English · Première, Terminale (B1 to C2), Bac pro

Session 8: Staged reality on screen: The Truman Show and Nightcrawler

Recap check
  1. Name two techniques that shift a debate (Session 6).
  2. What are the steps of a fact-check (Session 4)?
  3. Why do we compare a viral post with a newspaper article (Session 5)?
Answer key
  1. Fake expert, unsourced figure, bandwagon effect, repetition, humour.
  2. Read the claim, find the first upload, consult a source, compare, give a verdict.
  3. Because the press names its sources, corrects its errors and separates facts from opinions.
Question: Who decides what we see on a screen, and what do they gain from it?

Recommended reading

Cover of Vanity Fair, Wordsworth Classics: a young woman holds a cracked mirror
William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair (1848), Wordsworth Classics edition (introduction and notes by Owen Knowles, ISBN 978-1-85326-019-3). Cover reproduced to recommend the book.

The cracked mirror shows what the novel is about: in Vanity Fair, people care about appearances, and Becky Sharp uses the image others have of her to manipulate them, like Christof and Lou on screen.

Reading tip: start with chapters 1 and 2, when Becky leaves school. Each time she says one thing and thinks another, note it in two columns: what she shows and what she wants.

Objectives

Today's language goal

To describe how each film shows a manufactured reality and debate the responsibility of viewers, we need the words of staged reality (footage, ratings, ethics, staged, framed) and conditionals 2 and 3 (If Truman knew ... ; If Lou had not filmed ...).

Documents

Official trailers (watch in class, no film stills are reproduced on this page):

Context. In The Truman Show, Truman Burbank does not know that his whole life is a TV programme filmed by thousands of hidden cameras; the producer, Christof, says: "We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented." In Nightcrawler, Lou Bloom films crimes and accidents at night and sells the footage to a local TV news channel, whose director wants images that push ratings up. The first film shows a reality staged for an audience; the second shows real events filmed, framed and sold.

Vocabulary

WordMeaningExample
staged realityevents arranged to look naturalTruman's town is a staged reality.
footagefilm recorded by a cameraLou sells his footage to the channel.
ratingsnumber of people watching a programmeShocking images push the ratings up.
ethicsrules about what is right or wrongFilming a victim raises a question of ethics.
manipulationcontrolling people without their knowledgeChristof's manipulation lasts thirty years.
to frameto choose what the camera showsThe way you frame a scene changes its meaning.
to whisperto speak very softlyIago whispers lies to Othello.
breaking newsnews that is happening now"If it bleeds, it leads" is a rule for breaking news.

Grammar lesson: conditionals 2 and 3: imagining and judging

To describe how each film shows a manufactured reality and debate the responsibility of viewers, we need conditionals 2 and 3: imagining and judging
For the teacher: how to run it (8 to 10 minutes)
  1. Ask: if you were Truman, what would you do? Write the answer: If I were Truman, I would leave.
  2. Ask about the past: if the channel had refused Lou's footage, what would have happened? Write the third conditional.
  3. Put both patterns on the board with the tenses in colour. Students copy.
  4. Quick check, then exercises, then the debate.
On the board, to copy

Rule

Second conditional: an imaginary present or future. Third conditional: an imaginary past, often to judge a decision or express regret.

Form

  • 2: If + past simple, would + base verb: If Truman knew the truth, he would escape.
  • 3: If + past perfect, would have + past participle: If the channel had refused the footage, Lou would have stopped.
  • were for all persons in the second conditional (formal): If I were ...
  • could / might instead of would for possibility.

Use

  • 2: to imagine yourself in the film: If I were Christof ...
  • 3: to judge the characters' past choices: If Lou had not filmed ...
  • In a debate, both help to argue about responsibility.

Examples from the lesson

  • If Truman knew about the cameras, he would try to leave.
  • If viewers stopped watching, the show would end.
  • If the director had refused the footage, Lou would have stopped.
  • “We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented.” If we questioned it, we would see the set.

Common mistakes

  • Not If Truman would know, he would leave., but If Truman knew, he would leave.
  • Not If she had refused, he would stop., but If she had refused, he would have stopped.
  • Not If I was Christof (in a formal essay), but If I were Christof
  • Not If the channel didn't buy, Lou wouldn't have filmed. (mixed by mistake), but If the channel hadn't bought it, Lou wouldn't have filmed.

