Life Finds a Way: The Jurassic Park Roe v. Wade Connection
ABOUT THE EPISODE
Hold onto your butts. This week, I’m talking about a movie I’ve probably watched 100 times and know by heart – Jurassic Park. Spielberg’s beloved dinosaur film ranks high on my list of influential films in my life. I didn’t think I could learn something new about this movie but, in light of the Supreme Court’s recent overturn of Roe v. Wade, I’m interpreting familiar scenes and characters with a whole new perspective. What does Jurassic Park have to do with birth control, conception, nuclear families, and reproductive rights? Is it perpetuating a pro-life agenda? Tune in to hear my thoughts.
TOPICS DISCUSSED
The mom guilt that comes with the endless heavy and tragic news in the world
Why my attempts to re-watch The Land Before Time as an adult has been the opposite of nostalgic because of its traumatic storylines
The differences between the Jurassic Park book and movie, and the prominent age gap between Laura Dern and Sam Neill
The major storyline of divorce and the impact it has on children as seen throughout the Jurassic Park/World franchises
Contrasting the paternal and maternal instincts seen in the Jurassic Park movie
Reproductive science and genetics in Jurassic Park and looking at this through the lens of the overturning of Roe v. Wade
Unpacking the line “Life finds a way,” and how the downfall of Jurassic Park could be interpreted to perpetuate the pro-life agenda and condemn science.
Comparing the characters within the Jurassic Park franchise and how there is not necessarily a strong female lead in any of the films
RESOURCES MENTIONED
Vice: The Jurassic Park Films Are As Much About Divorce as They Are About the Dangers of Playing God
Rolling Stone: Laura Dern and Sam Neill Address 20-Year Age Gap in ‘Jurassic Park’
WRITING PROMPT
What is a science fiction story that had an impact on you in your formative years? Why do you think it was so impactful to you then, and how do you perceive it now?
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Jackie Leonard 00:00
If I had to tell you the five films that I consider defining to my childhood, it would be hook Toy Story, the Chipmunk Adventure FernGully, and definitely Jurassic Park. And so if you did not see the title to this week's episode, we are going to be diving into the iconic film by Steven Spielberg, Jurassic Park. And I'll also pepper in some thoughts on the sequels and the Jurassic World Series and whatnot. But Jurassic Park is the focus of my talk today. I've had this on the books and been needing to record it for some time and actually have struggled with kind of how to frame what I wanted to talk about in relation to the movie. And also bring in the newer films. I wanted this episode to align with the release of the most recent Jurassic World movie that came out in June, I believe it's Dominion or something like that. But that did not happen that that time came and went. And I'm actually really grateful of that, because I, I feel like now I have a handle on what direction I want to take this conversation in a way that's timely, but also not too contrived. I really do see some interesting things about the Jurassic Park message, both in the story by Michael Creighton, and the film directed by Steven Spielberg, that, say some really interesting things about reproductive science, about women, and about family. So let's get to it. So if you're new to the podcast, I like to start with sharing something that I'm feeling guilty of this week to get it off my chest. And if you're listening in real time, this episode is coming after a two week break. And it's been a while since I've recorded a podcast, I recorded a number of the seasons early. And so I feel a little rusty and to be honest, have been really unmotivated, and checked out and having a really hard time being present. I, I this is something that, you know, I'm aware of, and I've been working on finding ways to ground myself. And all of that is what I'm actively working on and aware of, but I can't ignore the fact that for the past few months, it feels like one thing after another has been happening that has been just really hard to for myself, just like wrap my head around to process before the next thing happens, and particularly the shootings in Buffalo, following the school shooting at Val de Elementary. Prior to that, you know, just a lot of the Johnny Depp Amber Heard stuff was getting to me. So there's just been a lot all you know, swirling around, and then not to mention, knowing that the Supreme Court was going to be ruling on Roe v Wade and bracing myself for that. And most recently, having the official ruling, striking it down has been a lot to carry. And so I feel guilty for being sort of out of it. Even though I know why. But I think the guilt is more around that next step. It's like I'm aware that this is happening. I I know that it's normal, and it's you know, to be expected.
