Anderton's superior, bureau director Burgess (Max von Sydow) takes pride in him, and shields him from bureaucrats like Danny Witwer ( Colin Farrell), from the Justice Department.
They're able to pick up thoughts of premeditated murders and warn the cops, who swoop down and arrest the would-be perpetrators before the killings can take place.īecause this is Washington, any government operation that is high-profile and successful inspires jealousy. Anderton presides over an operation controlling three "Pre-Cogs," precognitive humans who drift in a flotation tank, their brain waves tapped by computers. Futuristic skyscrapers coexist with the famous Washington monuments and houses from the 19th century. Soon, it appears, there will be a murder-committed by Anderton himself.
Dick, Tom Cruise is John Anderton, chief of the Department of Pre-Crime in the District of Columbia, where there has not been a murder in six years.
FAN CASTING FOR MINORITY REPORT MOVIE MOVIE
If Harry Potter managed to do such a great job with the character of Hermione Granger, showing nerdy, bushy-haired girls everywhere that they can be a hero as well, why couldn’t it do the same for its fans of color or of a different sexual orientation?įeatured image, Albus Dumbledore, Lavender Brown – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.The movie turns out to be eerily prescient, using the term "pre-crime" to describe stopping crimes before they happen how could Spielberg have known the government would be using the same term this summer? In his film, inspired by but much expanded from a short story by Philip K. A more diverse cast when the movies first came out would have helped minority fans’ confidence, self-esteem, and self-love.
FAN CASTING FOR MINORITY REPORT MOVIE SERIES
The lack of diversity of the series will only become more apparent and disturbing as time goes by and we see popular culture clean its act up in terms of representation. It’s now more than 20 years since Harry Potter saw the light of day, and things are looking rough. Furthermore, I think it’s crucial to question even series we love, perhaps more than those we don’t have strong feelings for, because it can teach us a lot. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see its flaws, and I know I’m not alone in that. I still love the Harry Potter universe, and the books will always have a special place in my heart. If you’ve read until the end of this article, it might come off as if I’m not a fan of the series, but that’s not the case. Harry Potter and the Love-Hate Relationship Especially reading the books or watching the movies as a child, it’s understandable why a lack of representation might affect one’s self-esteem, and for that, the series is to blame. It’s difficult to relate to a character when none of them look like you do, and that is one of the main issues POC regularly encounter in popular culture. It may not have looked like it at the time, but keeping Lavender as a black character would have made a world of difference. Someone made a video of all the lines spoken by POC in the entire Harry Potter movie series, and the grand total was 5 minutes and 40 seconds, which is appalling.Īs if that wasn’t infuriating enough, the recasting of Lavender Brown as a white girl just when she started getting a more prominent role as Ron’s love interest was unnecessary and insulting. Given the main focus, it’s incredible how rarely we come across ethnic or racial diversity. The thing that baffles me about this is that the central theme of the series is acceptance and the fight against racism (Muggle racism, that is). Harry Potter and the 5 Minutes Spoken by All Characters of Color in 8 MoviesĪnother reason why the Harry Potter series came under fire in recent years has been the lack of POC attending Hogwarts. You could say that Harry Potter had a responsibility, one that it failed at, unfortunately.
For such a far-reaching series to be one that celebrates diversity of representation, it would set an example for other series to come. Secondly, since Harry Potter is one of the most popular book and film series in the world, it would be a great place to start teaching about diversity because it would reach a broad audience, thus positively impacting the lives of many.