Power And Control In Minority Report

Power and control are universal themes in literature. Steven Spielberg in Minority Report and Tom Rob Smith in Child 44 explore a different interpretation of these themes to attempt to explain their role in society. The authors display this by contrasting societies; one set in 2054 while the other in 1953. Free will and Fear; are the two key ideas which are expressed through the texts. Spielberg sets Minority Report in a dystopian universe, where freewill is at a minimum and control over society is at an all time high, while Tom Rob Smith uses the Soviet Union, another dystopian society to investigate the relationship between fear and it’s use to gain power and control.

Spielberg presents the reader with a world, which is idealistic, and a utopian society, with factors such as a 0% murder rate. The city is under constant surveillance, with each and every moment tracked through cameras placed within the city, which entices concepts such as consumerism and also limiting freewill of the citizens. Tom Rob Smith portrays Russia within Child 44 in a similar way, except he aspires for the readers to acknowledge the restrictions that are placed upon the citizens. As Child 44 uses the historic setting of Soviet Union Russia, the Soviet Union itself becomes a surveillance system. It is a government that refuses to acknowledge murder; it has the foundations of an idealistic society. Throughout the novel Tom Rob

Smith depicts an eerie feeling, this feeling is due to the rules and regulations, which the Soviet Union places upon its citizens. The author uses historical context to set the scene for the novel, within the novel thoughts against the system were considered a capital offense, the MGB would arrest others on the premises that those who displayed any doubts for the system or voiced their opinion were an enemy of the state “Enemies of the Party were not merely saboteurs, spies…. but doubters of the Party line, doubters of the society which awaited them”. However Tom Rob Smith questions this idealistic view through the murder of a child and the journey of the protagonist Leo Demidov. Spielberg uses the Pre-Crime unit and the actions, which occur within to display the many flaws of the system and governmental control. Through characters such as Danny Witwer and Lamar Burgess Spielberg interrupts a message in regards to human fatality and the system: “There’s a flaw, its human, it always is”. Another important aspect of the society, which Spielberg signifies with the city of Washington DC, is the little free will citizens who reside within the city have.

The protagonists are used by the authors to show how patriotic characters within the two texts are used to explore the theme of power and control. Spielberg characterizes John Anderton as a man who demonstrates a high belief in the Pre-Crime program, the program itself becomes like a religion to him; holding a belief that the actions and movements he undertook for the program were for the greater good. Similarly in Child 44 Tom Rob Smith characterizes Leo Demidov as patriotic, just like John Anderton he believes the polices which the state inflicts on the citizens of Russia, are for the greater good, he is proud of the Russia that has been created; “ all these horrors seemed small when placed beside the magnitude of the greater good”. Spielberg portrays John as a hero; yet he holds a shadowed existence as shown through the actions of taking elicit drugs and the mess of his apartment. However Spielberg displays John Anderton as a man who was blinded by his righteous, holding a one-eyed perspective. A man who was psychologically blind to the truth and morality of the department. Likewise Tom Rob Smith displays Leo Demidov as the poster boy of the Soviet Union “His level headedness, military success…absolute and sincere belief in his country had resulted in him becoming a poster boy”. Leo Demidov shares another similarity to John Anderton; in that he was psychologically blind to the true meaning of the actions of the Soviet Union.

As Leo Demidov becomes an enemy of the state, he is able to see the state in a new perspective; he begins voicing the opinions he kept buried within. In addition to this Tom Rob Smith demonstrates an almost split identity within him, shown within the novel as Leo Demidov battles between his moral obligations and his professional duties. A message relating to Power and Control is show through the concept of the split identity, through Leo the author presents that all individuals have a mask which hides their true self, it is a protection mechanism which adjusts to the environments they are exposed too. Within Minority Report, John Anderton replaces his eyes releasing him from a one eyed perception, causing him to see the Pre-Crime program in a new perspective; he began to see the corruption and the problems that plagued the system. Spielberg uses another character Lycon to revile the idea that it is the inner vision, which gives clarity “In the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king”, solidifying the notion that the one eyed perception and oblivion is what will secure an individual a place within society. As opposed to viewing society in a different light, such viewing it in an individualized perspective. Spielberg also uses an additional character Lamar Burgess, the co-founder of Pre-Crime to display the lengths to which people in power would go to, to keep grasp on the power and control which they may hold over thousands of people.