Jackie Leonard 04:27
But I'm feeling a little guilty about not being able to move myself out of it, which I guess is just a natural problem that I that I have not being able to kind of sit with it and just allow it to be. I do feel like I'm doing some things that are kind of putting me further into it than kind of trying to to be healthy and navigating all the information. But yeah, just there's just a lot going on and it's hard to kind of of exist in a world where, you know, all these things are happening, you feel motivated to do something. And yet my world is in a lot of ways very small, you know, I'm, I'm reading, you know, life altering news while I'm, you know, scrambling eggs and feeding my kids or, you know, doing the laundry. And it's it's this weird kind of small world big world stuff happening where you feel unified in some ways and also very isolated at the same time, and I'm not sure what to pin the guilt directly on, but I'm just feeling some, you know, just swirling guilt around this, this matter, just guilt for not being able to turn it off and be more present for my kids are, do things that, you know, make me that I can have fun, where I can kind of separate what's going on and just enjoy myself. Find joy even though things are really hard, I have a really hard time with that. And also not being more active, not feeling like you know, this drive to go out and do something or knowing what to do. Also I feel guilty for and so there's just a lot of a lot of feelings that a lot of conflicting feelings swirling around that have kind of put me into that, like freeze mode, in my in my nervous system. And I'm trying to just note it and write when I can and process and do things, but it's been slow. And I'm trying to not be too critical of that. But it does help to say out loud and also to kind of caveat because all of that is kind of fueling the way I will approach my talk about Jurassic Park and and the things that I've noticed in my rewatch of the movie and also some analysis of its sequels. So before I get into Jurassic Park, I actually wanted to talk a little bit about the movie The Land Before Time. And most people I've assessed to are a part of mothers scopes community. Those of you listening to the podcast, people who follow mother scope, on Instagram, all of you are primarily in the millennial age group. I think it's like kind of like a 25 to 40 plus age range. I haven't I've noticed that my demographics. And so most of you are millennials, most of you grew up around the same time that I did. And so a lot of the stuff that I was influenced by I've noticed many of you also were influenced by in some ways. The film, The Land Before Time, it's an animated film, if you are not familiar that came out in 1988. I was born in 86. I don't know when I first watched the movie, but it was a movie that I was exposed to early and was one that I enjoyed as a child I had a little foot stuffed animal that I carried around with me everywhere. And maybe that was more influential to me than the actual contents of the movie. But I do have memories of watching that movie a number of times. I didn't add it to my top five that I shared in the beginning because it's not a film that I really feel like I go back to and feel that nostalgia or that that warm feeling for it's actually quite the opposite. It's not obvious already. It's a dinosaur animated film. And I don't know if I bought the movie but I definitely have had access to it in recent years. And to this day, I've not been able to like rewatch it I will put it I've put it on before and the soundtrack just like triggers something in my body that makes me not want to watch it at all.
Jackie Leonard 09:15
If you don't remember aren't aware of it the plot of the film is is very classic Disney it's not a Disney film, but you know just very on brand with the animated children's films of that time. The there's just so much tragedy and trauma in that movie. To start with the the you know little dinosaurs mother dies in a really horrific way. And the children in this film Who are you know, children child dinosaurs are constantly under threat. They're constantly in danger. They're not supervised. They're alone and they're trying to find you know, they're lost and trying to find their way there's you know, fan men going on horrible natural disasters like earthquakes and volcanoes erupting. It's just it's just a lot. And even rereading the plots off of Wikipedia was just bringing back all the memories I have of, of watching the film. You know, maybe one day, I'll have to sit down and force myself to watch it. But I, it's really interesting. It got me thinking about how, you know, I talked about this in the Disney episode, but little foot is, you know, a dinosaur who is alone, he's a baby dinosaur, whose mother dies, and you actually like, see her die in the film. And it made me wonder watching that as a child, or for all the kids who watched it. In that time, what we did with that, like, I don't recall, sitting down and being able to process my emotions and my fears that came out from the experience as a viewer, I doubt if I watched it when I was two or three years old, that that was even something that maybe I could fully follow. But based on all the, you know, the, the animated films that I've already talked about with regard to Disney, and some of the other cartoons and stuff that that we were exposed to, I just wonder there were so many of us that were receiving entertainment that addressed a very real fear for children of losing their parents. And I wonder how much those films helped or hurt if we weren't able to process those feelings, did