The movie I have been assigned is Minority Report, a Steven Spielberg film from 2002 that is set in 2054. It is based on the idea of a future system called Precrime. It is a special police department that stops murder crimes before they happen. They use three humans that they call "precogs," that can see the future. The are kept hooked up to a machine and given nutrients and electrodes. The are kept not too awake but not too deep asleep either. The images that they see are projected onto a screen in which John Anderton, the Precrime officer, can sort through in order to find clues where the crime is going to happen.
There are many relationships that we see in this future setting between the body and technology. Each human has a chip in their eye that can be scanned to identify them. This helps the government keep track of everyone. There are scanners at the entrances of every building and metro statements and along the streets so they can keep track of where everyone is. This plays on the idea of power and technology and how it can be used by certain people to control others.
The "precogs" that can tell the future are the result of human technology. They are children of drug addicts who were given all kinds of experimental treatment for their survival. So the film is making to argument that technology can change how our minds work.
The overall argument, however, is that despite what seems like a perfected system, because the fact that is human-run and operated, there is a flaw. That because humans are imperfect, the system can't be. Sometimes the "precogs" disagree, creating a minority report. And in the case of this movie, the officer who runs the precrime operations is actually accused of murder.
I see how this resembles Neuromancer in a lot of aspects, from small details to the overall argument that humans will always be limited by their bodies no matter how much technology intervenes.
2 comments:
I've never seen Minority Report sadly but I'll try to comment on it helpfully. From your blog it looks like Minority Report might be the best movie for this project. I think you can make a great argument with the relationship between humans and an imperfect technological system. It's easy to forget sometimes in all the dealing with technology and machines that technology is a direct result of humans. It is something that we've made originally. I think that you could make an argument on the invasion of privacy that is capable by the technology in this movie. Maybe you can explore whether this system when working perfect is a good or bad thing. Does this take away freedom? You can probably make a bigger monster out of technology if you want to.
Megan,
I think Drew is on to something when he speaks of the biological foundation of technology. Are the precogs humans or machines? This seems up for debate in the movie. I also liked the idea of surveillance and control in this movie, especially as it circulates around the idea of freedom and choice.
There are, of course, interesting moments of body modification, including Tom Cruise's character's eye replacement.
Lastly, one thing I am thinking of (because of class discussion on Monday) is the idea of a recording or construct. Here I am thinking of how Cruise's character remembers his son - interacting with the recording that is in 3D.
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