Research the films that have been adapted from Philip K. Dick novels or short stories. Which have generally been acclaimed as the most successful? Why?
Brown (2001) states “In the career spanning thirty years, Dick produced thirty five science fiction novels and more than hundred short stories.” And seven Hollywood films were adapted from his work, each were: Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990), Minority Report (2002), Paycheck (2003), A Scanner Darkly (2004), The Adjustment Bureau (2011).
According to Brown (2001), “Dick’s early novels conformed to type: he used the popular leitmotifs of SF- alien worlds, precognition, ray-guns- but employed them to his own agenda.”, “another of his concerns was what constitutes a true human being, as opposed to a fake”
Firstly Most of these seven adaption stories were based on the future, like A Scanner Darkly, Blade Runner, Total Recall and Minority Report. Secondly in Paycheck, Total Recall, A Scanner Darkly and The Adjustment Bureau were about the main characters struggling for their true identification. And in Blade Runner (1982) and Total Recall (1990), alien worlds were mentioned by the writer. Besides, in Minority Report (2002), precognition was the main storyline.
Why these adaptions were so successful? “Dick was populating his novels with a repertoire of fully-realized characters drawn from real life (…) his art reflected life--and it was an eventful, troubled and chaotic life”, “one of the many strength of his work was the empathy with which he wrote about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.” (Brown, 2001)
Reference
Brown,E.(2001). introduction. in Dick, PK., The Man in the High Castle (p.v-xii).London: Penguin.
so which do you think is the most successful one? :)
ReplyDeleteWell, I personally like Blade Runner
ReplyDeleteGood intial post - but Simon's comment is valid - in a sense while there are some excellent references to Brown(2001) - it would be great if you could take your discussion further and include some of your own more 'personal' critical responses. I think group 3 developed arguments regarding the varying successes of Dick's filmic adaptations beyond Brown's. Also don't forget to include page numbers after direct quotes - just to follow academic conventions.
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I guess a reason for the success of his films were because of the boundaries which his narratives were pushing. Like the inclusion of technology & how it can drive its characters crazy as well as giving the audience something to think about with the possibilities of advanced technologies.
ReplyDeleteApart from the intricate plots, it was more of a spectacle attraction to me.