Preview

The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
956 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Adjustment Bureau: Fate vs. Free Will
Keli Schumacher
Professor Ahmed
English 003A
Adjustment Bureau
22 November 2012
Fate vs. Free Will—the Adjustment Bureau In the movie, The Adjustment Bureau, based on the book by Philip K. Dick, two strangers find themselves drawn together by the will of the universe. Others may refer to that as simple fate. I was surprised and then won over by The Adjustment Bureau, with its deep themes about our existence, free will and fate. How much power exactly do the agents of fate hold over someone’s life? Can free will ever win over fate? And is it free will or fate that orchestrates action? These are the questions that come to mind throughout George Nolfi’s newest film, “The Adjustment Bureau,” based on the short story by Philip K. Dick. “The intention of this film is to raise questions-that’s what art should do,” commented Nolfi about this soon-to-be-released motion picture at a Pasadena screening. I definitely agree that this film raised many questions. I don’t think you can create an equivalency of this film to Christian theology or Scripture. (Internet Encyclopedia) This is a film that deals with all kinds of forms of thinking about these issues. Is there one plan? How do I find the plan? What if I get off the plan? (Zakarin) The character David Norris, on the eve of his election night, by chance, meets Elisa Sellas. She is a beautiful contemporary ballet dancer who is unlike any woman he has ever known. And chance, it seems, continues to bring them together, despite what the men in grey suits and hats-the agents of fate- have got to say about it. The men of the Adjustment Bureau will do everything in their considerable power to prevent Norris and Sellas from being together. Why? We are not really sure either…..but we know it has something to do with ultimate plans, inflection points, and a never-to-be-seen mysterious “Chairman.” Throughout the movie, the agents continually try to detour Norris from running
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Analysis Of David Foster Wallace's Essay: Element Of The Crowd
    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages

    Analysis Of David Foster Wallace's Essay: Element Of The Crowd

    Where and when was the public debate on whether they're worth it? Was there no such debate because we're not capable of having or demanding one?" (2). What began as an intimate discourse that presented itself as a one-on-one questionnaire between Foster Wallace and the lone reader, has expanded to include the entire American populace. The questions he asks here ultimately have no direct answers, and he doesn't really attempt to propose any. However, the use of these rhetorical questions as a means of asking the reader to think about a larger shared experience, in this case the experience of an American living in post-9/11 America, is indicative of his approach in his more journalistic-style…

    • 2262 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Mooby In Dogma
    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Mooby In Dogma

    “Dogma” (1999) by director Kevin Smith was the first feature from the indie director to stray from the path of silly diversions and idiosyncratic banters first set on by “Clerks” (1994) and “Mallrats” (1995) and focuses on the bigger issue of religion. The film follows two fallen angels: Loki and Bartleby on their journey back to heaven after being casted out by God. Their journey and its consequences are the foil the bring about the director’s interpretations and attitudes toward Catholicism and religion in general. Although primarily a comedy, the film attempts to convey many religious issues; morality and state of the church in the secular world being the most prominent ones.…

    • 692 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Princess Bride Literary Analysis
    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Princess Bride Literary Analysis

    Throughout history, the concept of fate has been a common theme among works of literature and man's thought in general. Does he have the ability to choose his path through life, or is his destiny laid out before him? This question takes on new meaning in modern society, as people try to make their own choices while conforming to the structure of society and its norms. While society, with its customs and laws, seems to limit a person's freedom, the person is still essentially free to make their own choices.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Autobiography of Malcolm X
    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Autobiography of Malcolm X

    3. Does this work make a political observation about African American culture? Does it perpetuate damaging stereotypes and myths about African Americans or does it deflate these myths and stereotypes?…

    • 879 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    How Bowling for Columbine Is Bias
    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages

    How Bowling for Columbine Is Bias

    The Biased viewpoint of Michael Moore tears viewers away from the actual problem, and perhaps even the film’s intended message itself……

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Monte Cristo Themes
    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Monte Cristo Themes

    Throughout this thrilling movie three themes are displayed that relate to the Bible. This movie captures betrayal of a friend, different beliefs, and peace at the end of the movie. I believe that this world today has a character similar to each one in the movie. The world needs to see the true way in the meaning of betrayal, accepting each other’s differences, and knowing that God will show justice to people when their time has…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fate In Romeo And Juliet Essay
    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fate In Romeo And Juliet Essay

    When it comes to fate, there are two types of people. Those who believe it and those who don’t. The definition of fate, is the development of events beyond a person’s control; be destined to happen, to turn out, or act in a particular way. We see this definition put to use in both, “Oedipus the King”, and “Romeo and Juliet”. Is fate a real thing though? Or is it something we just see in books. Do we have control over everything that happens to us? Or is our life in the hands of “fate”. Everyone has their own opinion of whether fate is real or not.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Fate In Macbeth, And The Pardoners Tale
    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Fate In Macbeth, And The Pardoners Tale