watching these movies, exacerbate those fears, creates, you know, undue sort of inappropriate anxiety around you know, like catastrophizing, the loss of our parents, and I just, you know, I just wonder that especially knowing and being able to feel the like the visceral reactions, I had to watching that film. Yeah, anyways, this is going in a different direction, but it really got me thinking about that, and how the loss of this dinosaurs mother really fuels the journey that he goes on. And the other thing I found interesting, I was reading more about the film. The the production behind the film. Worth noting is that Steven Spielberg is actually a was a an executive producer for this film. And obviously, it came out a few years before Jurassic Park, but the director of the film, Don Bluth said his name. Yeah, Don Bluth was the director and the producer for the film. And he is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, which is the Mormon church. And he shares that he, his, you know, Mormon faith influenced the themes in the film, and an interview with church news, he stated, everything I do is centered around the gospel, even our films are, although the secular world would never realize it. In that article, the writer states that little foot can be read as a Christ figure because of his special birth circumstances and positions as a leader of his people. And then the journey to the Great Valley, which is to the west mirrors that of the Mormon pioneers who moved from fertile lands in the east, to the arid and mountainous Great Basin. The writer for The true Church news article, Randy acil,
Jackie Leonard 13:54
concluded that little Firth is both a Joseph Smith he sees a pillar of light and receives heavenly visitors. And at Brigham Young, he leads his followers across the plains. I thought that was interesting. And something that I was not aware of, obviously, as a child, or in my remembering of the film, that it was so heavily influenced by the Mormon faith. I also found this this is I read that from Wikipedia, so that's where I got that information. Regarding editing, I thought this was also interesting. The film went through a lot of severe cutting and editing, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, who was also an executive producer thought that some scenes in the movie would appear too dark and intense for young children. Spielberg told Don Bluth, while looking at the scenes from the film. It's too scary. We'll have kids crying in the lobby and a lot of angry parents. You don't want that. It's interesting that the final version is actually like a more subdued version of what was Originally intended to be in the film, I guess 11 minutes of footage were cut from the film to kind of soften it for their targeted audience and get give it the G rating that they wanted. But I don't know. I guess that's all just really interesting. I just see right here. I don't know. I guess Don Bluth also did the film. All Dogs Go To Heaven, and was also a part of an American Tale, which if you also have seen those movies, they are heavy. So very interesting in the I know, this isn't quite related to what I'm going to share about Jurassic Park. But dinosaurs were a big deal for me growing up and I I'm sure so many of you can relate to this. It was just style dinosaur merch learning about dinosaurs, the kind of the science of dinosaurs and and where they came from, is really rooted in in, you know, some Christianity around around creationism and the Big Bang. I remember being a very curious child and wondering you know, as I was learning about my religion at the time asking the questions like Wait, how did Adam and Eve first appear if dinosaurs were here before humans and having to sort of stumped the people that I was asking those questions too. I grew up in Palm Springs area and a little ways from Palm Springs. There are these. There's like this dinosaur pitstop. It has like a little museum where you can go and check out these huge giant dinosaurs. I don't know if they're, like, created to scale but they're just these landmarks that you drive by and you see, okay, it's called the Cabazon dinosaurs, and they were formerly known as Claude Bell's dinosaurs, and is a roadside attraction in Cabazon, California, which is off the I 10 On your way into Palm Springs. They're 150 foot long Brontosaurus and a 65 foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex visible from the freeway. So I don't know if it's inside the dinosaurs now I'm like really forgetting because even though I've been there, yeah, it's inside the dinosaur. Are is like this little museum. And it's actually a creationist museum that perpetuates just inaccuracy, just false facts around how long dinosaurs have been here. So basically, the current ownership has expressed a young earth creationist belief that most dinosaurs recreated on earth about 6000 years ago, the same day as Adam and Eve. I don't know the origins, I guess maybe the people who first created it did not ascribe to this, but those who now own it have kind of CO opted the exhibits for their creationist beliefs. So maybe it's a bit of a leap to kind of connect The Land Before Time and its Mormon influence to this creationist museum that I grew up, living very close to, but somehow those those bills popped into my head before I dove into the film Jurassic Park. But as I shared a little earlier, yeah, diet, dinosaurs were just big in my life. I remember learning a lot about them reading a lot of books about dinosaurs. Having dinosaur toys, there was one one Christmas when I literally got like all Jurassic Park. Merchandise like toys. As a child.
