"The Truman Show": Hidden Camera Social Commentary

1998's poster for "The Truman Show".

“The Truman Show” (1998), directed by Peter Weir, is a film fixed on deception. It opens with a scene reminiscent of 1950s “Leave it to Beaver” – picket fence and all – as viewers follow Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) through the beginnings of what seems to be a normal day. He exits his one-story ranch style home with briefcase in tow, waves at his neighbors, bids farewell to his wife (who, of course, is staying at home to eagerly await the return of her bread-winning husband, and perhaps bake or sew), and leaves in his Buick for work. He never stops smiling.

                But soon, things seem to change. The film begins to reveal to the viewers that things are not as pleasant in the town of Sea Haven. We witness actors leaving for breaks, set pieces being moved, and hidden cameras following Truman everywhere he goes. In time, Truman begins to catch on too, and before you know it, everything that he had ever thought was true has to be questioned. His wife, boss, best friend; they’re all fake. Actors. Everything is a lie. The bulk of the film comes when Truman realizes and begins to react to this.

                “The Truman Show” isn’t afraid to make you ask questions; or, if need be, ask them for you. It is a satire that makes no qualms about urging you to question your surroundings, the things you trust. It is darkly humorous in the way that it highlights and exposes the natural compulsion we all feel as humans: the one that gives us the ability to cheat, steal, lie, and hurt others for our own personal gain. With the help of a stellar performance by Jim Carrey, ”The Truman Show” is largely successful in poking fun at these desires, but I assure you that the lesson that is present at the film’s core won’t leave you laughing.

                And it isn’t supposed to. The irony within “The Truman Show” is that it uses dishonesty to remind its viewers of one universal truth: people, in general, are inherently bad. These qualities are on display in nearly every character in the film. Truman’s best friend Marlon (Noah Emmerich) is only an actor who has pretended to grow up alongside Truman, living in the same world that he does for Truman’s entire life. And the savage director of the television show that Truman unknowingly stars in, who pulled him from the crib at birth and made him a test subject for millions of people to watch, sees Truman through eyes with dollar signs in them. To him, Truman is nothing more than a cash-cow. Even Truman himself shows flashes of badness, from the way he so easily accepts the world he has been given, to the way that he reacts once he finally discovers that something is up.

                The film’s biggest success is that it manages to communicate these ideas without being overbearing or trying to say too much. The social commentary tucked beneath the humor of Jim Carrey and the unique plot are so tasteful that they are barely noticeable. The cast is superb and the plot is second to none, and it all combines to create what seems to be a timeless classic film.

The rest of the world sees Truman through hidden cameras like this one.

                “The Truman Show” is nothing if not unique. It warns viewers of the dangers of complacency, demands that they question the world around them, and it reminds us all that people, no matter how close, are still people, failures and all. It is successful as an entertaining film, featuring a high profile actor that is guaranteed to make you chuckle from beginning to end. What really makes it soar though – the thing that will keep people watching over 12 years after its initial release – is the delicacy with which it handles the touchy subjects, the way that it encourages folks to want better, and the way that it does all of this without you even realizing it.

"The Walking Dead" are Treading on Thin Ice

AMC's "The Walking Dead" on Sundays at 9:00 pm EST.

Like the world it takes place in, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” features a plot-turned-upside-down that offers hope to zombie fans, but continues to drag viewers along from nightmare to nightmare of poor pacing and melodramatic writing with only hints of rescue.

At its inception in 2010, Frank Darabont’s “The Walking Dead” (adapted from the ongoing comic book series by Robert Kirkman) aimed to offer viewers something that few chapters of zombie-lore had before: an intimate and ongoing glimpse into the lives of a small group of survivors during zombie Armageddon. The series set its sights on going beyond the movies of George A. Romero and crew; the cameras don’t stop and the credits never roll on “The Walking Dead,” and everyone knows it.

There are times throughout “The Walking Dead” where the series achieves that goal. The pilot episode features a captivating, if slightly worn (pulled almost directly from 2002 film “28 Days Later”), exposition that paints a likable character in main protagonist Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) and provides an engaging beginning to what could be a great series. More than once during this hour and a half-long installment will you find your guts churning at something other than the ultra-realistic gore – like the scene where Rick stumbles into what used to be his home in search of his wife and child, only to find some empty drawers and a few missing photo albums. The mental breakdown he experiences then is effective and believable; Rick’s sadness becomes your sadness (thanks to some decent acting by Lincoln), and this small town sheriff adds depth to his character by showing some vulnerability.

Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln) sees his family for the first time.

The following episode loses some of its shine, though, but still seems to charm you into watching by introducing new characters and threatening to kill them; these additions add a new dynamic to the show – just like real people would – but are largely archetypical and one-dimensional in scope.

