SPIELBERG THEME - CINEMA: One of the most interesting trends of Spielberg’s 2000 films was his lack of faith in cinema. Films had played a vital part in his early years, with Close Encounters and E.T. both containing references to the transformative power of cinema - Close Encounters in its nods to Pinocchio and E.T. in its Quiet Man scene.

By the 2000s though, Spielberg was identifying cinema as something that could blind and trap his protagonists. This can be seen in Catch Me If You Can, which portrays Frank Abagnale as a prisoner of his own cinema and TV-fueled fantasies, and in Minority Report.

Not only is John Anderton one of the leaders of Pre-Crime, an organisation that uses film-esque visions to stop future crimes, but he is inspired in his job by a desire to prevent incidents like the kidnapping of his son. He tortures himself with the memory of his child by watching home movies of the boy on a high tech projector.

Later, when Anderton visits Peter Stormare’s eye surgeon, a movie plays in the background, and we repeatedly see large adverts projected onto tunnels and buildings, and photographs filling scenes.

Minority Report is about the power of the recorded image and the corruption that can emerge if that power is misused.