Jackie Leonard 18:48
I remember I think it was like eight years old and even having the thought like, am I a tomboy? Why do I have all dinette? Why did I get all dinosaur toys for Christmas? Why did I want all these things, but they were so fun. I was just so fascinated. And the movie Jurassic Park was equally influential and fascinating to me. I have no idea why my dad thought this was appropriate. But he took me to see the movie. When it came out. I was seven years old. And I just remember watching it just in awe. It felt so real. I stand by that, that film. It's special effects the way that it's you know, it's cinematography. It's music everything is was kind of like peak Hollywood for a while and then I felt like we really lost that because of CGI and those other technological advancements that I thought I think got overused in exchange for like the models that were created for Jurassic Park. So I don't know it's just it's such an iconic movie, I share all this because I just I just love it so much I have it has a special place in my heart, even though I can watch it now and just be like, there's a lot of things about this movie that are just not good. But it's it's something that that I it's a comfort at this point to watch that movie, and I really enjoy it. When I was in grad school back in 2012, I studied abroad for a summer in Costa Rica. And I read the book Jurassic Park while I was there, which was a really cool experience. Because you may know Jurassic Park is actually based in Costa Rica, an island off of Costa Rica, but there are scenes in the country itself and visit bits who surreal to read. The story that I was so familiar with in the country that it was sort of based on or inspired by the book itself is a whole, you know, a whole spin off to what I knew of the the story of Jurassic Park, because, well, if anybody has done this, I mean, you may have done this in different situations. But to read a book, after you've seen the film version is is interesting, because you sort of have a conflicting view of what's right or wrong about the story, because you're so used to the adaptation when the book is actually the original source texts. And for myself, it was really interesting to read the book Jurassic Park, because so much of the, the emotion so much of the the personal characterization, elements, so much of the heart of the movie is not in the book, the book is very plot driven, and very much about the science and the sort of differing opinions and the Yeah, just very, very heavy in like scientific jargon and all of that. And the characters, even that we're familiar with from the movie are very different in the book than we've become used to. And so for me to read the book in 2012, after I don't know how many viewings of the movie, Jurassic Park, and it was interesting, you know, one example off the top of my head is the the character of John Hammond, who's the creator of jacket, Jurassic Park, the the billionaire who is in the movie,
Jackie Leonard 22:30
I heard somebody describe him as very much like Walt Disney. He's this kind of jolly old man who just wants to, you know, have families and children enjoy a park. And that's, you know, he's creating it out of this benevolence. And in the book, he's much more sinister. He is very, you know, egocentric and very self motivated. And there's, there's little like glimmers of that in the movie, but, but in the book, it's so much different. And in the book, John Hammond dies, which does not happen in the movie and, and there's so many different exhibit other examples of the main character is just being very different from the book version than they are in the film. In recent news, it's also come up the age gap between Dr. Grant and La settler. So you've got the two scientists who come in to dress like Park, the paleontologist and the Paleo baldness, to give their opinion on Jurassic Park, and in the book, it's much more like explicit that Dr. Grant is an older, seasoned scientist in his field. You know, world renowned, and Le Sadler is like a graduate students. And so there's a very big age gap gap. And there's also not like that romantic element that we have in the movie. And the movie, they don't look like they're as big of an age gap, although it just recently came up in interviews as they were promoting their Jurassic World Dominion film, the two actors. Sam O'Neill and Laura Dern are actually over 20 years apart in age. And, you know, Laura Dern has that face that, you know, she looked older to me, then I think she was in her early 20s When that was filmed, but she hasn't aged in like, you know, I don't know, 2530 years since the film came out. So but it it wasn't obvious in the movie that they were that big of an age gap, and they were in a romantic relationship. You know, it was it was not, you know, a big part of the story, but it was it was prominent enough that they were talking about children and having kids and you know, that they were together when inoculum was kind of trying to come, you know, hit on her Doctor Grant was a little you know, defensive of that. So there's definitely a romance took relationship there, they definitely work together and so to, to kind of address and, you know, 2022 the fact that there was a 20 year age gap between the actors and how that wasn't really a big deal to the narrative of the story I found really interesting. You know, if this movie was made in this day and age, I wonder if a more intentional script would sort of address the dynamics, the power dynamics of their relationship because we are told in the story that Dr. Grant is a you know, he's published books. John Hammonds grandson, Timmy is like a big fan of his and has read his book. And so you know, that he's this authority on paleontology. And he knows dinosaurs and he's kind of the person who tells everybody, you know, dinosaurs do this. And dinosaurs do that, because he's researched them for his whole career. You have Ellie Sadler, who's she's established as a professional and she's a paleo botanist, but there is some, you know, something not said there's something removed here and in not acknowledging the age gap that perhaps Dr. Grant is the superior in their, you know, research team and how does la Salar fit in? Is she grad students? Is she, you know, an equal and they're, you know, as a colleague, or is there some sort of power dynamic at play that we're not acknowledging in this in this film as it is, even though we've we've decided to put them together as a romantic couple.
