School: Meaning of Life and World Essay

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WORLDVIEWS: ORIGINS, PURPOSE, AND DESTINY
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PART A AND PART B
Amy Morland 12.3
WORLDVIEWS: ORIGINS, PURPOSE, AND DESTINY
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PART A AND PART B
Amy Morland 12.3

PART A

1. “WE ACCEPT THE REALITY OF THE WORLD WITH WHICH WE ARE PRESENTED” – CHRISTOF THE TRUMAN SHOW

Imagine a world where everything you believe is true, is actually a TV Show. Now you’re in the world of Truman Burbank, an ‘average’ person whose entire life is broadcasted to the world. Christof the director of the Truman show states that “We accept the reality of the world in which we are presented.” This is a key issue in “The Truman Show” but does it apply to our real lives? Do we question and inquire or do we just accept the world as it is?
Each person’s reality is simply his or her perspective. There is an objective reality and then there’s the 'truth' that has been shaped by human experience and emotion. Truman accepts his odd existence. As Christof points out, “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented.” Truman does not question why his wife holds products up and describes them as if she was in a television commercial. He doesn't wonder why everything happens at the same time every day; he hasn't known it to be anything else. He knows the whole world revolves around him. This is how it is within his reality.
A series of production mistakes causes Truman to awaken from his beliefs. A stage light falls from the ‘sky’. Strange messages are broadcast on his car radio. He sees a man who looks like his father who had died several years/episodes earlier. Truman decides to escape his reality by facing his fears and sailing beyond the horizon of what he knows. The metaphors are endless in this film.
The Truman Show teaches us that it is ultimately good to break away from the false aspects of present-day perceptions. Although we may grieve the loss of our previous convictions, we are liberated to explore whole new realities by letting go of old beliefs. This can be deeply fulfilling, as our true identity emerges naturally within a more truthful world. Sometimes we must break away from our perceptions to discover more about the ‘tru-man’ within.

2. “TWICE AS MUCH AINT TWICE AS GOOD AND CAN’T SUSTAIN LIKE ONE HALF COULD. ITS WANTING MORE THAT’S GONNA SEND ME TO MY KNEES” – JOHN MAYER

John Mayer speaks about his relationship with God and uses gravity as a metaphor for the Devil. The lyrics state that gravity is working against him and that it wants to bring him down. Then he mentions how he has so much love, more than his heart can stand. “But still he dreams of ways to throw all this love away”... once again a reference to the Devil and his wishes for us to throw all what’s good in our lives away. “We want twice as much, but it's not twice as good”. “It's wanting more that's gonna send me to my knees”. Greed is also something the Devil sends us. Gravity (Devil) stay the hell away from me. Gravity (the Devil), has taken better men than me. Just keep me where the light is. Referring to Gods light and how the Devil loves the darkness.

The song is about how you should know when you have had enough, about working hard to keep it because you can lose it in a second; about working against the negativity people try to bring you down with, and about trying to not screw up.
Human existence can be seen on a few levels. The lower level is more personal meanings and the lives of individuals. Things and people matter to us and give our lives meaning with a little ‘m’. Without those ‘little meanings’ life would indeed be empty and meaningless in a way that causes true distress. Little things like small acts of kindness, support for friends, gatherings in celebration, condolences in times of sadness, all give life meaning even if not a transcendent ‘Meaning’.

Perhaps what people are looking for, for human existence
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