How Does Steven Spielberg Use Cinematic Techniques In Minority Report

Based on Philip Dick’s 1956 science-fiction novel, Minority Report is a film directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 2002. Set in the apparent utopian society of 2054 in Washington DC, murder has been virtually eliminated as a result of a specialised division of law enforcement known as “pre-crime”. Three children, called pre-cogs, with the ability to foresee murders allow them to arrest criminals before any harm is done. John Anderton heads up this department, until he is convicted of the future murder of someone he doesn’t even know. In an attempt to prove his innocence, John discovers flaws in the once-perfect system of pre-crime. Throughout the film, Spielberg utilises the plot, characterisation, cinematic techniques such as music and camera angles, as well as context to convey the theme that even when it appears that we are being controlled, everybody always has a choice.
Cinematic techniques such as alterations in music, sudden movements and camera angles are used through Minority Report to provide a method for the filmmaker to explore the theme that everybody
In the beginning of the film, it appears that pre-crime functions flawlessly but as the plot progresses, the weaknesses are revealed. Doctor Hineman, creator of the pre-crime technology, suggests to John that the reason why these complications in the system occur is because there is no set future, “the pre-cogs are never wrong...but occasionally, they do disagree” (Steven Spielberg, 01:01:00). Two key sections of the plots are used to demonstrate this statement. John decides not to murder Leo, and similarly at the end of the film, Lamar chooses to kill himself instead of John, as the pre-cogs showed. These scenes allow the filmmaker to utilise the plot of Minority Report as a method of portraying the theme that the future is not determined and everyone has a