Utopia_and_Minority_Report

Utopia is defined as a perfect or ideal place. But how can we define an ideal place when every single human on this Earth is an individual with individual preferences and opinions on what makes a Utopia. This can easily be seen through the comparison of two texts, the first; Utopia, a 1516 novel by Thomas More and second; Minority Report a 2002 film by Steven Spielberg. Two completely different texts, two completely different contexts, and two completely different perspectives on what a Utopia should be. However they do have one thing in common besides both being Utopian texts, both texts highlight what the author believes are the faults of the respective times they lived in. More draws our attention to the social hierarchy in England and the uneven distribution of power and wealth towards the higher classes. He addresses this by proposing his own social order that we now define as a communist society where everyone is born equal and resources are public property and shared amongst the community as a whole. More also takes a shot at the integrity of the rulers of his time saying "nations will be happy, when either philosophers become kings, or kings become philosophers." Funnily enough an argument with King Henry the 8th would lead to his trial for treason and subsequent execution. Whereas in Minority Report, Spielberg seems perfectly content to accept the capitalist ways of his time when he incorporates it into his movie with virtually no change to the social structure of contemporary America. Dr Heinimen likens capitalism to our basic human instincts; “every creature on the face of the Earth is interested in one thing and one thing only. Its own survival” Survival can further be extended to prosperity and wealth. In essence creating the opposite of communism, everyone is trying to get themselves in a better position in life. If both these texts are Utopia’s then why would the social structures used in both these texts be polar opposites of each over' The reason is because of the perspectives with which they were created. The capitalist society in Minority Report would be viewed as a Dystopia by More because it keeps the values of English society that he so desperately wanted to eradicate through the social structure of Utopia that is, the skewed distribution of wealth amongst a population. On the flip side, we could see More’s Utopian society as a Dystopia from our own perspectives which are so used to our current capitalist society. I’m sure we all know something about the many failed attempts throughout history to create communist societies similar to the one described in More’s Utopia, the Soviet Union being one. Well to say the least that didn’t quite turn out as a Utopia. Another theme to consider when comparing More’s Utopia to Spielberg’s Minority Report is conformity versus individualism. In More’s Utopia, everyone wears the same plain uniform garment; “As to their clothes, observe how little work is spent in them: while they are at labor, they are clothed with leather and skins. cast carelessly about them, which will last seven years; and when they appear in public they put on an upper garment, which hides the other; and these are all of one color, and that is the natural color of the wool.” Is how Raphael describes their clothing. While this conformity may be seen as an attribute desirable in a Utopia through the eyes of someone in the 16th century there is no way it could be seen as a Utopia today, we have simply become to accustomed to showing off material wealth through clothes and other luxury items. This holds true in the world of Minority Report where products and marketing have become so advanced that each individual consumer is targeted according to his or her own individual tastes. One thing that both these Utopia’s agree on is that crime must be cut down on in order to achieve an ideal society. In More’s Utopia he criticizes that the treatment of criminals is too harsh and that overly excessive punishment of less serious things such as theft may actually lead to the thief committing a much more serious crime and thus receiving a much more serious punishment, trapping them in a cycle of Dystopia. He also promotes religion as a deterrent of crime in Utopia where atheists are despised because it is believed that since they do not believe in punishment or reward after one has passed away they have no reason to abide by the pro-communal laws of Utopia and may as well break laws in search of self gain creating a Dystopia for everyone else. Minority Report goes a step further in entirely stopping crimes altogether through the use of an organization called Precrime and mediums referred to as Pre-Cogs. A potential reference to More’s Utopia is made when Danny Witwer mocks Detective John Anderton saying “Science has stolen most of our miracles, it is interesting that some people have begun to deify the pre-cogs”. Witwer implies that to deify the pre-cogs is ridiculous because religion is useless and good for nothing in the real world. It is clear that through the character of Danny Witwer, Spielberg is shooting down religion as an answer to crime. Interestingly Spielberg also shows us how his Utopia can turn into a Dystopia through the character of John Anderton. Anderton fully believes in the system of Precrime and that it is the first step towards a Utopia. That is until the pre-cogs determine he will murder someone thus turning him into a wanted fugitive and turning what was just previously his Utopia into a Dystopia. The same holds true for More’s Utopia and really anything in general, if anything favors anyone then the people it favors will be inclined to think positively of it. The quote; “The system is perfect, until it comes after you” really highlights the fine line between Utopias and Dystopias, that is perspective.