    Fate has led many lives of heroes for them to gain courage and honor. They believe in this so they can have something to believe and look upon for the decisions of their lives. In Macbeth he was told his fate and he lived up to it taking his throne as king and then coming to an end by whom fate told. Also in the poem The Pardoners Tale the three drunk men were chasing after death and got caught up in greed which took their lives. Finally in Sir Gawain, Sir Gawain was driven by fate for his life going on a quest to find something to save him from the Green Knight. Fate still has a huge impact on many people…

    • 631 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Free Will In Mary Gaitskill's Tiny Smiling Daddy
    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Free Will In Mary Gaitskill's Tiny Smiling Daddy

    Is there truly free will, or is it the combination of choices that creates one’s fate? In Mary Gaitskill’s “Tiny Smiling Daddy,” we follow the main protagonist, Stew, through his thought process before, during, and after reading an article his daughter wrote about him. Stew and his daughter, Kitty, were estranged; they have a broken relationship. In this story, Stew places Kitty and those close to him into pre-defined “boxes,” causing conflict. While it might seem that Stew placed others into rigid roles as if he were a homophobic dictator, yet the lasting effects of his father’s emotional abuse, his wife’s distant attitude, and Kitty’s metamorphosis into something he despises breaks the picture of his perfect family. Therefor Stew uses control…

    • 1213 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Upon The Burning Of Our House Analysis
    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Upon The Burning Of Our House Analysis

    However, regardless the religion, God’s plan for everyone is identical; God just wants you to exist and prosper in the image he created for you. Bradstreet is a Puritan who believes that God does everything for a greater good that is going to soon happen or should have happened that you got in the way of, and is now trying to change your way of life to the sight of him. She explains this by saying, “The world no longer let me love, / My hope and treasure lies above” (Lines 53 and 54). Edwards is also a Puritan who believes that God is the highest of power and if you are a non-believer/Puritan, that God will punish you for not fulfilling his idea he made for you by showing you his most furious self and holding you in hell to live everyday even worse than the last. Edwards visualizes this by saying, “There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship” (127). In addition to both works, God is the power to determine your Joyous and poor days. If you follow him, live your life in his holy name and fulfill his scheme for you, than your life will turn out…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare Allusion
    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Shakespeare Allusion

    It talks about how the bible also plays parts in plays, movies, other literature, etc. It mentions films such as “East of Eden” and “Pulp Fiction” who don’t really have a holy message but have biblical symbols and quotations within them. It says that in the “East of Eden” is called that because the author of the book of which the film is based off of knew the Book of Genesis. It says that to be in the east of Eden then you must be of the fallen world. Also, referring to the pulp fiction, that despite all the swearwords or one particular swearword used over and over, that it is a Vesuvius of biblical language, and that once again despite the swearwords that the “linguistic behavior” suggests some of the writer/director who was in contact with “The Good Book”. The third allusion I found (and last one that I will list) is that within the short story of “Araby”. It talks of a young boy who sets out to try and buy a gift for a girl he has a crush on but he fails. It shows that his humiliating loss of innocence and failure relates to that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Not all of these directly quote or mention anything about the bible but all of them do allude to it in someone whether it be a line that has to do with the bible or whether the overall movie relates to the bible in some way or…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Adjustment Bureau: determinism vs free will
    • 299 Words
    • 1 Page

    The Adjustment Bureau: determinism vs free will

    The problem with determinism is that if there is no free will, then there is no moral responsibility, which means ours lives have less meaning. If this is the case, nothing that we do or accomplish really makes a difference. Our individuality and unique character traits disappear because someone is masterminding our lives. On the other hand, the problem with the idea of free will is that our actions are uncaused, and seem to be random. We happen to perform one action, but there is no explanation of why we performed this action instead of another.…

    • 299 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Fate Human Agency N Reason
    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Fate Human Agency N Reason

    The study of Greek Mythology, is one of broadness with a diverse array of narratives dating back centuries, which even today to modern audiences is as captivating and influential as it was centuries ago. When we look at Greek Mythology, we see various themes remaining central to many narratives. Fate, reason and human agency are no exception to this and are dealt with in various ways. The texts which I will use to examine these are as follows the set text: Sophocles: Oedipus the King, as well as the two excerpts: Plato 's Apology and Homer 's The Iliad. These will be discussed below and finally compared in the conclusion.…

    • 1478 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Write a Critical, Theological Review of One of the Following Films: Chocolat.
    • 1922 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Write a Critical, Theological Review of One of the Following Films: Chocolat.

    Barsotti, Catherine M and Johnson, Robert K, Finding God in the Movies: 33 Films of Reel Faith, Baker Books (2004)…

    • 1922 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Power of Fate vs. Free Will
    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Power of Fate vs. Free Will

    free will? Fate could be more destined to happen, as free will could be the ability to do what you…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics