"I'll go up by the stairs." He started away, seeking to locate the
stairs. I can't see! he said to himself. I can't find them! The weight
on him crushed his lungs, making it difficult and painful to breathe; he
had to halt, concentrating on getting air into him - that alone. Maybe it
is a heart attack, he thought. I can't go up the stairs if it is. But the
longing within him had grown even greater, the overpowering need to be alone.
Locked in an empty room, entirely unwitnessed, silent and supine. Stretched
out, not needing to speak, not needing to move. Not required to cope with
anyone or any problem. And no one will even know where I am, he told himself.
That seemed, unaccountably, very important; he wanted to be unknown and
inivisible, to live unseen... " From UBIK
Philip K. Dick... pulp
science fiction writer, mainstream author, or transcendental prophet? Although
perhaps best known for his 60's speculative books, including the Hugo Award-winning THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?,
and dozens of others, Dick has achieved a cult following due in no small
part to his fictionalized (and non-fictionalized) descriptions of his March
1974 experiences, when Dick believed he had been contacted by an alien/spiritual
intelligence that would assist humankind in throwing off the veil that clouds
our vision of reality. Whether you believe he was merely suffering an early
stroke (he died of a stroke in 1982), acid-flashing in a big way, or had
genuinely been touched by the hand of God, the trilogy he produced based
on these perceptions is among his greatest works: THE DIVINE INVASION, VALIS, and THE TRANSMIGRATION OF TIMOTHY ARCHER. Dick's other books of note include the spectacularly-psychedelic THE THREE STIGMATA OF PALMER ELDRITCH,
his drug-culture exploratory A SCANNER DARKLY, and UBIK,
considered by many to be his finest work. Dick was both a prolific novelist
and short-story writer: "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" became the
film TOTAL RECALL, and his short fiction comprises five hefty volumes. Dick's
own great personal disappointment as a writer was the lack of acceptance
(at the time) for his mainstream novels; all but one, CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST,
were published posthumously. Now these books provide fine and poignant glimpses
of the 50's; MARY AND THE GIANT, THE MAN WHOSE TEETH WERE ALL EXACTLY ALIKE,
and HUMPTY DUMPTY IN OAKLAND (among others) show further proof of the humanism
and humor that sets Dick's science fiction apart. However, it was in his
speculative books that his obsessive themes "What is reality?" and "What
is human?" could find their greatest expression.
PKD in the Media
FILMS:
BLADE RUNNER (1982), directed
by Ridley Scott. Possibly the greatest science fiction film ever made.
Its vision of a chaotic and dark future L.A. has been imitated in film, fashion,
architecture, you name it. Not entirely true to the events depicted in the
source novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, but captures much of Dick's
tone and spirit. TOTAL RECALL (1990), directed by Paul Verhoeven. Based
(very loosely) on PKD's short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".
BARJO (1994). This French film is taken from CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST.
A very entertaining and very odd little film, probably the most offbeat
of the Dick adaptations to date.
SCREAMERS (1996). Does it really matter who directed it? Supposedly based on the story "Second Variety".
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PHILIP K. DICK (2001). Documentary about PKD.
IMPOSTOR (2002). Based on the short story of the same name.
MINORITY REPORT (2002), the Spielberg-directed extravaganza starring Tom
Cruise and based on the PKD short story of the same name. Fairly faithful,
despite the addition of Spielberg's usual obsession with children.
THE TROUBLE WITH DICK (?). A curious associational item, this little-seen
film is about the emotional ups-and-downs of a struggling science-fiction
writer named "Dick Kendrid."
Strangely enough, Dick remains untouched by the television wasteland, although
he himself wrote an unsold treatment for an episode of the series "THE INVADERS".
In theater, two novels have been produced as full-length plays:
"FLOW MY TEARS, THE POLICEMAN SAID", dramatized by Linda Hartinian, was produced by Boston's Mabou Mines Company in 1985. "RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH", adapted by Lisa Morton, was produced at Theatre of N.O.T.E. in Los Angeles in 1991.
Several one-man shows about Dick have been produced in the U.K. by John Dowie, including "TAKE THEM TO THE GARDEN".
BLADE RUNNER (1982), directed
by Ridley Scott. Possibly the greatest science fiction film ever made.
Its vision of a chaotic and dark future L.A. has been imitated in film, fashion,
architecture, you name it. Not entirely true to the events depicted in the
source novel DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP?, but captures much of Dick's
tone and spirit.