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It struck me that Kirk's choice of outfit is a peculiar one. Notwithstanding that he was actually successful in making contact with Truman, why would he think that dressing as a homeless person was an inconspicuous way to infiltrate the show?

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Wouldn't he stand out like a sore thumb in a town where there are no visibly homeless people and everyone else is dressed in brand-new clothes, directly from the Truman Catalogue?

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    But no one did react until after he made contact. So there were obviously some sort of bum/less fortunate characters on the show. It's a pretty common trope, the town bum that teaches the main character the ways of the "street" or is there for comedy relief. – pboss3010 Aug 20 '19 at 18:52
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    @pboss3010 - My immediate thought was that the characters (who obviously live outside the dome) wouldn't have noticed a homeless guy, despite the fact that they absolutely should have, because they're used to seeing homeless people in their real lives. – Valorum Aug 20 '19 at 18:59
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    I think my snap impression when I first saw the film was that Kirk really was a homeless person who, in search of his "glory days" when he was a well-paid supporting character on the show, had successfully sneaked back into the domed city somehow. He looked shabby because he couldn't afford a new suit of clothes; it wasn't a deliberate disguise. – Lorendiac Aug 20 '19 at 19:43
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    @Lorendiac - Back that up with some evidence and you've got yourself an answer – Valorum Aug 20 '19 at 19:44
  • @Valorum My vast lack of evidence (at the moment) is why I just made it a fast little comment. I don't think I've actually watched that film all the way through since the days when it was still on the big screen. – Lorendiac Aug 20 '19 at 19:45
  • I'm surprised by your question, Richard. I thought you knew everything about sci-fi and fantasy. – Ham Sandwich Aug 20 '19 at 20:14
  • @HamSandwich - I have a self-answer in the works, tbh. But I also wanted to see if anyone could come up with something more solid. Lorendiac's answer may be half-right. – Valorum Aug 20 '19 at 20:28
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    Truman himself said he was dressed as a homeless man, so clearly the idea of homelessness existed in the Truman Show. – Kai Aug 21 '19 at 01:08
  • @Kai - Maybe from old films? – Valorum Aug 21 '19 at 06:35

1 Answers1

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Because it was in an earlier version of the script and never got removed.

The Truman show wasn't originally set in a seaside town, it was originally set in New York. Making Truman's father "Han" a homeless man made good sense and when the locale changed, it would appear that they simply decided to keep that part of the script, noting that right up to the final edit, Truman's world was significantly less utopian.

Pausing to check his profile in the mirrored building, he glimpses the reflection of a HOMELESS MAN standing directly behind him. Truman, spellbound by the man, suddenly wheels around to face him. The Homeless Han is in his late-sixties. more well-groomed and well-fed than the average vagrant, with a serene smile on his face.

Truman Show: New York Script

In a deleted scene from the film, Truman's suspicions were aroused when he saw a 'homeless extra' in a wheelchair who was ill-advisedly recast as a 'jogging extra', so it would seem that homeless people did exist in Seahaven, at least before the edit was made. The scene also existed in the earlier script.

A TRANSIENT in a wheelchair approaches, looking for a handout. Truman gives the homeless man half of his sandwich, reconsiders and gives him it all, his appetite gone. As the transient wheels himself away, Truman loses himself in his book.

Truman Show: New York Script

For the record, the earlier script is abundantly clear that appearing as a homeless man (complete with makeup) was a disguise, not how Kirk/Walter/Han normally looks.

At the only occupied table, Truman's contrite father, KIRK, is having what's left of his homeless disguise cleaned from his face by a MAKE-UP ARTIST under the watchful eye of two DARK-SUITED BODYGUARDS.

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