We are currently living in the age of the reality show, where everything from dating to cooking to wild safari adventures is taped for the enjoyment of complete strangers. Most people consider MTV's "The Real World" to be one of the first reality shows: a program featuring people in their everyday lives. But with cameras currently following around people like Roseanne Barr and Anna Nicole Smith, we can only speculate what the future of reality television has in store for us.In fact, we have already been introduced to one possibility. Released back in 1998, "The Truman Show" featured Jim Carrey in an unusually dramatic (and in my opinion, his best) role as Truman Burbank, a man whose life has been recorded since his birth. The "reality show twist:" He is the only one in the world ignorant of the fact that he is on TV. His whole town: his house, office, stores and buildings were all created just for the purpose of "The Truman Show." His wife, best friend, mother, and all of the other people in the town are actors scripted to prolong the plot. The environment on the "show" is carefully controlled, and everything is perfectly planned and synchronized.

Obviously, this is extreme. However, as the creators of reality shows try to come up with new and creative ways to keep their audiences tuned in, is Truman not knowing that his life is a set-up any different than Joe Millionaire's ladies not knowing that he wasn't a millionaire? If you were let in on a secret that the main character of a television show did not know for all of his life, wouldn't you watch?

How far is too far? When does a show cross the line from entertainment into invasion of privacy? I think that this movie serves as a fair warning of what the future may hold for reality television, and we should all be aware that what makes good entertainment might not always be good for the people involved. As Ed Harris' character told Truman near the conclusion of the film: "You were real. That's what made you so good to watch.