Analysis of Frank Hurley and the Truman Show In Relation to Discovery

Discovery is a process of constant learning which broadens one’s understanding and changes one’s perspective. By learning new things, we discover; leading to a change in our perspectives positively or negatively. This change in our perspectives is influenced by our morals, values and knowledge. Together these factors shape our interactions with others and our world. These ideas are expressed and strengthened in both texts; documentary Frank Hurley: The Man Who Made History by Simon Nasht and the film The Truman Show directed by Peter Weir using various themes and techniques. Both these texts emphasise change in perspectives occurring from discoveries.

Simon Nasht expresses that discoveries provide us with renewed perceptions of ourselves and the world through the theme of discovering humanity’s barbarity towards one another. In Nasht’s documentary, Hurley’s hope to document the glory of World War I & II was confronted by discovering man’s barbarity towards one another. The use of montage through archival footage of cannons being fired in WWI establishes a brutal tone which shatters Hurley’s belief that war is a spectacular event. This discovery significantly impacted Hurley as it changed his perspective on the war. Through narration in ‘But they began to change as the reality of the machine gun and mustard gas sank in’, displays that Hurley’s perceived glory of war was shattered as he was confronted with a brutal reality. Hurley’s discoveries have broken his predilections on the war and have left him emotionally distressed as he is faced with the choice of photographing either the glory or the truth. Thus, Nasht displays that discoveries renew our perceptions and change the way we view the world through the theme of discovering humanity’s barbarity towards one another.  

Similarly, Peter Weir’s The Truman Show asserts that even though necessary discoveries have negative ramifications, they are still important to our learning. Throughout the films, Truman’s necessary discoveries are shown to repeatedly lead him to emotional pain, but without them he would still be living in a false reality. The use of a wide shot of the kitchen during Truman’s dialogue ‘Why do you want to have a baby with me? You can’t stand me’, highlights the necessary discovery of the truth that his marriage is a lie and it is breaking down, even if it means immense emotional pain for him and Meryl. Likewise, during the beach scene a mid-shot portrays Sylvia frantically looking around while Truman’s eyes are fixed on Sylvia, revealing that he is willing to completely give himself to Sylvia for love. Through her dialogue in ‘they don’t want me talking to you’, Sylvia is aware of the pain that will accompany their necessary realization of love and attempts to tell Truman the truth, but is immediately torn away from a grieving and confused Truman. Where Nasht’s documentary presented Hurley being confronted by the discovery of the barbaric reality of war, Peter Weir’s Truman was also left emotionally devastated by the necessary discoveries he undertook. Thus, Weir succeeds in asserting that necessary discoveries can have negative ramifications by repeatedly distressing Truman emotionally as he uncovers fabricated relationships and deals with unexplained separation.