In this fortnight's episode of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare and Masha are discussing the 2002 film Minority Report, with reference to the Philip K Dick short story on which it was based.
We chose to return to this particular film in response to the recent news of the UK's (since renamed) 'Homicide Prediction Programme' and one of our key themes is crime prevention.
We talk extensively about the ethics of crime prediction, particularly as presented in the film. We also discuss free will, returning to Robert Sapolsky's work as a reference point. We wrestle with the paradox of punishing people for a crime they are prevented from committing, with some discussion of 'conspiracy to...' crimes in the UK.
Among our discussions, we look at the film's depiction of 2054, and how far it is playing out in 2025. Particular areas of concern include the dominance of advertising and surveillance, including the irony of product placement in the film itself!
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