It used to be when celebrities were claimed to be flawed human beings like the rest of us, it seemed worthy of ridicule. Nowadays, when fame is awarded to those who are indeed “ordinary,” it has a cost. It can exhaust the possibility of experiencing normality, even autonomy, ever again.
Take the 1998 film “The Truman Show,” which demonstrates the ramifications of heaping fame on an ordinary person. Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) is a reality TV star who is completely unaware that every moment of his life, from birth to adulthood, has been filmed and broadcasted live. Exploited and served to devoted audiences everywhere, he remains oblivious.
“The Truman Show” is an all-American film. It deals with surveillance culture, product placement and the paradox of “reality” programming. The audiences inside and outside the film look on as Truman’s life is demeaned to nothing more than entertainment. He needs to become aware of his fabricated life before he can escape. Having spent his whole life inside a construct, will he be maladjusted to the volatility of the real world? It seems plausible. A culture shock of that caliber could be traumatic.
The concepts of “The Truman Show” come as no surprise in the modern day. The film’s real shock value stems from being ahead of its time. In the age of social media, “reality” has taken on a new meaning in that people now voluntarily document their own lives for entertainment value. Those on social media seeking stardom welcome the invasion of privacy because it promises glamour and grandeur. It promises a ticket out of obscurity. One such was Charli D’Amelio.
While Truman is the unsuspecting star, D’Amelio is the star who welcomed her fame. She is the manifestation of Internet culture at a new height of success, one intoxicating by all senses of the word. Originally living in Norwalk, Connecticut, D’Amelio rose to fame through viral dance videos on TikTok. “The D’Amelio Show” captures the life of a teenage girl catapulted from banality to stardom, with her family riding her coattails.
It has also revealed what D’Amelio endures with her fame. In several moments, she is visibly distraught as she deals with online harassment and the relentless commodification of her life. Like Truman, D’Amelio should have a (relatively) normal life to live, but unlike Truman, her rigorous management team has other plans. All work and little play. Is this Internet fame at its best? Spreadsheets and congested Google Calendars? Yet D’Amelio has said that the only worse thing than having this life would be not to have it.
The stars of “The Truman Show” and “The D’Amelio Show” both live under the unrelenting public eye. They must discover what it means to continue. Truman chooses to leave. What lies ahead of him is unknown, but in the end, he forges his own path. As he does, the audience cheers. D’Amelio crossed the threshold from normality to stardom but now grapples with endless demands. Will we cheer if she too decides to chart a new course?