The series continues to dull in episodes three, four, and five, and then, by episode six, like the day you had to take a baseball bat to your best-friend-turned-zombie’s head after already watching him be eaten, the series has gone from bad to worse.

Surprisingly, what plagues “The Walking Dead” most are not the zombies (called “walkers” in the show) – it suffers from a slew of hitches brought about by its failed quest for identity. The series swerves drunkenly back and forth on the very thick line between high-profile action shows like “24” and “General Hospital”-like soap operas, stopping at each briefly to imitate it in a sometimes embarrassing public-display-of-insecurity.

But this balance is not unobtainable (see: episode one), which is why it must be frustrating for viewers to shamble through several episodes filled with poor pacing and forced melodrama. For every one thing “The Walking Dead” does right, it’s bound to do three or more things wrong, and the brilliance of each success makes the following failures all the more inexcusable.

Some characters make bonehead decisions – like the time when Glenn (Steven Yeun) drives a stolen car back to camp with its alarm blaring, knowing damn-well that walkers are drawn to sound – and others are just unlikable or too one-dimensional to care about. In a series that is character-driven and uses tension between survivors or an unfortunate death to advance the plot, this should not happen.

“The Walking Dead” is now in its second season and looks to have clenched a third, but nothing has changed. The series still suffers from an unevenly paced plot – the cast has spent the last four episodes searching for the even-less significant daughter of a minor character, even though it took less than two episodes in season one for Rick to find his family – and the characters are largely the same, with a few welcome exceptions. Much of what seemed promising at the beginning of season one has been squandered thanks to a staggered search for identity, and, if something doesn’t change soon, it won’t be the zombies that scare viewers away from “The Walking Dead”; it’ll be the disappointment of its unreached potential.

Frugality: How to Spend the Little Money You Don't Have

                “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

-          1 Timothy 6:10

Paul was right. History has shown that money and its pursuit have ended, time and again, in hatred, hurt, and destruction. Kings have killed those with larger fortunes and taxed the impoverished to fund a life of luxury. Stores are robbed and people are killed because people have come to value wealth more than the life of another. Lawsuits are filed daily when folks are afraid they’ve been cheated of even the smallest amounts in the race for property and privilege. Yeah, Paul had it right when he said that money is a root of all kinds of evil.

But Paul never attended a modern-day university. He wasn’t aware of just how much it costs now to get an education; my tuition alone this year (before books, gas, meals after 7 p.m., and any source of entertainment) was $25,826. How much did Paul have to pay before getting his job as the most featured author in the New Testament? Nowhere near that amount, I bet.

But where does all of that money come from? Every college student in America knows that the four years you spend in a classroom after high school are both the busiest and most expensive years that one may ever live. That’s why, in this blog, I am going to offer five seemingly-simple-but-often-overlooked concepts for saving money while in college, including things like how to save on common dorm room items, how to make your own impressive cuisine, and how to recycle your leftover trash. These tips are easy and direct, and, with them, you might just save yourself from becoming one more root on the tree of evil. Or, at the very least, you might make it through school without being so broke all the time.

One can only hope.

Saving on the Little Stuff

College is, for most people, a first-try at being on your own.  That means you wake yourself up, make your own schedule, do your own laundry, and spend your own money. Usually.

                The latter of that bunch is always the hardest. It is surprising how quickly money disappears when you not only have to buy the normal things like food and movie tickets, but also the small but very necessary items like toothpaste, trash bags, and shampoo. It all adds up, and, before you know it, you’re out of money and you can’t afford to buy laundry detergent.

                But there are ways to avoid this tragedy. Not every college student is doomed to the pitfall that is overspending. In fact, using modern technology and the tips in this blog, you can morph from a typical first-time over-spender to a frugal smart-shopping machine. Then you can make all of your dorm buddies jealous over your keen ability to afford toothpaste, or your laundry detergent collection.

Tip #1: Ditch the name brands

                According to Walmart.com, the difference in prices between the Hefty (Name brand) EasyFlaps 13-gallon trash bags (80 count) and the Great Value (Walmart brand) FlapTie 13-gallon trash bags (80 count) is $0.90 per box. Now, while that might not seem like a lot of money saved, think of it in this way: to buy the name brand instead of the generic brand is to spend an extra dollar on something that is meant to be thrown away.

The difference between these two items? $0.90.

                To make a long story short, if both products function in the same way, springing for the generic brand instead of the name brand will save you some bucks.

Tip #2: Make everything count

                Every time I do laundry, I see first-time guys doing their laundry. They make a habit of overloading the washers and rarely separate by color. Then, it comes time to add detergent, and they dump the bottle upside-down over the washing machine without ever bothering to measure. There is a reason that the cap on your detergent bottle has a few lines on the inside for weighing out your pours.