Jackie Leonard 26:34
I liked that the actors brought it up. You know, Sam O'Neill says, I'm 20 years older than Laura, which at the time was a completely appropriate age difference for a leading man and lady. And he said that he had never occurred to him that there was a big age difference between them, until they saw an article titled old geezers, and gals and a magazine about people like Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, acting, acting, acting, acting with younger, much younger people. And he saw that he was included on that list. And, you know, Laura Dern says that the two characters falling in love felt okay to her and completely appropriate. And that it was only now when we returned in a moment of cultural awareness about the patriarchy that it was like, wow, we're not the same age. And so and obviously the trope of like a grad students having a romantic relationship with their, you know, mentor a professor is not, or people in, you know, work environments, having romantic relationships with people who you know, are their superiors, obviously, is is very common. But, yeah, I think I liked that they address it, they acknowledged that that age gap was kind of vague. It wasn't, you know, overt in the story. And it leaves some some question marks as to the nature of their relationship, the things that were unsaid, I wonder, what we can infer about these two characters. And I think that's important because I'm going to get into some of the arguments that I think Jurassic Park is making by its original writer, Michael Creighton, as well as the director Steven Spielberg. As a child of divorce, I've been maybe a little more sensitive to how big divorce was as a storyline or just like a plot point or trope in light of the films that came out in the 90s. I would say, Jurassic Park is one of them. I pointed it out to my husband, and he's like, really, I didn't really notice that as like a storyline. And I was like, Nope, it's it's big. And I actually found an article that addresses it and, and I'll link it in the show notes. But the title of the vice article that I found is the Jurassic Park films are as much about divorce as they are about the dangers of playing God. And this was published in 2015. But they kind of bring up some of the different storylines that revolve around being, you know, a child in divorce, or people going through divorce and the way that children specifically are impacted by it. I, so I dug into my research, and I didn't I didn't realize actually that Steven Spielberg himself was a child of divorce, and that that has actually been a big influence in his filmmaking. He likes to sort of tell stories through the child's perspective or with the child in mind. And that made a lot of sense looking back on some of the films that I'm aware of, and just the absence of parents or the absence of parents who are looking out for children in the moment and the sort of introduction of mentors or parental like figures coming in to help the children who are sort of abandoned by their parents. More notable to me also with regard to Jurassic Park specifically is that I was familiar with and learn more about the fact that Steven Spielberg went through a very public and, you know, controversial divorce in 1989. He divorced his first wife, and I had one child, a son, with his first wife, Amy Irving, and their divorce settlement was considered the most divorce settlement at the time. It was $100 million dollar divorce settlement that came about after a judge controversially throughout their prenuptial agreement written on a napkin. So I found that to be like, kind of wild and informative because this happened. You know, in 1989, Steven Spielberg acquired the rights to the Michael Crichton story of Jurassic Park in 1990. And production began that year, and filming took place in 1992. Steven Spielberg remarried in 1991, Kate Capshaw, I believe,
Jackie Leonard 31:34
and they are still married to this day. But you know, you have to imagine that during that period of time, you know, being a child of divorce, going through a divorce, having a son who, you know is impacted by that divorce, I can imagine really fueled some of his his storytelling and knowing that Michael Creighton book now, I just don't see Michael Creighton as being the sentimental person that we know Steven Spielberg to be from his other films. And so going back to the story in the Jurassic Park film, you have the characters Lex and Tim, who represents sort of the child lens in this story. They are brought in because John Hammonds daughter is getting divorced. And it's sad to sort of as a throwaway comment, but she sends the kids to their grandfather to kind of spend time with him while she's navigating this divorce. And we know that these poor kids are put into danger many times, not to mention the fact that John Hammond as a grandparent isn't the most protective of his grandkids, you know, he sort of sets them off, he sits by and stays in the control room and watches and and isn't really supervising them, he kind of leaves strangers to care for his grandkids throughout the movie. And I consider that plot point to be a Spielberg influence, I think that was put in there. And whether it was intentional to have such an impact or not, I really do think it it drives a lot of the story with regard to these these kids who are left on their own. And what this sort of theme park and the dangers that exist in this theme park represent for children of divorce through, you know, Spielberg's perspective. The other thing that comes up pretty early in the film is the the topic of having children, which is introduced again, early in the film, I think this even actually is brought up before Lex and Tim are introduced as the grandkids. This is during the architectural dig sites with Dr. Grant and La Sadler before they even meet John Hammond. There's a scene where Dr. Grant terrifies the punk kid who kind of says that that doesn't look very scary. And Dr. Grant tells them about how the Velociraptor would slice them up with its claw or whatever. And la Sadler is giving him a hard time for terrifying this this child who you know didn't know any better. And he says something like, you know, you want one of those, you know, in reference to you want to have kids. And it's really interesting listening to that conversation knowing that they did have such a big age gap because I mean, I don't know coming from me thinking about if I was a graduate student at the beginning of my career would I really be talking to you know, this older man that I was dating about having children it just seems a Little bit of like a role reversal that just doesn't fit our character for starters. But anyways, Dr. Grant is very much like,
Jackie Leonard 35:08