Quick check (2 minutes, hands up or mini whiteboards)Second or third conditional? Complete.

  1. If I (be) Truman, I (leave) the island.
  2. If Lou (not / sell) the footage, the channel (not / show) it.
  3. If viewers (switch off), ratings (fall).
  4. If Christof (tell) the truth, Truman (be) angry.
Show the answers

1. were, would leave (2). 2. hadn't sold, wouldn't have shown (3). 3. switched off, would fall (2). 4. had told, would have been (3).

Exercises

EntryRecognition. Say if the sentence imagines the present (2) or the past (3), and what it judges.

  1. If I were a producer, I would never hide cameras.
  2. If Truman had known earlier, he would have left sooner.
  3. If ratings didn't matter, the channel would show calmer news.
  4. If Lou had been honest, he wouldn't have succeeded.
  5. If we stopped clicking, shock videos would disappear.
  6. If the director had asked questions, she might have refused.
Show the answers

1. 2, imagines a moral choice. 2. 3, Truman's past. 3. 2, the news system. 4. 3, Lou's methods. 5. 2, viewers' responsibility. 6. 3, the director's choice.

CoreTransformation. Rewrite as a conditional sentence.

  1. Truman doesn't know, so he stays. (2)
  2. The channel bought the footage, so Lou continued. (3)
  3. Viewers watch, so the show goes on. (2)
  4. Christof lied, so Truman lived a fake life. (3)
  5. We don't question the images, so we accept them. (2)
  6. The director wanted ratings, so she showed violence. (3)
  7. I am not Truman, so I can't feel his shock. (2)
Show the answers

1. If Truman knew, he wouldn't stay. 2. If the channel hadn't bought the footage, Lou wouldn't have continued. 3. If viewers didn't watch, the show wouldn't go on. 4. If Christof hadn't lied, Truman wouldn't have lived a fake life. 5. If we questioned the images, we wouldn't accept them. 6. If the director hadn't wanted ratings, she wouldn't have shown violence. 7. If I were Truman, I could feel his shock.

StretchProduction. Prepare four arguments for the debate “Are viewers responsible for what TV shows?”: two with the second conditional, two with the third.

Show the answers

For example: If viewers stopped watching shocking footage, channels would stop buying it. If we demanded sources, news would be more careful. If the audience had switched off the Truman Show, Christof would have had to stop. If the director had cared about ethics, Lou would not have become successful.

Going further (for students heading to language studies)Advanced. Use mixed conditionals and inversion. Rewrite and explain.

  1. Truman didn't escape earlier, so he is still on the show now. (mixed: past cause, present result)
  2. If the channel had refused, Lou would have stopped. (inversion with Had)
  3. If you should see shocking footage, check it first. (inversion with Should)
Show the answers

1. If Truman had escaped earlier, he wouldn't be on the show now. 2. Had the channel refused, Lou would have stopped. 3. Should you see shocking footage, check it first. Mixed conditionals link a past cause to a present result; inversion without if is formal and frequent in essays.

Words in action

To say it precisely, we need the right words

EntryMatch: staged reality, footage, ratings, ethics.

  1. the number of people watching
  2. rules about what is right
  3. film recorded by a camera
  4. events arranged to look natural
Show the answers

1. ratings. 2. ethics. 3. footage. 4. staged reality.

CoreComplete with: framed, hidden, sells, push up. Truman is filmed by thousands of ______ cameras. Lou ______ his footage to a channel. Shocking images ______ the ratings. Real events are ______ to look more dramatic.

Show the answers

hidden, sells, push up, framed.

StretchExplain the difference between a staged reality and a framed reality, with the two films.

Show the answers

The Truman Show: events are invented and arranged (staged). Nightcrawler: events are real, but chosen, filmed and edited to shock (framed).

Viewing questions

Trailer 1: The Truman Show

  1. What is Truman's job, and where does he live?
  2. How many cameras are hidden in the town?
  3. Find two signs that his world is fake.
  4. What does Truman decide to do at the end of the trailer?

Trailer 2: Nightcrawler

  1. What is Lou looking for at the start?
  2. What does he sell, and to whom?
  3. Explain the phrase "If it bleeds, it leads".
  4. Find one moment where Lou crosses an ethical line.
Answer key

Truman: 1. He sells insurance and lives in Seahaven, a perfect seaside town. 2. About five thousand. 3. A spotlight falls from the sky; everybody seems to be pretending; his wife talks like an advert; people stop him from leaving. 4. He tries to leave and find the truth.

