Jessa Seewald and Jinger Vuolo Are Both Fans of ‘The Truman Show,’ A Movie That Mirrors Their Lives in Some Ways

While most reality TV fans have their eyes affixed to Jill Dillard, thanks to the release of her book Counting the Cost, she isn’t the only Duggar dropping some interesting tidbits of information. In an attempt to take attention away from Jill Dillard’s scathing memoir, Jessa Seewald has returned to social media. She has uploaded a YouTube video and posted more than a dozen times on Facebook during the leadup to the release of Jill’s book. In her YouTube upload, Jessa Seewald and her husband, Ben Seewald, traveled around Florida, checking out filming spots for The Truman Show. That might not seem significant, but Jinger Vuolo has also mentioned the cult classic film. For siblings who were not allowed to watch much mainstream entertainment, it’s interesting they would both be a fan of a movie all about a man living his life as part of a reality TV show. 

Jessa Seewald visited filming locations for ‘The Truman Show’ during her romantic getaway with Ben Seewald 

Jessa Seewald and Ben Seewald are apparently fans of The Truman Show. The cult classic was filmed mostly in Florida, in a small town known as Seaside. Jessa and Ben opted for a romantic getaway after learning they were pregnant with their fifth child. They just so happened to vacation in Florida. 

The couple enjoyed several days on the beach together. They also made time to check out some filming spots for The Truman Show. In the YouTube upload, Jessa and Ben even visit the Seaside Post Office, where Truman Burbank, the movie’s main character, picks up his mail. Jessa pointed out that the movie had been filmed in Seaside and that it was interesting to see some of the spots from the movie. 

Jinger Vuolo mentioned the flick in her book, ‘Becoming Free Indeed’ 

Jessa Seewald isn’t the only Duggar family member interested in The Truman Show. Jinger Vuolo revealed that the movie was the first one she and her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, watched together as husband and wife. In her memoir Becoming Free Indeed, Jinger recalled watching the movie during her honeymoon in Australia. 

In her book, Jinger said she and Jeremy happened upon the movie while they were in their hotel room. They sat down and watched it, and Jinger quickly drew the parallels between her life and the film. While it was likely the first time Jinger had ever seen the movie, it probably wasn’t the first time Jeremy had viewed it. The Truman Show was released in 1998. Jinger and Jeremy watched it in Australia in 2016. Since Jeremy was raised in a mainstream family and attended a secular college, surely he was familiar with the cult classic before his marriage. 

How is ‘The Truman Show’ just like the Duggars’ lives? 

A movie might just be a movie. Still, Jinger and Jessa’s interest in The Truman Show, in particular, is certainly interesting. It’s especially interesting in light of Jill’s revelations about how little control the Duggar kids were given over their filming lives. The Duggar kids’ lives were similar to Truman Burbank’s life. 

In the film, Truman Burbank is raised inside a dome. He is the main focus of a reality TV show he doesn’t know exists. All of his most important moments are manufactured for television. The studio and the audience control his life decisions, including who he ultimately marries. Truman finally breaks free.

The Duggar kids had their lives filmed from the time they were very young. Many of their special moments were filmed for the TV series. Their courtships, first kisses, and early marital growing pains were all captured for the show. The show’s audience weighed in on the family regularly. Even now that the show has been canceled, family followers have many opinions on how they live their lives. Some Duggar kids, like Jill Dillard and Jinger Vuolo, have opted to break free from the “dome” they lived in. Others, like Jessa Seewald, remain tightly encased in their manufactured world.