are relatively common. Although the delusional experience described by Truman sufferers is less common, one cannot assume the culprit is a debilitating psychiatric illness. In some cases the problem may be a neurological condition or medication side effects. Whatever the case Truman syndrome patients just want the cameras to go away. Who says that delusion is any stranger than believing the cameras should never stop? That every trite moment of your life should be filmed and that you should be famous for nothing other than how often you are featured in Star Magazine or on E! TV.
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