Gary Wesfahl's review of The Adjustment Bureau, "Philip K, Diminished" over at Locus.com is the review to read. I couldn't have said it better myself -and I've been trying for years. Go now and read it. Oh, you want some evidence it's a good article? Here:
"Indeed, if professors of film studies want to enlighten their students about what Hollywood wants to be, and what Hollywood really is, I can imagine no better lesson than to have them read stories and novels by Philip K. Dick, then having them watch the films that they inspired. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968) / Blade Runner (1982), “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” (1966) / Total Recall (1990), and “The Minority Report” (1956) / Minority Report (2002) would all be obvious items for the syllabus, but “Adjustment Team” / The Adjustment Bureau might actually be the most illuminating assignment. This would be the theme of the class: today, everyone in Hollywood wants to be different, to be innovative, even to be strange; hence, they are inexorably drawn to the works of Philip K. Dick, because perhaps more so than any other science fiction writer in the business, Dick is consistently different, consistently innovative, consistently strange."
5 comments:
And that quite eloquently sums up why i seem to have zero enthusiasm for seeing this film. I like his pkd musings.
Precisely-- how Hollywood could adjust PKD's quirky little story to make another "blockbuster" movie. but hey, I lost faith in movie-goers awhile back: JackAss 1, 2, and 3? "Knocked UP" -- really? More like throw up.
OH, and forgot to say, I re-read the "Adjustment Team" instead of voting with my $$ and being part of the Hollywood crowd. It was a highly enjoyable read. I bet they didn't have a scene with Ed Fletcher shooting thru the stratosphere in a phone booth and finding himself in front of the Old Man. Of course not, there wasn't any Ed Fletcher in this "inspired" flick.
I do want to say, that one of my goals with my novel, "A Kindred Spirit", was to KEEP the spirit of PKD alive. If a few people read it -- especially now as an eBook -- and then want to read Phil's books and stories, then I've accomplished something. Whereas going to these "blockbuster" movies, the next gen will never know anything about the real Phil.
A Kindred Spirit ej Morgan
One of the main lessons that PKD teaches and Hollywood misses is that no matter who you are or what you do you are screwed and the universe does not care.
Hollywood turns most of PKD's stories made into movies Mozart played on a harmonica. It might be fun but it ain't art.
Mozart in mirrorshades you could say! Very cool but... wait, where is this analogy going again?
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