I don't want kids kids are gross. They smell. And la Sadler is kind of like, you know, I, you know, I don't want that kid. But yes, a child, I would want one at some point in time and, and it also just feels really odd to have that sort of conversation. So early in the film as a way to introduce these characters. This is really kind of the first details that we get of both of them. And it has to do with with procreating of having children. And then with Dr. Grant, specifically, as the film progresses, and he is introduced to Tim and lacs, who are the young children, you've got Tim, who is like, really attaches himself to him looks up to him. And you see Dr. Grant kind of apprehensive or just not wanting to spend time with these children and then getting stuck with them. And by the end of the film, you know, they're cuddling on the helicopter and have bonded and, and so doctors, Grant's character growth has like arc in this film is really going from this man who doesn't want to have children to warming up to and having affection for young kids. And I'm wondering what we're supposed to glean from that. And Dr. Grant spoil really in the movie is, is he and Malcolm who is played by Jeff Goldblum, very iconic character in his own right. Just he's somebody who just talks a lot, which is, you know, the opposite of what you see in Dr. Grant. He is also just a really intelligent person, but kind of shoots from the hip as well. And it is funny and charming. And he speaks very freely and openly about, you know, loving kids looking out for the next, you know, next wife whenever he has the chance. And yeah, I you know, I haven't done a lot of intentional thinking and reflecting on what exactly we're doing with these characters. And you know, I've watched this movie for years, I know it by heart at this point. But even saying this aloud, I'm like, Well, I've never actually really thought about how they're foils to one another. And I wonder with regard to sort of the paternal instincts of both characters, what we're trying to say if if Steven Spielberg is speaking to the man who is hesitant to embrace children, what's you know, what's exactly the angle here, but I do find it interesting that you've got one character, main character who is, you know, not actually not feeling like he wants children dismissive of children annoyed by children. And then you have the other one who's very much, you know, give me all the kids I love them. And who also you know, there's a scene where he wants to protect the kids and he actually gets hurt for it because he's thinking irrationally. And that infamous, you know, nighttime T Rex scene. And it's Dr. Grant who's kind of more level headed and methodical, who is able to rescue the kids and take care of them, keep them safe, as they you know, navigate the park on their own. So sort of the grand finale of of my, you know, topics that I wanted to discuss is the whole storyline around the reproductive science that has to do with Jurassic Park, the genetics, the, the fact that all the dinosaurs are girls, they have intentionally made sure that all the dinosaurs on on Jurassic Park are female. And the quotes Life finds a way. One of the reasons I'm glad that it took me some time to sit down and record this episode is, you know, in light of the Supreme Court ruling on Roe v Wade, my my lenses is altered, you know,
Jackie Leonard 39:16
I'm looking at things that I wouldn't normally see. And I was talking with my husband about this, because, you know, we, we spend more time than I care to admit sort of analyzing Jurassic Park in different ways. And for so long, I've looked at this book, as you know, obviously a story that tackles science and technology around science and the dangers of it. But really, I wrap my head around it as like the genetics of it. And I was making the argument with my husband that I actually see it now as sort of a cautionary tale around reproductive science and technology, with the topics of genetics and conception all under that umbrella, the umbrella of reproductive of science and, you know, if you're not familiar with the story of Jurassic Park, essentially, they are able to extract dinosaur DNA from mosquitoes. And, you know, create basically dinosaur DNA and they use the note, they are able to fertilize these eggs that they're able to create using frog, amphibian DNA or something or another. And, you know, it's all explained in the movie. I'm gonna get into my Michael Creighton in a minute. But essentially, there's all this talk about the science of reproductive, you know, technology around, you know, creating, creating life from these labs, manipulating genetics to create these these creatures or bring Brack bring back these extinct creatures, if you have seen some of the later and more recent films in the series, you know, that they actually go on to sort of bioengineer these new species of dinosaurs that weren't even, you know, around in prehistoric times. But, but there is all this stuff in the original around, you know, intentionally making all the dinosaurs female so that they can't reproduce. So there's this control around the reproduction of these dinosaurs, they're able to sort of ensure that there are not, you know, more dinosaurs being born in this park setting than they intend on having and so they're very controlled, they're, you know, they have these vials, and it's all you know, they know, you know, dark John Hammond says, I like to be there when there each of them are born. So you have this sense of control. And that's something that the scientists and La Sadler brings up, you know, you, you know, you you thought you had control, there's, you know, this is all an illusion, there's no no actual control in this. There's the, you know, John, and Malcolm says to Dr. Grant Life finds a way, this isn't, you know, this isn't gonna work. He like warns them. And then Dr. Grant later when they're out and, you know, trying to find their way back to the, you know, Control Center, the main, you know, the compound, he finds, you know, a pile of eggs, and Timmy says, you know, I thought, you know, Grandpa said, all the dinosaurs were girls. And Dr. Grande says, you know, Life finds a way they figured out a way to reproduce on their own. All of these, these, these things, these, these plot points, these, these parts of the story were swirling around in my head, and I was trying to figure out what exactly they're trying to say. And, you know, given the current climate, around reproductive, reproductive health, reproductive rights, who gets to say, have a say in the, you know, reproduction of a person, it got me thinking about the fact that we are hot, we're listening to his story, we are viewing a story that is told by the points of view of two men and, and we've got, you know, I've
