Jurassic Park/World megathread - Spared no expense.

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Apologies for the double post, but has anyone ever noticed that Jurassic Park serves as a perfect metaphor for the modern world itself?

The 1990s was a time rife with potential, it really felt like humanity was on the verge of something glorious, but it all ended in disaster as we entered the 21st century, because reality is chaotic and can't be easily boiled down by corporations into something you can slap on a plastic and lunch box and sell, that's chaos theory!

And it's all about the dangers of technology, look at the unmitigated disaster social media has been for society, the evil forces it unleashed, reality is a real life Jurassic Park scenario of technology allowing chaos to run amok.

I think of Ian Malcolm's quote of "you were so preoccupied with whether you could do something you never stopped to ask the question whether you should" which is a question your Facebooks and Twitters should have asked.

Michael Crichton was a dude highly critical of the modern world, the Jurassic Park novel even have a passage where Ian Malcolm muses that primitive man had it comparatively easier than modern man, since so long as you had food you could do whatever the hell you wanted, sleep as much as you wanted, you weren't locked into a strict 9 to 5 work schedule.

The more time goes on the more it seems like Michael Crichton was right, I wish he was still with us, his input on the modern world would be fascinating.

But of course this is an old concept, it all goes back to the myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun with his man made wings.

You are giving this series way to much credit.

it never had potential, it had one good movie out of the entire series with a bunch of shit that tries to capture the magic the first movie had and that magic is that "DINOSAURS ARE GOD DAMN COOL." but that can't carry a concept very far.

 

[Dom Cruise]

You are giving this series way to much credit.

it never had potential, it had one good movie out of the entire series with a bunch of shit that tries to capture the magic the first movie had and that magic is that "DINOSAURS ARE GOD DAMN COOL." but that can't carry a concept very far.

Uh, I was only talking about the first movie and the first book.

The movie series did pretty much abandon any pretense at being thought provoking with the second movie, although the second book had something pretty interesting rumination on evolution, stuff that would probably cause SJW butt hurt today.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

Uh, I was only talking about the first movie and the first book.

The movie series did pretty much abandon any pretense at being thought provoking with the second movie, although the second book had something pretty interesting rumination on evolution, stuff that would probably cause SJW butt hurt today.

Yeah I know.

I don't think this series had any potential to be thought provoking, the series is a Vehicle for cool CGI Lizards, any "Thought" that was happening from Malcolm was him just being a smarmy douche and just happening to be correct.

(Mostly because Newman turned off all the god damn security measures)

 

[2021Murder]

Yeah I know.

I don't think this series had any potential to be thought provoking, the series is a Vehicle for cool CGI Lizards, any "Thought" that was happening from Malcolm was him just being a smarmy douche and just happening to be correct.

(Mostly because Newman turned off all the god damn security measures)

And in the middle of a hurricane that is literally impossible to have occur in that area.

 

[Honka Honka Burning Love]

literally impossible

Really?

 

[Dom Cruise]

Yeah I know.

I don't think this series had any potential to be thought provoking, the series is a Vehicle for cool CGI Lizards, any "Thought" that was happening from Malcolm was him just being a smarmy douche and just happening to be correct.

(Mostly because Newman turned off all the god damn security measures)

You should read the original novels though as they had quite a lot of deep, thought provoking stuff, Michael Crichton always wrapped up his ruminations on the modern world in adventure thriller wrappers, sometimes it can seem kinda dry and even boring, but if you get on the right wavelength it's fascinating stuff.

Congo has, among other things, ruminations on the Cold War and it's actually pretty dang prescient in predicting the role computers and information technology would play in politics and warfare of the future.

Sphere is his ruminations on the possibility of alien life.

And The Lost World has criticism of the theory of evolution, which blew my mind, it's still to this day the only piece of secular media I've ever seen that's critical of the theory of evolution, it's kind of incredible really.

And while this isn't one I've read he infamously got in some hot water for his 2004 novel State of Fear which was critical of theories about Global Warming.

The only thing that bothers me about him was he had a hateboner for the Japanese, outside of writing an entire novel about Japan, Rising Sun, he threw in digs at Japan in Congo, Sphere and Jurassic Park, not realizing that Japan taking over the world like he feared would be a good thing.

The guy would probably be a full on redpill conservative if he was alive today.

Really?

Isla Nublar is supposed to be in the Pacific, so it would be a Typhoon, not a Hurricane, right? But I don't know anything about a storm in that region not being possible.

 

[2021Murder]

Really?

Yes, something to do with wind currents makes it impossible for hurricans to hit costa rica or the islands off of it.

As proof the fact that there hasnt been a hurricane recorded in 500+ years should tell you its pretty much impossible.

 

[A Grey Cat]

The guy would probably be a full on redpill conservative if he was alive today.

Considering the man wrote disclosure basically an anti me too book two decades before me too was even a thing I'd say he'd be based but not full on red pilled if he was still around now. More like a right leaning, somewhat more mentally stable anti steven king.

