Minority Report

As the nineties drew to a close, Steven Spielberg stood atop a successful Hollywood film industry about to enter a period of transformation. New digital technologies were beginning to transform the way movies were made and how they looked. The Blockbuster became the industry's key product, imbued with a classicism drawn from the Hollywood greats that influenced new generations of film artists. But, when the millennium turned over, everything seemed to change both on screen and off.

In this class, we’ll explore a key film from this moment of uncertainty in American culture: MINORITY REPORT (2003, 145 min). Adapted from a Philip K. Dick story, the film depicts a fictional future "Pre-Crime" program that allows the US government to stop crimes before they happen. We’ll also place the film within Spielberg's body of work, which in this period began to shift away from earlier pastiches of Classic Hollywood genre films and towards darker territory of 70s conspiracy thrillers, European art-house films, and political history.

Please note: due to the length of the film, class will end closer to 10pm. 

This class will be taught by Matthew Ellis, Adjunct Professor of English at Portland State University, film and media historian and theorist.

Enrollment is limited to 18 students.

Questions? Email us at education@moviemadness.org