Why Jurassic Park Is
Commonly Misinterpreted
Everybody know Jurassic Park as the Movie series where
people try to create dinosaurs but end up getting eaten. While that is
entertaining as ever, it’s also very unfortunate. Michael Crichton’s novel got
the classic Hollywood treatment. Audiences don’t want to be filled with
brilliant philosophy; they want blood. Here’s why the movie kind of spoiled the
book:
1-They emotionally estranged the characters
The movie really cut down
on the character detail. In the book, Crichton made sure that we got to know a
character before they were ripped to pieces. In the movies, they skipped past
the characterization and went straight to the mauling. Doctor Wu was just a young bioengineer when
he was hired by John Hammond to create dinosaurs. In the novel, we got to know
his back story and his true intentions for creating dinosaurs. He wasn’t in it
for the money… he wanted to make great scientific discoveries. I liked Doctor
Wu and when he was eaten alive I felt sorry for him. In the movie, he just gets
eaten without much introduction.
2- They let John Hammond live
John Hammond was an
egotistical mastermind obsessed with making himself famous as the man who
created dinosaurs. He cared nothing for the safety of his guests or his staff. All
he wanted was to have a multi-billion dollar theme park where he could play god
to prehistoric creatures. I the movie, Hammond was a bit more sensitive and
obsessed with the wonder of his park. His character was still a bit reckless
but all in all he seemed to be a pretty okay guy. The book Hammond was eaten by
a pack of miniature velociraptors. He deserved to die for creating and abusing
his park. Movie Hammond was allowed to live because they shifted his character
to be more likable.
3- The movie changed the kids
In the book, Lex is
waaaaaay younger than she was in the movie. In fact she actually was younger
than Tim, her brother. This allowed for the reader to gain perspective on how
horrible it would be to be lost in a prehistoric landscape if you were eight
years old. In the movie, she’s just another screaming teenager.
4- The movie was incredibly action based
Very little did we hear
about Doctor Ian Malcolm’s chaos theory. In the book, it was a beautifully
crafted explanation for why the dinosaurs couldn’t be contained. It was only
peaked at in the movie and the explanation was rather dumbed down. Of course,
most people would rather watch the movie than read the book. The movie was
based off of the action sequences. The part that made it a blockbuster were the
parts were people got eaten. Not poor Doctor Malcolm’s chaos theory.
5- The dinosaurs were too violent
In the book, the dinosaurs
ate people if they messed with their offspring. In the movie they just felt
like killing. I mean this aspect of the book really doesn’t matter as much if
it is changed. Sure it would be nice to know why they killed people but in the movie
it’s not like anybody cares. They’re giant lizards with razor sharp teeth and
claws. They might as well have been serial killers.