But yeah the movies themselves are oddly enough a dark reflection of the world and time when they were made.

1993 the cold war had just ended the soviet union was gone and Germany was united as a single country again. Technology was constantly improving the internet had just been born two years prior and the future seemed bright. In just 4 years all that shifted as gen x got older and approached adult hood but the millienals still had their childhood age of innocence and wonder, the very technology as put so much faith in was slowly taking over our lives. And by the time Jurassic world was released in 2015 despite things being far from perfect, they seemed like they might be getting better.

Jurassic world is like the perfect snapshot of 2015 just before 2016. In both the movie and real life everything had it's flaws but still had a sense of optimism that things would be better soon, only for reality to come crashing down as things fast went from bad to worse.

 

[Owen Grady]

Apologies for the double post, but has anyone ever noticed that Jurassic Park serves as a perfect metaphor for the modern world itself?

The 1990s was a time rife with potential, it really felt like humanity was on the verge of something glorious, but it all ended in disaster as we entered the 21st century, because reality is chaotic and can't be easily boiled down by corporations into something you can slap on a plastic lunch box and sell, that's chaos theory!

And it's all about the dangers of technology, look at the unmitigated disaster social media has been for society, the evil forces it unleashed, reality is a real life Jurassic Park scenario of technology allowing chaos to run amok.

I think of Ian Malcolm's quote of "you were so preoccupied with whether you could do something you never stopped to ask the question whether you should" which is a question your Facebooks and Twitters should have asked.

Michael Crichton was a dude highly critical of the modern world, the Jurassic Park novel even have a passage where Ian Malcolm muses that primitive man had it comparatively easier than modern man, since so long as you had food you could do whatever the hell you wanted, sleep as much as you wanted, you weren't locked into a strict 9 to 5 work schedule.

The more time goes on the more it seems like Michael Crichton was right, I wish he was still with us, his input on the modern world would be fascinating.

But of course this is an old concept, it all goes back to the myth of Icarus flying too close to the sun with his man made wings.

The real secret to the success of Jurassic Park as a franchise is that at the end of the day, it isn't a story about dinosaurs at all. The dinosaurs are simply an exciting catalyst through which the story is told. Jurassic Park is really about the folly of man and his yearning to create and push forward in dangerous and unpredictable ways that often result in destruction.

As I've grown up and seen how the world has continued to develop in my lifetime I have come to love Crichton's novel more and more for its extremely antiprogressive message. There aren't many stories like his. Certainly not in this era.

Edited to reply:

Considering the man wrote disclosure basically an anti me too book two decades before me too was even a thing I'd say he'd be based but not full on red pilled if he was still around now.

I just want to say since you brought it up that I absolutely love Disclosure and it is my favorite Crichton novel that I have read besides Jurassic Park. First read it around 2010/2011 long before metoo or any of that stuff. My friend gave me a paperback copy of it to borrow and it was a long time before I ended up finishing it because it was so slow to start and I found it boring to read at first, but after a certain point in the novel it just gets extremely exciting and I couldn't put it down. The female antagonist in that story is a great character and I wish more people had the balls to make truly good female villains like her in today's political climate, because female antagonists, when done right, can be really, really fun to see.

It's really just a fantastic story even besides the message, which is a standard that has been obviously and sadly dropped from most storytelling outlets these days.

 

[Kari Kamiya]

Yes, something to do with wind currents makes it impossible for hurricans to hit costa rica or the islands off of it.

As proof the fact that there hasnt been a hurricane recorded in 500+ years should tell you its pretty much impossible.

Man bringing back the dinosaurs threw the natural balance so off-kilter that even Mother Nature decided to do the impossible in attempt to right what was wronged.

Also Crichton would've either had a "I told you so!" should he have lived to see the first deextinction (it's still being worked on, but it's gonna happen in our lifetime) or a "My God, what have I done?" because his book and the movie caused people to become so interested in dinosaurs that now we want to do deextinction because we're fucking stupid and didn't take the hint and learn the lesson of the story which is "Don't mess with the natural order just because you have the knowledge and technology to do it you fucking morons. You'll doom us all."

 

[XYZpdq]

iirc there's some stuff about how there's less oxygen than in dino times that prevents any real dino resurrections
the story as I recall goes that the higher oxygen levels allowed passive respiration in bugs to grow them bigger, and the food chain shifts accordingly, but if you brought a dino back in Current Year you'd need to strap an oxygen mask on them like an old smoker or else they'd just keel over

 

[Kari Kamiya]

iirc there's some stuff about how there's less oxygen than in dino times that prevents any real dino resurrections
the story as I recall goes that the higher oxygen levels allowed passive respiration in bugs to grow them bigger, and the food chain shifts accordingly, but if you brought a dino back in Current Year you'd need to strap an oxygen mask on them like an old smoker or else they'd just keel over

What if they were to remain as pygmies?