Jackie Leonard 43:14
already shared with Steven Spielberg, a man who you know, is, is raw from the divorce I'm, you know, assuming but, you know, raw from a divorce, as a child of a divorce is sensitive to sort of the loss of control of the family unit. And you've got Michael Creighton, who is somebody who is well educated person who has gone from, you know, being a scientist, being somebody in academia, to a fiction writer, who has infused what he has learned about science into fiction, essentially, he takes some science that he knows and creates absolute fiction, and puts them together in such a way that you almost are able to blur fact, from fiction. And it got me thinking about how, wait a second, you know, all the dinosaurs are, are female, it's, you know, explicitly stated in the movie. And they are being controlled by you know, these scientists, these men in this room, and they're able to essentially manufacture who is born and who is not born. So that's, that's kind of loaded right? That's some loaded imagery. Why couldn't all of the dinosaurs have been male because they're really by their engineering them in the lab, so you don't necessarily need a alive female creature to to continue this thread. So I just feel like the point being made that they're all female was interesting. And the villains in the movie are the dinosaurs. I mean, there is Some sort of like, affection for the dinosaurs in a lot of ways that they want to protect the dinosaurs and all that but essentially the dinosaurs are attacking people and dangerous and are to be feared. Another angle that I kind of took was with that Life finds a way comments, it got me thinking about, you know, maybe could Michael Crighton be warning people of the dangers of reproductive technology to include controlling when and if you procreate so maybe there was some sort of messaging around Life finds a way and that we should allow life to find a way when the females are out in nature as God intended them to be they figure out a way to procreate. So I don't know if I'm overtly making this connection, but there could be some analysis that suggests that Michael Creighton was actually wrote this story with a pro life anti abortion, anti birth control motivation under the veil of you know, some sort of feminist empowerment because you've got the the the only real main female character Ellie Sadler, at least adults female character is presented as a feminist you know, she taught has that whole that awesome line that I love about dinosaur eat man women inherits the earth but she also is the one who very much so wants to have children and it's the the man who is the scientist who does not want to have children. And so Ellie has kind of been propped up as she wants to have babies these dinosaurs who are all female that are in the wild and not controlled want to have babies and they will find a way Life finds a way maybe Spielberg's wounds around the you know, breaking up with a family mixed with Creighton's delusions with taking science and having people believe fiction as possible created this like perfect storm where it's actually as messaging to women that they need to kind of like push against the technology around reproduction and allow life to to not be controlled. This I found to be really surprising because I've always looked at Jurassic Park as this very you know, pro science progressive like storyline and
Jackie Leonard 48:04
my layers and layers of of watching it and learning more about the people behind the film. Got me looking at it a different way I could be completely out of left field here. And I know Spielberg is very active in politics and the Democratic Party specifically, but it just makes me wonder it makes me wonder what what they're trying to tell people in this film. And the influences of it it's has definitely always had such a strong sense of misogyny and patriarchal sort of superhero dumb in its that really kind of takes off in the Jurassic World Series. I've honestly only been able to really watch the first one and I can't rewatch it. I ever watched like the second one and the Jurassic World Series and I just I remember telling my husband that was like the worst movie I've ever seen I making the velociraptors like friendly creatures was just felt like such a such a miss and Chris Pratt as the leading man, it's just really difficult for me to endure, I love Bryce Dallas Howard, but her character is just so problematic. And just so unlikable, even though I'm sure maybe she's had some sort of arc since the first movie, but all of those films, you know, also have some heavy themes around divorce. And and yet, you've got like there's these strong male figures who are the ones who are saving the day in all the these films. In the second film, you've got Malcolm who returns and again, just as with La Sadler, you've got some, you know, presumed sort of strong female co star and Julianne Maurice character But she's her choices are just so erratic they make no sense and Dr. Malcolm is the voice of reason in that movie. Dr. Grant comes back in the third Jurassic Park movie. Also the voice of reason the female lead to Leone. I think her name is like, I don't know how to pronounce it, but she is also just an awful character, very unlikable. So, there isn't just this there isn't a strong character who is a woman, and any of these films really, if you break them down. Laura Dern has been iconically represented as La Sadler, I've I was her for Halloween one year, I love her character. But I do think she's sort of used as a device more than she is like a full character. And in in the third movie, she kind of makes a cameo and as a mom now, but I'm not really even sure what what the point of all of all of that was, except for her to conveniently save them at the ends. But yeah, so So I really wanted to just highlight and point out something that I just never really saw myself, I always knew it was a story that cautions us as a society, to be careful with what we were able to do with technology with regard to science, and interfering with life. And I never made that connection that perhaps this is going so far as to suggest that interfering with reproduction and woman's right to choose and reproductive justice could be seen as one of those things to to warn people against allowing in our society. And given our current climate, I couldn't help but point that out to you all. Speaking of climates, I wanted to share because I didn't know this when I was researching about Michael Creighton, who, you know, like I said, is the author of Jurassic Park. But that wasn't his only book, he he his books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide. And over a dozen have been added, adapted into films.
