Knox takes care of that problem with a long essay that, in the end, compares "Seahaven" with Disneyland. But along the way Knox affirms the artistic legitimacy of The Truman Show, adding that the film does "not ask the audience to work out (along with the protagonist) that things are not quite as they seem" (9). Because in film, things rarely are "as they seem" and that, after all, is the point of art.
Conclusion
Art does imitate life, and when a film is made that is so shockingly creative and mysterious -- and like Tolstoy explains, also has a moral tone to it -- it is most assuredly art. Whether or not all film is art can be left up to the pundits and scholars. But for this amazing film, it is a new kind of art, blending reality TV (before reality TV hit the airwaves) and a film genre into an entirely unique experience for filmgoers.
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Scott, Alex, 2002, 'Tolstoy's What is Art?', Angelfire, retrieved September 13, 2011, from http://www.angelfire.com/md2/timewarp/tolstoy.html.
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