Steven Spielberg: Minority Report

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Introduction:
The movie that is titled Minority Report was directed by Steven Spielberg and features a lot of stars such as Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton. The action is set in 2054 and introduces a fictional concept of individuals who were able to foresee the future (they are referred to as precogs). In this world, police no longer have to investigate crimes: it is able to know where and when a person will commit a crime and prevent it from occurring. However, it appears that the main investigator John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is to kill a person whom he does not know. The movie addresses the issue of determinism and free will, pointing out that when a person learns about the future, one has the power to change it.
The Sequence: …show more content…

The camera angle that is used is worm's eyes which allow the audience to focus on the face of the main character and reflect that uniqueness of the situation when for the first time the person who arrests others for murder will be arrested himself. In addition to that, the hands of Anderton that are shown are parallel to each other and the viewer might see this as a gesture which reflects lack of readiness to accept the charges. It must be noted that this shot is extremely important to the movie theme since it shows how determinism (seeing the prophecy) and free will (having no intention to kill a person) collide in the mind of a person. Indeed, it is generally expected that people have motives to commit a crime and the main character sees that he kills a person whom he does not know at all. Another point that should be mentioned is that the shot feature intense non-diegetic sounds which contribute to the atmosphere that is represented in the show: Anderton feels that he is being chased by his future (Pramaggiore & Wallis, …show more content…

At first the camera follows the wooden ball with a carved name of the killer being issued; then it shows Anderton's colleague trying to take it, but John takes it instead, engaging his friend in a conversation and asking him to bring some cake. So the general idea of this shot is that the main character was able to trick his colleague and be undetected. The shot is medium close up and the camera angle is low. As it has been mentioned, the shot is quite long and this was, probably, done to contribute to the intensity of the situation. The importance of this shot lies in the fact that Anderton received the wooden ball which is perceived as a mark that is given to a person who will commit a murder in the future. However, it is clear that he does not have any intention to do it. In addition to that, one should point out that there is a great irony that can be identified: the camera shows how Anderton takes the ball and the name "John Anderton" is carved on it. Thus, he must have taken this ball a thousand times, but was never ready that once his name will appear on

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