Tom Rob Smith uses the theme of fear in the general setting of Child 44 to successfully demonstrate how fear can be integrated with everyday life in order silence or provoke others. Meanwhile Spielberg uses a variety of cinematographic techniques in Minority Report such as lighting, characterization/character development and symbolism to represent various messages underneath the themes of Power and Control. Within the Film Minority Report the world of Pre-Crime can be perceived as black and white, characters either wear dark colours such as black or light colours such as white. The use of contrasting colours distinguishes the guilty such as the perpetrator and those associated with pre-crime from the innocent such as those in the public. Through manipulating the lighting, Spielberg creates an additional contrast of the light-dark concept. The exterior is lit brightly and is overwhelmed with sunlight, while the interior is continuously dark, with little light entering from the outside. Tom Rob Smiths manipulates two different settings within Child 44, rural Russia and the concrete Jungle; Moscow. Through manipulating the settings the author is able to display an indication of the effect that power and control has had on Moscow in comparison to rural Russia. Moscow is industrialized; the interrogation building is the image of the city “there was something about the building itself which made people uneasy, as though fear had been factored into the design”. The author uses this setting to create an unmistakable feeling of fear; another area where the idea of control over a society is evident is within the local school “None wanting to seem less dedicated than their neighbor”. Rural Russia provides a contrast to Moscow, communities are still built around culture and the sense of community, the author juxtaposes these two settings successfully and shows how even with a tight regime, control and power can be over turned.
Spielberg also effectively contrasts the setting within Minority Report, showcasing two different cities. Washington DC is an industrialized wasteland; it is mechanized and filled with a dark underworld of crime. Spielberg uses this underlying setting of the underworld to suggest to the reader that the promise of safety and security comes with consequences. Just as in Child 44, Spielberg uses the countryside to provide a contrast to the city and yet the countryside is far from idyllic and is full of danger. Both of the authors display similar messages through the manipulation of the setting and the lighting of the texts, Spielberg interprets a message to the audience about how all individuals hold a darkness within them, yet it is the outside influences such as those in the environment which can determine the true actions of an individual. Meanwhile the message and concept of a split identity appears again within Child 44, Tom Rob Smith uses this as an underlying message throughout the novel.

The author of Minority Report uses water as an important symbol; within the film Spielberg uses water to represent two worlds. One of positive imagery and the other of negative imagery, one a meditative creation and the other a world full of psychological destruction. Meanwhile Tom Rob Smith uses Andrei’s cats as a symbol within Child 44; he uses the relationship between Andrei and the cats to show the detachment he shares from the human race. He also uses this to establish the toughness of the Soviet Union rules. Spielberg presents the scenario “How dangerous is it to exchange individual freedoms for governmental assurances” within the film. He displays this through the actions of Lamar Burgess, specifically his ability to manipulate visions in order to assure and control the public. A game of chess was created; Spielberg uses this to demonstrate the scale of corruption within the system. Another concept that Spielberg addresses that has a direct link to the idea of power and control is vision. The vision of the public and those working within the program is distorted and blurred; the opening scene is blurred and distorted. From the opening scene Spielberg uses it as in introduction into the idea that the control from the Pre-Crime system has skewed the vision of the public. Key characters such as Agatha and Lamar Burgess have key lines such as “Can you see? The nation is upon us” and “ The eyes of the nation are upon us”. These lines demonstrate that the nation is under surveillance and control, that all actions are observed and recorded.

Throughout history the theme of Power and control has been a universal theme.

Spielberg and Tom Rob Smith use different interpretations of these themes to explain the role, which they held within society. Through contrasting two societies both authors are able to express key ideas relating to the ideas of freewill and fear. Spielberg successfully explores how the use of fear is used to control masses of citizens while Tom Rob Smith uses the lack of freewill within Minority Report to investigate how control may affect society and individual’s behavior and

beliefs.