 

[MysticMisty]

Yes, something to do with wind currents makes it impossible for hurricans to hit costa rica or the islands off of it.

As proof the fact that there hasnt been a hurricane recorded in 500+ years should tell you its pretty much impossible.

Which is why there isn't a hurricane in the novel at all, just a brief and random thunderstorm. And the storm in the movie was just a weakass tropical storm to boot. But yes, eastern Pacific storms just cruise north along the west coast of Mexico and occasionally into Baja (and sometimes the remnants head up into Arizona too, fun times), and then out into the open ocean.

iirc there's some stuff about how there's less oxygen than in dino times that prevents any real dino resurrections
the story as I recall goes that the higher oxygen levels allowed passive respiration in bugs to grow them bigger, and the food chain shifts accordingly, but if you brought a dino back in Current Year you'd need to strap an oxygen mask on them like an old smoker or else they'd just keel over

This was actually briefly addressed in the novel, when they're hanging out by the sick (poisoned) stegosaurus. Malcolm notices it's labored breathing and equates it to a person at 10,000 feet, despite being practically at sea level.

 

[Dom Cruise]

Which is why there isn't a hurricane in the novel at all, just a brief and random thunderstorm. And the storm in the movie was just a weakass tropical storm to boot. But yes, eastern Pacific storms just cruise north along the west coast of Mexico and occasionally into Baja (and sometimes the remnants head up into Arizona too, fun times), and then out into the open ocean.


This was actually briefly addressed in the novel, when they're hanging out by the sick (poisoned) stegosaurus. Malcolm notices it's labored breathing and equates it to a person at 10,000 feet, despite being practically at sea level.

Isn't a hurricane specifically stated as what destroyed Site B though?

Of course in the original novel Site B was simply abandoned and everything was run down simply due to being reclaimed by nature.

One weird, interesting difference between The Lost World book and movie is in the original novel Site B is genuinely a Lost World, as in no living human being is even aware of it's existence, since any documentation got lost in the shuffle when InGen went bankrupt and everyone who knew about it gets killed in the first novel, so it's treated as a mystery that the characters have to discover, whereas in the movie so many people know about it as to be able to send a huge safari expedition to the island.

 

[MysticMisty]

Isn't a hurricane specifically stated as what destroyed Site B though?

I kind of forgot to be honest. Like, I know there was a bad storm, but I don't remember if it's a hurricane specifically (but I'll take your word for it). I just remember when they left and couldn't take their (very, very expensive) animals with them that they assumed their lysine deficiency would quickly kill them and wrote them off as a loss until oops, they could get enough from natural food sources after all.

whereas in the movie so many people know about it as to be able to send a huge safari expedition to the island.

Even though there's quite a few people in InGen that knew (all the geneticists in the movie survived after all), I thought it was only Hammond's dick nephew that sent in the expedition, since he had sole control of the company at the time (Malcolm's group was so small I wouldn't really call that an expedition).

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

What always bugged me about The Lost World is the good guy environmentalists end up causing more death and destruction than the supposed baddies.

 

[Agarathium1066]

What always bugged me about The Lost World is the good guy environmentalists end up causing more death and destruction than the supposed baddies.

I always thought that was intentional to show that their infighting was equally shitty. In the end of the Jurassic World sequel it's the 'kind heart' of a young girl that sets loose loads of dinosaurs into the wild forcing humanity to have to face further dangers in the future.

 

[The Penultimate Warrior]

I always thought that was intentional to show that their infighting was equally shitty. In the end of the Jurassic World sequel it's the 'kind heart' of a young girl that sets loose loads of dinosaurs into the wild forcing humanity to have to face further dangers in the future.

It always seemed to me as if they were presenting their actions as just. Although Fallen Kingdom was perhaps worse since it specifically shows the mansion is near a town, so she would have caused a lot of innocent deaths. But the idea that her releasing them has now caused some massive ecological change was equally as stupid - there were a few dozen dinos at most, the military could have easily just blocked off the area and either captured or culled them.

 

[Agarathium1066]

It always seemed to me as if they were presenting their actions as just. Although Fallen Kingdom was perhaps worse since it specifically shows the mansion is near a town, so she would have caused a lot of innocent deaths. But the idea that her releasing them has now caused some massive ecological change was equally as stupid - there were a few dozen dinos at most, the military could have easily just blocked off the area and either captured or culled them.

I think that their intention was to make them justified in their actions but while watching it when it released I felt like they were huge jerks. That feeling has never changed upon rewatches, they just get people killed because how dare they want to recapture these genetic monstrosities that resemble our view of dinosaurs.

From what I recall of the Fallen Kingdom ending the narration implies 'humanity is now forced to share the world' with the dinosaurs now though I assumed the same. It wasn't that many set loose but there were enough stupid things in that movie for me to assume it was just poor writing.

 

[Biek Fowler]

Camp Cretaceous came out today and it was actually pretty good. I'd recommended it if anyone was interested in checking it out.