After watching a good and thoughtful film, I enjoy doing some reading, thinking, and writing about it. The 1998 film The Truman Show (directed by Peter Weir) is the kind of film that I found myself watching twice in succession, and I've watched it several times since, because it is so intriguing. But is it a spiritual allegory, or is it just a good story, or perhaps something else?

This movie narrates the life of Truman Banks (Jim Carrey), who is unaware that his entire life on the island of Seahaven is completely constructed by a TV crew, and is part of a constantly running reality television program called The Truman Show, watched by millions 24/7 world-wide. But when Truman comes to realize that something is strange about his world, he makes plans to escape his artificially manipulated universe.

The premise is a clever one, and the film succeeds on the level of story alone. But what's particularly of interest to me are the profound philosophical and religious questions that the movie seems to ask. It raises age-old philosophical questions common in the field of epistemology, concerning what we can know about reality e.g. could I be deceived about what my senses and experiences are telling me about reality? But it also appears to explore many deep religious questions by means of allusions to Christian themes. Consider how the TV producer Christof (= Christ of) is the "creator" of Truman (= True Man), and functions as a god who controls his world.

This symbolism seems too strong to ignore. As a result there is considerable debate about the worldview behind the film, and whether it is intended to portray an atheistic or Christian worldview. I've found that reviewers who pick up on the Christian symbolism typically fall into one of two camps which come to opposite conclusions about the point of the film:

1. Those who see it as a secular film, by portraying the Christian God as a cruel and harsh dictator who operates a deterministic universe from which we need to escape by rejecting God. According to this view, Truman's liberation is a depiction of the Fall, and promotes an atheistic lifestyle of rebellion against the Creator and an escape from Eden. Others have tried to be more charitable by interpreting it in line with Calvinistic theology, suggesting that the film depicts the tragedy rather than the triumph of sin, but this is implausible in view of how the Creator is portrayed negatively and how the final liberation is presented so positively.

2. Those who see it as a criticism of secularism, by suggesting that Satan creates an artificial world for us, from which we need to escape by converting to the truth. According to this view, Truman's liberation promotes the need to escape the deception of Satan (the anti-Christ), and exchange it for a life lived in service to the true God. Some have even seen it as giving a positive message about Christianity, for if Seahaven represents an illusionary man-made Paradise, then Truman's decision to leave this old world behind is symbolic of a conversion experience, and he represents a Christ-like figure who models the way of salvation.

The first view interprets The Truman Show as a story of the Fall, where Christoff symbolizes the true God, and Sylvia (who encourages Truman to escape his "world") is a serpent-tempter figure that brings rebellion. The second view interprets The Truman Show as a story of Redemption, where Christoff symbolizes an anti-Christ, and Sylvia is an intercessor that brings freedom in contrast to the Judas figure Marlon. Proponents of both views have engaged in considerable debate over these two interpretations, the former which sees the Truman Show as a secular existentialist film, the latter which sees it as a pro-Christian film.

Certainly the rich symbolism in the film lends itself to an interpretation which gives the Christological imagery throughout the film a more important meaning than mere allusion. But neither of the above explanations is entirely satisfactory or consistent. Because how can Truman be a rebel who rejects God, and at the same time a Christ-like figure (he is depicted as crucified in the boat, and at the end walks on water and ascends into a stairway of heaven)? And how can Christoff be representative of a deterministic creator, and at the same time an anti-Christ? A consistent allegorical interpretation fails in its application, and should already be a hint that one is not intended.

Personally I think that the best solution is one which is neither overly critical nor overly charitable with respect to the Biblical imagery. Instead it is better to see the imagery as subordinate to other themes about the media and television.

Director Peter Weir has gone on record in more than one interview that the film is about television. Weir is of this conviction: "My attitude to television, personally, is too much of it is a bad thing." According to Weir: "And that's really at the heart of what the film looks at in a major way - this disturbance to our perception of reality, as a result of the immense entertainment and actuality coming at us, to the point where you can't differentiate anymore. News programs that are entertaining; video everywhere." Given Weir's remarks, I believe that the Truman Show is essentially a sharp criticism of the dangers of a false reality cultivated by the media, and a warning against losing our sense of reality.

Clearly Weir has chosen to portray the director Christoff as a creator figure very deliberately. But he does not use this image to push a religious agenda, but to give a social commentary about problems created by the modern media, which blurs the lines between appearance and reality.

In that regard, his analysis of television speaks to our time: to what extent is our perception of the world the result of manipulation by the media? And do we need to be liberated from the artificial reality of a TV world and return to the real world? I see this explanation as more plausible than one which sees the film as a simple spiritual allegory, or which interprets it as an indictment on reality television. It's also worth noting that the release of the movie predates much of the contemporary fascination with reality TV shows.

In short, I don't think the Truman Show is defending an atheist worldview or a Christian one. Instead it is merely employing Biblical themes and allusions as servants to its real theme and social commentary about the media and television. It has to be conceded that both Christoff's and Truman's characters have clear Christological symbolism. But the film is ambiguous about which of the two is to be identified as the Christ figure simply because it doesn't want us making a choice between them. Although the religious symbolism is too strong to ignore, in the end it is subordinate to the more central theme about the role of television and media in our culture, and is a means to an end rather than an end in itself.

So in my view, it's a mistake to see the film either as an attack on Christianity, or as a tool for Christian evangelism. That's not to say that the film doesn't raise interesting parallels on a religious levels, because it can spark interesting discussions about how a creator might watch over humanity, or how a Satan figure might deceive.

Ironically, the Truman Show has created its own deception: while appearances suggest it is a spiritual allegory, a closer look reveals that this perception is merely an illusion. It's first and foremost just a good story. But at the same time it is using spiritual imagery to raise important questions about the use of TV and the media.