Philip K Dick was born on 16 December 1928.

Dick is one of the most important science fiction writers of the 20th century. I used to be a fan of his. I’m not so much anymore. Now, I’m more interested in his effect on film.

As a writer, he was no stylist. He had some interesting ideas. He wrote interesting and usually engaging stories and novels.

Politically, Dick was a leftist. But had he lived longer, I think he would have turned reactionary right. His work has a shockingly positive view of the police. “The Minority Report” is the most fascist-friendly work of Dick’s I’ve read. Ultimately, I believe his paranoia would have turned him into that special form of American libertarianism that is an easy mark for fascists.

But he didn’t turn because he died at the age of 53. And his later life was tragic as his long-time mental health problems became worse. So I don’t mean to dump on the guy. He was a mess. And that’s sad.

Overall, the films based on his work are better. But they also often flip exactly what he was saying on its head. Let’s look at three biggest films:

• Blade Runner (1982): Based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968). Everything is upside down in this. Dick’s novel is more realistic where real animals are expensive and the mechanical ones are what the poor get. Also, Deckard is not a replicant. Making him so is a big problem with the film.
• Total Recall (1990): Based on the short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” (1966). Again, in the film, Quaid is delusional; in the story, Quail is really a secret agent.
• Minority Report (2002): Based on the short story “The Minority Report” (1956). Anderton is set up in both. But in the story, he is set up by someone who wants to destroy Precrime. It ends with Anderton accepting punishment in order to save Precrime — the opposite of the film.

I love all these films! And they never would have been made without Philip K Dick. So to celebrate his birthday, let’s watch Minority Report, which I think does the most to improve upon the original. (Lois Smith is absolutely fabulous here!)

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Philip K Dick via Wikimedia. It is in the public domain.