Nightcrawler: 1. A job. 2. He sells footage of crimes and accidents to a local TV news director, Nina. 3. Violent stories come first because they attract viewers. 4. He films before calling the police, or moves things to get a better shot.

Activities

  1. Watch each trailer twice: first for the general idea, then with the questions.
  2. In pairs, fill in the table: who manipulates, who is manipulated, what is gained.
  3. Link with Othello: in Act III, Iago whispers lies to Othello and controls what he believes, like Christof and Lou.
  4. Link with Session 6: which technique from the Overton window session do the films use (repetition, emotion, fake expert)?
Who manipulates?Who is manipulated?What is gained?
Othello (Shakespeare, Act III)IagoOthelloRevenge, power
The Truman ShowChristofTruman, viewersRatings, money
NightcrawlerLou, NinaViewersRatings, money, success

Exercise

Complete with the vocabulary: 1. Lou films the crash and sells the ______. 2. The director wants high ______. 3. Truman's town is a ______ reality. 4. Should a journalist film a dying man? It is a question of ______. 5. Iago ______ lies into Othello's ear.
Answer key1. footage 2. ratings 3. staged 4. ethics 5. whispers

Figures of speech in the documents

A name that speaks: Truman, Nightcrawler

“Truman Burbank does not know that his whole life is a TV programme”; title: “Nightcrawler”

Truman sounds like true man: the only real person in a fake world. A nightcrawler is first a worm that comes out at night: the title is a metaphor for Lou, who crawls through the city at night, feeding on accidents. Both names tell the story before it starts.

EntryWhich two words can you hear in Truman?

Show the answers

true and man.

CoreExplain the metaphor of the title Nightcrawler.

Show the answers

Lou is compared to a night creature that crawls and feeds on what it finds: he lives at night on other people's accidents.

StretchChristof says: “We accept the reality of the world with which we're presented.” Explain the irony of this line coming from him.

Show the answers

He is the one who manufactures the reality; he describes the passivity he relies on. The line is also a warning to us, the viewers.

Speaking task

Debate in two teams (two minutes per speaker). Motion: "The audience is as guilty as the people who make the images." Use: I agree / I disagree because…; On the one hand… on the other hand…; What is more…; However…
Answer keyPossible arguments. For: if nobody watched, nobody would film shocking images; ratings are made by viewers; every click is a vote. Against: viewers do not know the footage was staged; the responsibility lies with the people who frame and sell; the press has rules of ethics that Lou ignores.

Expression task

Now say it

Debate: “Are viewers responsible for what TV shows?”

EntryOne argument with “If viewers ..., channels would ...”.

CoreTwo arguments, one example from each film, and one reply to the other side.

StretchUse a third conditional, a mixed conditional, and Christof's line in your conclusion.

Tools to use:

Show a model answer

Viewers are partly responsible. If we stopped watching shocking footage, channels would stop paying people like Lou. In Nightcrawler, the director buys his images because they push the ratings up. In The Truman Show, the audience watches for thirty years without asking questions. If the viewers had switched off, Christof would have had to stop. I agree up to a point that producers are more guilty, but, as Christof says, we accept the reality of the world with which we are presented: our attention is our responsibility.

Levels

LevelAdjustment
Première (B1)One trailer only, questions with choices; homework of 120 words.
Terminale (B1 to B2)Both trailers; debate with concession.
C1/C2 extensionCompare the point of view of the camera in both films and write a 350-word essay: "Is a camera ever neutral?"
Bac proRole play: a news editor refuses to buy a shocking video and explains why.

Homework

Write 120 to 150 words (B1) or 200 words (B2): "Truman, Lou or Iago: who is the most dangerous manipulator today, and why?" Give one example from the films and one from the news or social media.
Answer keyModel answer: In my opinion, Lou Bloom is the most dangerous manipulator today, because he looks like us: anyone with a phone can film an accident and post it. Christof controls one man in a studio, and Iago lies to one man in a play. Lou, on the other hand, sells his footage to millions of viewers, and the news director chooses the most violent images to push the ratings up. On social media, a shocking video can be shared thousands of times before anyone checks it. However, Iago shows that manipulation is very old: a whisper was the first social network. To protect ourselves, we should ask who filmed, who framed and who gains, exactly like a fact-checker.