"Reality TV Star Discusses Meeting 'The Truman Show' in a Captivating Story"

Reality TV stars find themselves starring in a real-life version of "The Truman Show."

The heart of this story is difficult to put into words or even believe. In 1998, an up-and-coming comedian named Nasubi, known by his nickname, was taken from an audition straight to a small room. They told him to remove his clothes, fill out raffle tickets, and stay there until he amassed a million yen.

All this while being recorded without any legal agreement. For over a year, Nasubi became the focus of a segment called "A Life in Prizes," nearly completely cut off from the outside world and surviving on prize-winning food.

The footage reveals that Nasubi, who was nude, separated, and unaware of the audience's reaction, would occasionally struggle emotionally. The audience can be seen laughing at his situation, while the producers would censore him with an animated eggplant on the show.

Toshio Tsuchiya, the producer, reflects in "The Contestant" and admits that he wanted to create something never before seen. He mentions his intention of constantly pushing limits and says he would know he'd gone too far if a contestant took their own life.

Nasubi, on the other hand, describes feeling shattered and the lack of compassion displayed by the producers towards his potential psychological and physical distress. "I learned how mean people could be," he states, drawing a distinction between "making people laugh" and "being laughed at."

The similarities to "The Truman Show," starring Jim Carrey as a man unknowingly starring in a TV show about his life, are striking. Almost 25 years after the start of the modern era of reality TV when "Survivor" and "Big Brother" became massive CBS hits, you can't help but notice the warning signs prevalent in "The Contestant" that have been disregarded during these past few decades.

Claire TItley, the writer-director who spent years developing this project, sees several aspects of the story that have become particularly relevant, such as the way people have started living their lives publicly on social media. Concerning reality TV, she expressed her concerns to CNN: "I wonder if we've learned any lessons at all. It feels like people are still pushing boundaries, not necessarily in a good, ethical, and moral way."

TItley also points to the audience's involvement, who turned "Denpa Shonen" into a significant hit and continue to support sensational reality-TV programming worldwide with potentially dire consequences for participants.

Although it might be easy to view Tsuchiya as the villain, the events in "The Contestant" wouldn't have been possible without a market willing to consume these kinds of shows.

As Juliet Hindell, a BBC Tokyo correspondent during that time, memories going back to "A Life in Prizes" - these shows had no issue attracting participants with the promise of becoming celebrities in an instant. This dynamic remains prevalent today.

The costs associated with achieving that fleeting fame and the heartlessness inherent within them are among the things "The Contestant" leaves us to ponder. Even though Tsuchiya was able to achieve something different, the same idea has persisted, with people striving for their 15 minutes (or in Nasubi's case, 15 months) of fame.

"The Contestant" debuts May 2 on Hulu.