                This is not a way to make your hard-earned dollar last. Instead, you should try measuring everything: there’s a reason the manufacturer suggests a particular amount for each use. This could be said for shampoo, soap, and conditioner too, as well as deodorant, mouthwash and other items.

                To maximize your time between buys, use only what you’re supposed to. No more.

Tip #3: If you can do it yourself, do it

                How much does a haircut cost nowadays? How about a car wash? I don’t know the answers to those questions exactly, but I do know this: it’s more than the average college student needs to spend. Instead of taking the easy route by paying someone else to do things for you, do them yourself.

                By doing this, you’ll not only save money, but you’ll also learn skills that can help you later on in your life. Does your car need an oil change? Why not try it yourself? Save your money and instead invest a little time. You'd be surprised how easy it is to make a birthday gift for your roommate instead of buying something expensive or how little it costs to make your own meals instead of eating fast food.

That doesn't seem so hard, now does it?

                And there you have it: the best tips money (or no money) can buy when it comes to saving in the little areas of college life. And, guess what? You got them for free, which means you’re doing better already.

Personal Pizza Snacks: A Masterpiece

Art comes in many mediums. Van Gough chose painting, Bukowski chose poetry, Bruckheimer chose film, and Taylor Swift chose to sing. Each person is an artist in his or her own way, and each is solely responsible for producing something beautiful (Teardrops on My Guitar was a stroke of genius).

                The medium that I’ve chosen (at least for this blog) is my microwave. Why? Well, this blog is primarily about learning to save money while in college, and, if there is one thing that every college student has in common, it’s that they have to eat. Drive-thrus get expensive very quickly, and microwaves produce the next-fastest food I know.

                So here’s the masterpiece: they’re called Personal Pizza Snacks (PPS for short), and they’re quick, tasty, and cheap. Also, pretty fun to make. Take a look with this recipe:

Ingredients (in order of appearance):

• French Bread: $1.50
• Pizza Sauce: $1.50
• Pepperoni: $3.00
• Italian Style Cheese: $2.00
• Ravenous Hunger: priceless

In total, this costs about $8.00 and provides around 30 snacks. Good luck beating that anywhere else.

Here’s step 1: Slice your French bread into pieces and place them on a regular-sized plate.

Step 2: Spread your pizza sauce in even amounts over the pieces of bread to make a small layer of festive flavor.

Sorry for the blurriness; I got too excited.

Step 3: Next, top the bread/sauce-combo with pepperonis. Now it almost looks like a real pizza.

Step 4: Add the last ingredient, cheese (also, love), and you’re almost ready to chow.

Step 5: Microwave your concoction for 30-60 seconds, depending on your settings.

If done right, it should yield this:

Step 6: Eat them all. 

                There’s no shame in pigging out on a meal you made yourself, right? It’s easy to work up an appetite. And now you can feed your hunger without starving your wallet.

True Life: I Made Laundry Last

“I did laundry about three weeks ago, and I ran out of detergent when I did it. I don’t have the cash to get more, so I haven’t done it since.” This was a story told to me by one of my close friends, Kevin Lewis. However, even as scary as it may sound having to go three weeks without clean clothes, it is not a story of horror. Instead, it is a story of triumph, as Kevin has accomplished a feat that most college students have only dreamed of: he went three weeks without doing laundry.

Here's Kevin getting a free cookie -- another great money-saving tip.

                Laundry is expensive. Even here at University of the Cumberlands where laundry facilities are free to use, washing clothes can become a costly luxury thanks to the prices of laundry detergent, dryer sheets, and more. Knowing this, it isn’t difficult to realize that cutting out that expense or, at the very least, lessening the regularity of its occurrence is a key proponent in frugality as a college student.

                Kevin has unlocked the secret. Here’s what he said: “I conserved my laundry by minimizing the wear on my lower-traffic items. That means things like jackets, over-shirts, and jeans.” To do this, you’ve got to be careful. It is easy to throw on any shirt, run around campus until you soak it in sweat, and then toss it into the washer later. That is, unless you can’t afford to wash anything.

                “Take your jacket or over-shirt off before you get sweaty,” Kevin advised. “That way you can wear it again before you have to wash it.” He also mentioned reusing towels by hanging them to dry instead of tossing them in the dirty clothes hamper immediately. Kevin insists that, if you are careful, you can go for weeks without washing clothes. Or, at the very least, you can minimize the amount you need to wash, leaving only the necessities (you know what these are).

                Kevin’s advice was on laundry, but it is also very applicable to our topic of saving money in other ways. The less you do laundry, the less you have to buy supplies, and the less money you waste. Pretty simple. And similarly, the less you eat out, the less you pay to restaurants, if you use plastic instead of paper plates, you will spend less at Walmart. I guess what it boils down to, though, is this: Minimize your laundry to maximize your money. 

