6.8
Viewer Rating
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Drama, Thriller, TV Movie • 1980 • 104 min
The Lathe of Heaven (1980)
The Lathe of Heaven (1980)
Overview
Based on Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, this 1980 PBS TV movie follows George Orr, a man whose dreams literally reshape reality, and the psychiatrist who exploits that power to redesign civilization. The label is Mixed because the film pulls in competing directions. Its core argument, that top-down utopian engineering produces catastrophic results, reads as a classically conservative warning against social reengineering. Yet the story also normalizes communal child-rearing as an outcome of altered realities, and the adaptation cast a white actress in a role written as Black. Buddhist and spiritual undertones add a mild progressive spiritual texture. The film lands between camps, which is fitting for Le Guin.
Starring Cast
Bruce Davison • Peyton E. Park • Niki Flacks
Rating & Dimensions
Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Center
Political: Leans Right
Diversity: Moderate
Race Swap: Yes
Family Values: Leans Progressive
Buddhism: Positive
Viewer Rating
6.8
Overview
Based on Ursula K. Le Guin's novel, this 1980 PBS TV movie follows George Orr, a man whose dreams literally reshape reality, and the psychiatrist who exploits that power to redesign civilization. The label is Mixed because the film pulls in competing directions. Its core argument, that top-down utopian engineering produces catastrophic results, reads as a classically conservative warning against social reengineering. Yet the story also normalizes communal child-rearing as an outcome of altered realities, and the adaptation cast a white actress in a role written as Black. Buddhist and spiritual undertones add a mild progressive spiritual texture. The film lands between camps, which is fitting for Le Guin.
Starring Cast
Bruce Davison • Peyton E. Park • Niki Flacks
Detailed Bias Analysis
Analyzing...
Center
Primary
Political: Leans Right
Confidence: High
The film's central thesis is a cautionary tale against the hubris of attempting to perfect society through radical, top-down intervention, which consistently leads to disastrous unintended consequences. This aligns with conservative skepticism of grand social engineering projects and utopian ideals.
Diversity: Moderate
Confidence: Medium
The movie features a predominantly white main cast, and a character explicitly described as Black in the source novel was cast with a white actress. The narrative critiques a white male character's hubris and actions, but this critique is philosophical and not explicitly centered on traditional identities or broader DEI themes.
Secondary
Race Swap: Yes
Confidence: Medium
Heather Lelache, a character described in the source novel with dark skin and envisioned by the author as part Black, is portrayed by a white actress in the film adaptation.
Family Values: Leans Progressive
Confidence: Medium
The film portrays family life through the lens of radical societal alteration, depicting the replacement of traditional individual family units and biological parenting with communal child-rearing as a consequence of attempts to perfect humanity. This narrative content questions traditional family norms and normalizes alternative arrangements within the story's altered realities.
Buddhism: Positive
Confidence: High
George Orr's character embodies principles akin to Taoism and Buddhism, such as non-action, acceptance, and living in harmony with reality. The narrative implicitly validates his approach as superior to Dr. Haber's interventionist hubris.
LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High
The film does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. Its narrative centers on a man whose dreams alter reality and the ethical dilemmas arising from attempts to control this power, with all depicted relationships being heterosexual.
Trans: N/A
Confidence: High
The film 'The Lathe of Heaven, 1980' does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The story focuses on the manipulation of reality through dreams and its consequences, with no elements pertaining to gender identity or transsexual experiences present in the plot or character arcs. The overall portrayal is N/A.
Female Combat: N/R
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High
The 1980 adaptation of Ursula K. Le Guin's novel maintains the established genders of its primary characters, George Orr, Dr. William Haber, and Heather Lelache, as depicted in the source material.
Hinduism: N/A
Confidence: High
Not depicted in the film.
Viewer Rating Breakdown
User Ratings
7.1
6.5
Critic Ratings
N/A
N/A
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