Abby and Alan discuss the history of Truman Show delusion, an example of cinema influencing culture and society. Have you ever felt like your life is a TV show and you're the unwitting star? It's more common than you think.

We talk through the research of Joel Gold, a psychiatrist who coined the term "Truman Show delusion" after seeing patients who believed they were starring in a reality show against their will. We discuss how individuals' beliefs about being the centerpiece of a reality show mirror the narrative of the iconic film, "The Truman Show," and raise questions about the power of media to shape our innermost fears and fantasies.

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Sources

• The Truman Show movie from 1998, directed by Peter Weir.
• Psychology Today article by Mark D. Griffiths PHD - The Truman Show Delusion
• New Yorker Article by Andrew Marantz - Unreality Star
• WEB MD article by Suzanne Wright called Truman Show Delusion
• New York Times article by Sarah Kershaw called Look Closely, Doctor: See The Camera?
• National Post article called Reality Bites from 2008
• IMDB + Wikipedia.

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