One man's whole life is a TV show — and he is the only person who does not know it.
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These are the new words. Match each word (1–10) to its meaning (A–J). Say your answers out loud — "I think 1 is G" — then check.
1 = G (a town) · 2 = B (an actor) · 3 = C (a secret) · 4 = D (a camera) · 5 = E (to escape)
6 = F (a storm) · 7 = I (a wall) · 8 = H (the sky) · 9 = A (an audience) · 10 = J (real)
Peter Weir's The Truman Show (1998), with Jim Carrey. Read each part. Then try the questions from memory, and talk about the last one. (There are spoilers — that is fine, we want to talk about it.)
Truman lives in a small, sunny town called Seahaven. Every day is the same. Every neighbour is friendly. He has never left the town in his whole life. But one day, strange things start to happen. A big light falls from the sky onto the road. His car radio plays a voice that talks about exactly what he is doing, right now.
Then Truman sees his father in the street — but his father died many years ago! Some strangers quickly take the man away. Truman does not understand. He starts to notice the same cars and the same people again and again, like a loop.
1. What is Truman's town like?
2. What strange things does Truman start to notice?
1. It is small, sunny and friendly, and every day is the same. He has never left it.
2. A light falls from the sky, his radio talks about his movements, and his dead father appears in the street.
Years before, a girl called Sylvia tried to warn Truman: "Nothing here is real! Everybody knows you!" But she was taken away, and Truman was told she moved to another country. Truman married a different woman, Meryl — but she often talks strangely, like she is advertising products in a shop.
Now Truman is suspicious. He tries to book a flight away from the town, but there are never any seats. He notices that people on the street do the same actions again, like actors in a play. And that is the truth: Truman's whole life is a TV show! Millions of people watch him every day. A man called Christof controls everything — the weather, the town, and even the people Truman loves, who are all actors.
1. What did Sylvia try to tell Truman?
2. What is the truth about Truman's whole life?
1. She told him that nothing around him was real and that everybody knew him.
2. His whole life is a TV show, watched by millions of people, and everyone around him is an actor controlled by Christof.
Truman is afraid of water, because he thinks his father drowned in a boat many years ago. But now he is brave. He takes a small boat out onto the lake, to try to escape. Christof sees this and makes a huge storm, with big waves, to stop him. Truman almost dies, but he does not turn back.
After the storm, the little boat hits something hard — a wall! Truman finds stairs and a door, painted to look like the sky. A voice from above — Christof's voice — speaks to him and tells him the whole truth. Christof asks him to stay. But Truman says his last words, and walks through the door, into the real world. All around the world, people who watched him his whole life clap and cheer.
1. Why does Christof make a storm?
2. What does Truman's boat hit, and what happens next?
1. He wants to stop Truman from escaping by boat.
2. It hits a solid wall — the edge of the studio. Truman finds a door, hears the truth from Christof, and chooses to walk out into the real world.
This film is full of people saying things, and other people reporting what was said. English uses two common verbs for this — say and tell — and each one works a little differently.
Choose the correct verb for each sentence.
1. She (say/tell) that she was scared of the water.
2. He (say/tell) his friend that the town was not real.
3. They (say/tell) that the sky was actually a wall.
1. said (no person after it)
2. told (a person — "his friend" — comes after it)
3. said (no person after it)
Change the direct sentence into the past tense for the report.
1. "I am happy here," she said. → She said that she (be) happy there.
2. "I want to leave," he said. → He said that he (want) to leave.
3. "I love my town," she told him. → She told him that she (love) her town.
1. was (am → was)
2. wanted (want → wanted)
3. loved (love → loved)
Fill each gap with said or told, and the correct past-tense verb. Read it aloud when you finish.
Christof (say/tell) Truman that he (build) that world for him. Sylvia (say/tell) that nothing around Truman (be) real.
told · had built · said · was
Remember: tell needs a person (Truman); say does not.
This film is famous for two surprising real-life facts. Here they are.
The film came out in 1998. Just one or two years later, real "reality TV" shows like Big Brother and Survivor became famous around the world. People were amazed — this film seemed to know what was coming before it happened!
A real doctor, Dr Joel Gold, met patients who truly believed their whole life was a secret TV show, just like Truman's. Around 2008, he and his brother Ian Gold gave this a name: the "Truman Show delusion." It is not a common, separate illness — but doctors have really seen and written about patients who believe this.
Do all three tasks out loud. Use the timer to keep talking.
Tell the story of The Truman Show in your own words. Use these steps to help you: a perfect little town → strange things start to happen → Truman learns his whole life is a TV show → the storm and the wall → Truman escapes through the door.
Try to use some key words (town, actor, secret, camera, escape, storm, wall, sky, audience, real) and say / tell.
Christof believed the fake world kept Truman safe and happy. Was it right to hide the truth from Truman his whole life? What would you do — stay in a safe, fake world, or choose a harder, real one? Say why.
Talk about being watched or filmed in real life.
Not sure what to say? Choose one: