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Minority Report: From Story to Screen Essay

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Minority Report: From Story to Screen

Adaptations are never carbon copies. A prime example is Philip K. Dick’s short story and Steven Spielberg’s 2002 film, Minority Report. The structure of the storytelling is indeed different as well as other key elements. The narrative transforms its structure into a more episodic approach when brought to the screen. Words on paper take on a new identity when brought to life on a visual basis.

Philip K. Dick’s Minority Report, written in 1956, was ahead of its time. The short story explores the consequences of technology and science and how the technology echoes the present state of society. Both the story and the film emphasize the same basic themes, however the actual plot is …show more content…

Even the characters have very different traits. John Anderton in the short story is rather old and balding. He seems rather disgruntled and has an immense disliking for Witward. In Spielberg’s film, Anderton is played by Tom Cruise who is far from old and balding. Spielberg most likely chose the young A-list actor as opposed to an older one that fits the profile of Dick’s Anderton mainly for money’s sake. Simply having the name “Tom Cruise” in a movie leads many more people to view the film, even if they do not necessarily know the story line. In the movie, Anderton’s motive for joining the pre-crime forces was because his son was kidnapped and murdered. As a result, Anderton finds himself with a drug problem as a means of coping with his depression. In the film, Anderton and his wife are divorced. However, in the beginning of Dick’s story, Anderton has suspicion that his wife, Lisa, is behind the plot to set him up. In the film, Anderton is fortuned to kill Leon Crow, whereas in the story he is predetermined to kill a man by the name of Leopold Kaplan. Anderton as a character deviates from story to film.

In addition to Anderton, the three psychic beings, dubbed pre-cogs, are exceedingly different in the story and the film. In Dick’s rendition, the pre-cogs consist of Mike, Donna, and Jerry. As kids they were noted as having cognitive malfunction and were given psychiatric testing. Once their involuntary talent was discovered, they were hooked up

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