Recycle! (in your dorm room)

                Recycling is a resource conservation habit that people around the world are picking up in order to reduce waste, prevent pollution, and save energy. It is an alternative to waste removal that yields positive financial, environmental, and social results.

                But this blog is about saving money as a college student, and, aside from the very, very small monetary incentive they offer for recycling, there really isn’t a lot of immediate benefit for your wallet (this, however, does not mean you should avoid recycling; for more information, click here). So here is an alternative way to recycle resources within your dorm room that will keep you from shelling out unnecessary cash for products you could reuse: dorm room recycling.

                Jared Coleman, a fellow University of the Cumberlands student, offered a few practical uses for the empty drink containers you undoubtedly have scattered across your room. "The most obvious is just to reuse them," he said. "I do it all the time and I have saved so much." Plastic bottles (like those used for bottled soda, water, or Gatorade) are ideal for refilling and taking on runs, hikes, or to the gym. It is simple but effective, and it saves you the $1.25 you would spend buying bottled water from a vending machine. That adds up quickly (trust me on this one).

                This next option is a bit more creative (and, no doubt, more for the female demographic ), but also a bit more glamorous. Instead of tossing out the glass bottles you have in your room from soda or other perishable products, try making something like this:

                It's a homemade vase, and it would be a great gift for anyone who appreciates hard work, thoughtfulness, and/or money saved. It is simple, tasteful, and, above all, very cheap.

All hands on deck.

                All kinds of items within your dorm room are reusable; plastic bottles can become piggybanks or flower vases, and used paper or cardboard can be a door stop or a prop to fix that wobbly desk. Heck, I even built a boat (not life-sized) out of old Popsicle sticks once and sailed it in the flood after a hard rain. It isn’t hard to get creative with the way you recycle in your dorm room; all it takes is a little time and a lack of money. If you are a college student, I’d say you have both.

UC’s Fall Semester Blood Drive Not in Vein

 

                  University of the Cumberlands held a blood drive to support the Kentucky Blood Center on Wednesday in the mid-level of the Boswell Campus Center. Over 100 students and faculty came to donate between 9:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.

                “Each bag [of blood] goes to save about three lives,” said Ruth McKnight, a technician who took part in staffing the blood drive. McKnight is one of several nurses and doctors who help in blood drives at universities across the state of Kentucky each fall and spring semester. “It goes a long way,” McKnight finished.

A student gives blood during the blood drive.

                In order to qualify for donation, each student or faculty member was subject to a short questionnaire and physical including checks of temperature, blood pressure, and iron levels. Once cleared, donors gave up to a pint of blood. Donors then received a small gift in the form of a stuffed animal in appreciation for their donations.

                Kevin Lewis, a senior at University of the Cumberlands, said this about his donation: “I donate every semester, even though I’m afraid of needles. I feel bad if I don’t. I just know that I would really appreciate it if someone donated blood that saved me.” Many students came to donate in spite of fears or busy schedules.

                University of the Cumberlands hosts a blood drive each fall and spring semester and has seen thousands of students and faculty members donate over the years. Each semester, donors flock from each corner of campus to offer time and blood in service of others. In the semesters to come, the University of the Cumberlands and its communities will continue to save lives and serve the state of Kentucky, straight from the heart.

University’s Fall Revival Service Leaves Students Hopeful and Shoeless

               The University of the Cumberlands hosted the annual Fall Awakening program – a campus-wide Christian revival service sponsored by the Baptist Campus Ministries– on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Gatliff Chapel. Throughout the week, Palmer Chinchen from The Grove Church in Pheonix, AZ deliver the message and Jey Mbiro from Compassion International lead the students in worship. At the beginning of each service, UC's Baptist Campus Ministries Drama Team led the students in a short skit.

UC's Disciples Drama Team performs for Fall Awakening.

                The program included five services, two of which were morning services that required all students to attend. Throughout the week, over 1,000 students joined the services, many of who came to a greater understanding of the Christian faith.

                Michael Marsh, the university’s BCM intern, spoke highly of the program and its speakers: “Palmer and Jey are great guys with huge hearts for the Lord,” he said. “We were lucky to have them with us this week. Fall Awakening is a great opportunity for students to grow in their faith.”

                One service in particular highlighted poverty in Africa and around the world and concluded with an open request for the shoes on students’ feet to be donated for those in other counties without footwear. Many students weren’t hesitant to offer their favorite pair of sneakers to someone less fortunate who they had never met.

                Kenny Newton, a junior at University of the Cumberlands who is heavily involved in BCM activities, said that he gave his shoes away “because knew there was someone else out there who needed them more.” He also expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to serve another person in such a simple and practical way.

                Fall Awakening provides a way for student to grow in their faith and to serve others around the local community and the world. Through the leadership of Palmer Chinchen, Jey Mbiro and the BCM leadership team, UC's 2011 Fall Awakening completed its purpose: to share the Gospel and change lives.