The most successful films which have been based on novels by Philip K Dick are:
- Blade Runner (Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep)
- A Scanner Darkly (A Scanner Darkly)
- Total Recall (We can remember it for you wholesale)
- Minority Report (The Minority Report)
- Next (The Golden Man) and
- Paycheck (Paycheck)
These films have been successful due to the depth of Philip. K. Dick’s character illustrations which have been translated onto the big screen. His characters are less like aliens and more like humans who act and think like we do. His plots are universal and generally revolve around what it is to be human living in a world that is sometimes unrecognizable. The fundamental elements of his stories are ageless, and his works translate into film in ways those of other best-selling authors don't." Dretzka. G (2003). As in the movie Blade Runner, the main character becomes entangled in trying to understand the concerns which are raised by the film: what it is to be human and the value of life. Paycheck is similar in this regard; the main character loses two years of his life for what he thinks will be a massive paycheck, only to wake up to find he has asked for trinkets instead. Why and for what purpose? These are the questions that make these films so popular. Philip. K .Dick’s novel insight into the way humans act and react as they do and how this affects past, present and future.
Many of Philip. K. Dick’s novels included references to religion and philosophy, such as Christianity, Taoism, Gnosticism, Zen and the I Ching. For example the novel The Man in the High Castle is centred around the characters relying on the I Ching to help them decide the path that they should take. As McKnee (2004) states; ‘The novel is deeply rooted of religion and philosophy, specifically dealing with the Chinese divination text the I Ching and the related Taoist concepts of yin and yang’. However, Philip. K. Dick primarily referred to Christian concepts in the bulk of his novels as Mcknee (2004) states; ‘...Christ is absolutely central throughout all of his religious speculations’.
Reference: Dretzka. G (2003) Hearst Communications Inc.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/12/27/DDGDD3U5BB1.DTL#ixzz0zjrg9xZa
Yes, you've succinctly captured the essence of Dick's novels in your first response. I wonder why man in the High Castle hasn't been adapted into a film. Also, it has been pointed out, perhaps with the exception of Scanner Darkly, that many of the film adaptions of Dick's work water down his preoccupation with how the average person copes with technological developments. In your second response I'd be interested in some examples of the Christian in Dick's work.
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