Not of the LSD kind unless thats what youre into.
Is there a real reality and a false reality?
Can there only truly betworealities?
Theyre all fantastic film experiences.
If you missed any of these, I suggest you plan to watch them over the weekend.
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AddThe Man in the High Castleto the many works that have inspired/been adapted for screen.
you might read our spoiler free reviewright here.
Alternate Reality Galore
Youve probably read things before that present what if scenarios based on our history.
Usually, theres a crux for this alternate reality.
The South wins the Battle of Gettysburg and ultimately the Civil War inBring the Jubilee.
Hell of a resume.
But that would never come to pass in PKDs reality.
Instead, the Axis Powers crushed the opposition and took over most of the world.
The Third Reich and Imperial Japan became the resulting superpowers of the world.
This triggered a Cold War between them.
For the most part, the American people accept these harsh realities and fall into the new status quo.
Okay, take a breath.
Worldbuilding at its Best
From a technical standpoint, PKD is one of the great masters of setting.
Its the way hes able to mold the characters to the worlds he creates.
I dare callThe Man in the High CastlePKDs best example of worldbuilding.
Were introduced to a Pacific United States that has been completely taken over by Asian cultural hegemony.
The book tells the story of the alternate-alternate reality mentioned above.
His book, obviously, isnt very well received by the powers that be.
How is anyone ever supposed to get anything done in this country?
Cold War
Its startling how well PKD captures the political climate of his alternate reality.
The arms race is very real.
Germany also manages to drain an entire sea and colonize the Solar System.
Japan is in trouble.
The novel begins after Hitler has fallen ill and can no longer govern his part of the world.
Martin Bormann takes his place as Fuhrer and is equally as terrible, wiping out much of Africas people.
We join our characters after Bormann has died and a power struggle within the German ranks commences.
The Japanese fear that whoever ends up in power, it will spell doom for the superpower.
Spies and Double Agents
Since theres an oppressive master, obviously there are rebels.
The TV pilot immediately focuses on American freedom fighters struggles against the Third Reich.
Will he complete his undercover mission and save the old ways or turn out to be someone else completely?
Theres also Mr. Baynes, a Swedish industrialist, who is actually a Nazi Counter-Intelligence officer.
Hes on a mission to warn the Japanese government of an impending nuclear attack by Germany.
Who do we root for?
John Saavedra hasnt read enough Philip K. Dick novels.
Recommend some to himon Twitter.
- This article originally ran in January of 2015.
We brought it back to celebrate the premiere of the show on Amazon Prime.
