Philip K. Dick in Amazon's castle

Abstract

Amazon's adaptation of The Man in the High Castle brings about numerous changes to the original Philip K. Dick's story. However, even if fidelity is no longer regarded as a valid criterion for evaluation of adaptation, as it is no longer considered essential in theory and criticism, the series is not an example of successful adaptation due to its failure to translate the key ideas of the novel into the new form. The series brings into focus elements that introduce, intensify and multiply Dick's fake fake instead of highlighting those that contribute to the discovery of inner truth. In its centering on the surface, visible consequences of the lost war and not on America as an authoritarian creation in which, due to endless replication, it is no longer possible to discern authentic objects, people and realities from the fake ones, the adaptation fails to highlight key social, economic and political problems and dilemmas that equally plague the present and the past, as Dick's unique fictional realities do. Unfortunately, the idea of fake is successfully conveyed to the viewers - or perhaps it would be more suitable to call them consumers - primarily by transforming the novel into a product with potential for commercial exploitation and its own replication into new seasons.