Jackie Leonard 52:30
All of his work kind of have to do with science fiction, techno thriller, medical fiction genres, heavily feature technology, and the failures of human interaction with, you know, technology that result in kind of a catastrophes. Many of his novels have medical or scientific underpinnings reflecting his medical training and scientific background. So he received his MD from Harvard Medical School. But he did not practice medicine choosing to focus on his writing instead. So that's why I say like, he has a heavy scientific medical background but has not been a doctor in practice, he actually used what he learned to, to be a writer to be a fiction writer, kind of reminds me in some ways of what we know of L. Ron Hubbard who founded Scientology. There is this sort of category of people who have kind of learned about science and then have created sort of this art around putting it alongside fiction in such a way that you are able to believe the fiction and also have doubts about the science, which obviously can be very dangerous, especially when you have mass influence. But I was surprised to learn about Michael Creighton, that he wrote a book in 2004 called state of fear that essentially that the plot of the whole book was that global warming was a hoax, it was not true. And I read that in 2000 And may see in 2005, actually, Creighton was asked to testify on the subject of global warming and specifically attacking the science around global warming before Congress in 2005. Because of this book that he wrote, he wrote a fiction novel you know, disputing global warming calling it a hoax and then he was invited by Congress to speak, I guess on his expertise around the matter. I found that really interesting. I I would not have guessed that with my understanding of Creighton like And I've always saw him as like a scientist. And so I learned and reading up and preparing for this, this episode, that he held a contrarian position on various scientific issues such as I'm quoting Wikipedia here, climate change the health risks of secondhand smoke and the search for alien life. Creighton himself framed this contrarian ism as a practical skepticism of consensus based science, arguing that over reliance on statistical models creates the potential bias, the potential for bias, especially in the face of political and social pressures, such as the desire to avert nuclear war. So he does I think there is like a note in his book, The state of fear that he doesn't deny that climate change is a problem rooted in science, then I don't know what he says kind of, to muddy that. But essentially, he's kind of like, I don't believe I don't disagree with it. But I question it's sort of kind of position. Since we got into Spielberg's personal life, I figured I would share a little bit about her cretinous personal life. It says on Wikipedia that Creighton felt isolated as an adolescent because of his height, he was six foot nine, I didn't realize that in the 70s and 80s. He consulted psychics and enlightenment gurus to make him feel more socially acceptable and to improve his karma. I found that interesting, because my husband actually opened up the book, he has a copy of The Lost World. And He dedicated the book to I don't remember her name, but this woman and we looked her up and she's this like, kind of self improvement spiritual guru. So he must have been sort of influenced by her significantly enough to I think, like 20 years later, after kind of working on his enlightenment, dedicate his book to to her. He has been married five times, four of which ended in divorce. He died in 2008. For lymphoma, he was actually diagnosed that year and died later that year. To go back,
Jackie Leonard 57:26
I actually, you know, to go back to my comments around his potential pro life stance in a book that he wrote, titled A case of need. Creighton used first person narrative to portray the hero, a Bostonian pathologist who is running against the clock to clear a friend's name from medical malpractice in a girl's death from a hack job abortion. That was the only thing I could really find regarding, you know, his thoughts on, you know, abortion and, and reproduction and that way, but, but I am curious, I'm curious to know, where he stands there, and how that might have influenced some of his storytelling in in Jurassic Park specifically. And even if he wasn't maybe aware of some of this, I do feel like, you know, without diving into the world of academia, I do have an argument here that supports that possibly could be one way to interpret our understanding of the classic story of Jurassic Park. So anyway, I hope you've found some of my, my kind of renderings of the movie and the things that I've pulled from my many, many, many viewings of Jurassic Park. Interesting. And if you are also a fan of the movie like me, I invite you to rewatch it and see if things pop out to you that you never noticed. Otherwise. There's a lot there. There's a lot of dialogue that kind of gets easily lost if you're not listening for it. And so, so yeah, I encourage you to to rewatch it. It's a great summer movie, if you're, if it's the summer when you're listening to this episode. Honestly, I could watch it all year long. So even with all my criticisms, it's a beloved film for me and I hope you enjoyed hearing me riff on it and look at it more critically. Before I go, I've got to give you guys a writing prompt. If you're new to this podcast, I like to end every episode with a prompt to help you write and reflect on what you listen to. I'm all about finding ways to be more intentional with the ways that we consume Our media, the way we consume are entertainments and there's not really a lot of space or encouragement to do that. So this is my small part in helping me and the rest of you find ways to process what we consume. So this week's writing prompt is what is a science fiction story that had an impact on you in your formative years? Why do you think it was so impactful to you then, and how do you perceive it now?