Master storyteller Steven Spielberg has often dabbled in science fiction. Some of Steven Spielberg’s top films have given us glimpses of futuristic worlds that have since become our own realities. One such classic was the Tom Cruise-starring pre-crime film from 2002, “Minority Report.” The amazingly entertaining movie is set in the year 2054, and it shows us a tomorrow where murderers are arrested for their crimes before they happen. It’s something that Cruise’s worn-down cop, John Anderton, is a huge advocate of, until he’s forced to go on the run for a killing he has never committed. While we’re still a way away from predicting crimes before they happen (excluding the recent effort in New York to stop subway crimes), some of the film’s future tech has made it to the present.
One of the simplest and scariest advancements in the movie is personalized ads. While indeed a thing back in 2002, ads have only become more prominent and in-your-face like in Spielberg’s film. Billboard ads and purchase histories flood the film, and it’s really no different from what we get now, with even streaming services giving their best suggestions of what to watch. As Spielberg himself said in a 2012 interview with RogerEbert.com, “The Internet is watching us now. If they want to. They can see what sites you visit. In the future, television will be watching us, and customizing itself to what it knows about us.”
Holograms and driverless rides home are present in Minority Report
While the world still waits in anticipation for flying cars and jetpacks to go mainstream, one enhancement in this futuristic detective story — which has quickly become a reality — is driverless cars. Some of the high-speed chases in “Minority Report” are done without anyone at the wheel, which is a feature becoming increasingly common in vehicles today. Having touchscreens on the dashboard, as well as at home or at work, has also become the norm. One upgrade we’re getting alarmingly close to is holographic displays. With a VR headset, users can see multiple screens in their peripheral vision and operate them with a flick of their hand. While we’re still far away from seeing them without a visor, the methods for operating them are based on the blueprint Spielberg established with Cruise in the film.
“Steven called me over to his house and said, ‘I’ve been thinking of this idea I call ‘scrubbing the image,’ and he showed it to me,” Cruise recalled. “He created this whole computer language so that he could physicalize it, free it from the keyboard. He gave the audience a visual way to discover it along with me.” It’s these discoveries that have now become the foundation of where our future is headed. We just hope they don’t include robotic spiders to pry your eyes open, either.
