Fate In Minority Report

This concept does not only apply to the discovery of one’s own future. Sometimes, learning the fate of a loved one can force individuals to attempt to change it, often bringing forth a fate of their own. In the film Minority Report, Agatha compares her relationship to her mother, Anne Lively, to the Anderton’s relationship directly before Pre-crime busts into Lara, John’s ex-wife’s, house to arrest John. It was decided by Pre-Crime that none of the Neuroin babies would be returned, especially not Agatha. Anne is unable to accept this, so Lamar decides to take her out of the equation. “She just wanted her little girl back… The drowning woman. Anne… But it was too late. Her little girl was already gone,” (Spielberg). The tone of this excerpt …show more content…
In an attempt to counter this prophecy, they get rid of Oedipus immediately after his birth, as told by Jocasta, “before three days were out after his birth King Laius pierced his ankles and by the hands of others cast him forth upon a pathless hillside,” (Sophocles 41). Ironically, Laius kills his son to falsify the terrible prophecies, while Anne Lively attempts to give her daughter life in order to create a future for her. This direct relation shows that in both extremes, life and death, alteration of fate is impossible. The first phrase of this quote, “before three days were out after his birth,” is similar to the phrase describing Anne’s losing Agatha. It highlights that even just waiting three short days is long enough to keep one’s destiny from changing - the only way the prophecies wouldn’t have come true is if Oedipus wasn’t born in the first place. Laius’ choice to have “pierced his ankles” and left him on “a pathless hillside” easily can be related to the fact that running from fate is impossible. Even as Laius binds Oedipus’ ankles, he is metaphorically binding his own because, in his attempt to run, all he accomplishes is tripping himself and falling down. Laius comes to his end on his way back to the oracle, “he was killed… at a place where three roads meet,” (Sophocles 41). Quite simply, this explains how from the point when the oracle told him of the prophecies to the point where they came true, Laius makes no progress. He essentially gets nowhere - he starts with the oracle and ends returning to him. The use of the word “meet” shows how no matter which path is taken, it will always yield the same outcome, as demonstrated in Minority Report. If Anne had not chosen to change her daughter 's fate, Agatha would still end up in Pre-Crime, and Anne would