Steven Spielberg’s Interpretation of Philip K. Dicks’s Minority Report
In the year 2054 crime has become a thing of the past. The relatively new Pre-Crime system allows the government to operate an elite police force, which with the help of three very talented and unique human beings can see into the future and prevent countless crimes, especially murders before they happen. In Philip K. Dicks’s short story, The Minority Report, the world we live in is nearly infallible. With the reduction of violent criminal acts, people can live their lives in peace and prosperity without the fear of the pain and suffering, which usually accompanies violence. Likewise, in director Steven Spielberg’s 2002 movie re-creation of Dick’s
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In both instances, as the story approaches an end point, Anderton realizes that his original vision of the predicament facing him was faulty. The shock and amazement that the individuals who Anderton though were behind an apparent plot to seize his job by framing him for murder, were in fact simply doing their jobs by pursuing him, leads the main character to uncover a plan where other previously benign forces were at play manipulating the situation at hand for their own personal gains. In the final moments of both narrations of the story, the somewhat ironic endings for those involved lead to the proclamation of Anderton’s innocence and the punishment of those really attempting to manipulate the Pre-Crime system for their own use.
Although both Dick’s and Spielberg’s versions of The Minority Report were alike in many general ways, Spielberg’s later interpretation of Dick’s short story did deviate somewhat for its original context. Whereas Dick’s version of the narrative pitted John Anderton, the director of Pre-Crime against other corrupt elements of the government, Spielberg’s version, had Anderton struggle with internal elements within his own organization which were trying to assure a safe future for the Pre-Crime system. Furthermore, in Dick’s story Anderton was actually being framed by an Army General, Kaplan, in an effort to prove that Pre-Crime was faulty, which would
The method is more subtle in Minority Report, but it is still present; the show “COPS” is shown on television to emphasize the horror of crimes, so the public will support the Precrime program. Due to these factors the source of power is impossible to be fought against; consequently, corrupt governments maintain
The text “The Minority Report” by Philip K. Dick is a commentary on the concept of innocence and one’s freedom of choice. It is often said that stories change significantly when becoming movies. The movie by the same name Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg is based off the same ideas and concept the unpredictability of life and choices. It is a prime example of how the short story and movie differ even if the basic concepts remain unchanged.
Despite the rise of oppression and authoritarianism in societies, historically free will always prevails over determinism. Both Steven Spielberg and Arthur Miller in Minority Report and The Crucible, respectively, establish settings ravaged by authoritarianism as a means to embody fundamental concepts regarding the conflict between free will and determinism. Both authors use extensive imagery of religion, symbolism of characters and contrasting images of social responsibility and personal desire to draw attention to their idea that an individual always has choice and the capacity for free will despite the presence of determinism and authoritarianism in society. Spielberg and Miller use this idea as a foundation to establish universal messages connecting conflicting free will and determinism to oppression, suggesting that true freedom exists only when societies stand up to deterministic views designed to bring profit to only a select few.
The Minority Report by Spielberg is about a one man conspiracy to keep pre crime up and running. In the book by Dick, there is a larger conspiracy to destroy precrime. The final results are opposite as well; in the book precrime was maintained and still operational. In the movie, precrime was shut down and destroyed. The methods of precrime are also different. In the book, there are three precogs which mutter an indecipherable language, which a machine interprets into images of a murder. Then a card comes out of the machine with the name of the killer and name of the victim on it. Spielberg made a more modern method out of this. In the movie, images are taken directly from the three precogs brain and then interpreted by a person who tries to find out the location of the murder. Also there are two wooden balls made, one with the name of the killer and the other with the name of the victim, on them. The movie also goes deeper into the creation of precrime, how crack babies whom had an odd gift/curse of dreaming of murder became used to prevent murder. It also shows why Anderton joined precrime, to make sure no one else would suffer like he did when he lost his son. The precogs in the book and movie are very different. First off their names in the book are Donna, Jerry and Mike. In the movie their names are Agatha, Arthur and Dashiell. The movie also involves the precogs, or at least one of them, more into the story.
Walker, S., Spohn, C., Delone, Miriam. (2004). The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (3rded.). Toronto, Ontario: Thomas Learning Inc.
One of the most polarizing policy issues in the United States is the process of using race, ethnicity, and/or national origin by law enforcement as a chief predictor of criminal behavior. In the presence of social media and modern technological innovation, there has been increased documentation on the very problematic ways in which police officers use their position of authority against minorities. The countless cases of murder and police brutality have prompted national dialogue regarding to what extent race should be used in methods of policing. Against a troubled backdrop of incessant clashes with minorities and law enforcement, navigating the situation requires a degree of care that does not diminish the
When certain states in America reach a stage in which someone, typically a minority, has to fear the possibility that they might not leave with their life whenever they are pulled over or interrogated by a police officer, an issue with our police system is clear. When an officer in America charged with a crime of assault or murder has a miniscule chance of those charges being pressed, the problem is even clearer. This issue is significant police misconduct, especially in states such as Chicago, that calls for a reform in the police department’s code, recruiting, training, and procedure. The alarming amount of unchecked police transgressions has evidenced a primitive lack of value for human life in the U.S. that in some states, make simply
The news media as most other print, radio, and television media are in a constant competition for ratings. A direct result of this rating competition is the sensationalizing of the media reports received by the general public. One of the most significant problems resulting from the news media’s misrepresentation of crime is the mistrust it creates between the general public and the criminal justice system. If the public were only to believe what is reported by the various news media, then the assumption would have to be that all the crime in this country is at the felonious level in which someone is usually killed with a gun. According to Bohm and Haley (2011), the distribution of police calls indicates that the majority of crime is anything
For many years’ crime in America has been an ongoing problem with statistics dramatically varying over the past decade (Walker, Spohn & DeLone 2012). American crime statistics show crime is commonly associated with racial aggregation, crimes include: drugs, burglary, larceny, arson and motor vehicle theft, to more violent crimes, such as, rape, robbery, assault and homicide, in which the rate is exceptionally high (Walker, Spohn & DeLone 2012). Further, racial conflict has been an issue in American history for over a century and continues to be an arguable topic (Beckett & Sasson 2014). According to Walker, Spohn and DeLone (2012) it is argued that the American criminal justice system declares they are not racist and that allegations of
A very popular 1995 film involving crime is “Bad Boys” directed by Michael Bay. Michael Bay and his team of writers were able to film a highly intense action-comedy based around two detectives fighting organized crime. By examining distortions, crime causation theories, and the image portrayed in “Bad Boys,” the viewer is absorbed into the Hollywood perspective of our justice system.
In this paper I will be reviewing the movie Minority Report directed by Steven Spielberg released in 2002. In the entire review of this film, I will be discussing some specific aspects such as few scenes from the movie, some technical aspects and the intended audience of the film. In addition I will add my own opinion to all the aspects throughout this paper. Finally I will round off my review by concluding why this film is worth of watching both for personal entertainment and academic purpose.
Minority Report takes place in the year 2054, crime is virtually eradicated from Washington D.C. due to the Precrime crew. The program uses three gifted humans, known as Pre-Cogs, to see in the future and predict crimes beforehand. John Anderton, the head of Precrime, believes that the system is flawless, however, the Pre-Cogs
Every television network has a prime time show focused on law enforcement or some form of criminal activity. From Columbo to Law & Order, this genre has stood the test of time. In the opening of Law & Order, there is a brief statement about how all cases are fictional but they added that there story lines are ripped from the headlines. Many hard working, law abiding citizens are fascinated with criminals and the crimes they commit. One explanation maybe that deep in our subconscious we would all love to get away with the perfect crime, secretly we have all had the thought of making a hated co-worker disappear rob a bank, but not get caught. In the 90’s, there was a movie where Tom Cruise was a future police officer. It was called Minority Report. In it, he was in charge of the “pre-crime Unit”, which consisted of 3 psychics. The sole purpose of this unit was to predict a
Minority Report is a 2002 science fiction film directed by renowned director Steven Spielberg and is set in the year 2054 in Washington, D. C. The film revolves around an elite law enforcing squad; Precrime. The Precrime Division uses three genetically altered humans called Pre-Cogs whom possesses special powers to see into the future and predict crimes beforehand. After each crime is foreseen and analyzed, Precrime police officers are sent to the crime location to apprehend the future murderers and place them under arrest. The future murderers are then put into a sleep state with a device called a "halo". Based on Minority Report, it suggests that humans are free willed beings and have the ability to alter the future that was
The Minority Report is a film that tries to stop crimes before they happen, with the enlistment of 3 teen pre-cogs. These pre-cogs predict future murders and the authorities swoop in and arrest the would-be murders, before they have the chance of committing the crime. Even thing goes great until Anderton, a cop played by Tom Cruise, is suspected. Written by Philip K. Dick and then turned to film by Steven Spielberg in 2002, the short story to film became a success. Though there are many differences between the book and the movie, one would think Steven Spielberg would not be able to grab audience’s attention, but with his skills, Spielberg went above and beyond all measures. Many times, novels to films end up being either a great hit