Welcome back... to Jurassic Park
Today kicks off a series of revisiting pop culture from my childhood in the 1990s, a decade in which I went from the formative ages of 8 to 18. An occasional album or book might pop up here but I’ll mostly be exploring this decade through movies. I hope you enjoy.
Also note: I’m moving my newsletter to Wednesdays. If you’re signed up with your email, the newsletter should be in your inbox by noon that day.
A big thank you to all those who are already subscribed!
I’ve never been to a live magic show, but I would bet the coupled experience of surprise and bewilderment would parallel what I felt in 1993 when I watched Jurassic Park for the first time. I can recall every moment vividly: My parents, my sister, and I went to the Cinema 6 at Eastland Mall for an evening showing. To get to the theater you had walk into the expansive mall followed by a long descent down an escalator, which if you had asked me as a child how high of a drop it was, I would have told you easily ten stories. It emptied out into a massive food court that to my kid brain offered every food option desirable (my 11 year old palette was quite limited), and within that space was the Cinema 6 Theater. Getting to the movies was its own awe-inspiring experience. We didn’t go to the theater much as a family and while I remember a lot of solo trips either with my mom or my dad, as a whole unit we didn’t venture there much. If my mom joined the rest of us for a film then you knew it was a true spectacle.1
And by God, Jurassic Park was a spectacle! I’ve had a few older friends tell me about watching Star Wars for the first time in a theater, their eyes lighting up quickly with a hint and a hope at recapturing that unrestrained excitement that only children have because they didn’t know such things could be rendered onscreen. That’s exactly how I feel about the original Jurassic Park. I think that might also explain why, thirty years and five sequels later, they are still trying to seize that lightning in a bottle once again.2 Creatives and executives in this franchise would have done well to listen to the wisdom preached by Ian Malcolm in the original, as they too were “so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they didn't stop to think if they should.”
Do you remember the first time you saw the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park? Depending on when and where you watched it will of course affect your experience, but we are all familiar with the scene: Our main characters riding in the Jeep on the open terrain, the music building in the background. Then Dr. Sattler (Laura Dern), so laser-focused on the out of place and out of time vegetation, is pulled into focus by Dr. Grant (Sam Neill) to the true wonder of the park. And that’s when that iconic John Williams score crescendos as the camera tracks toward the brachiosaurus!
This is precisely the magic of a Steven Spielberg film and him performing at the peak of his powers, recreating that childhood sense of wonder and astonishment. At that time, audiences had never seen computer-generated images of that caliber, and while the movie quickly turns into a monster show and morality tale about bastardized science, I will always appreciate Spielberg’s attempts to wow his viewers. He succeeds over and over again throughout this film with the introduction of the T-Rex, velociraptors, dilophosaurus and many other creatures.
JP is an iconic movie and one that I can’t wait to share with my son once he is of age. While I’ve watched Jurassic Park countless times, here are a few takeaways after watching it once again…
The raptors will always be terrifying, especially the kitchen scene as they chase the two Hammond grandchildren. To this day I’m still haunted by that raptor slowly opening the door.
Did Wayne Knight rule the 90s? He was in Seinfeld, Space Jam, and Jurassic Park, three pieces of pop culture that each have an enduring legacy.
The movie is chock-full of great lines of dialogue of which I can still repeat mostly verbatim:
“Yeah, but, John, if The Pirates of the Caribbean breaks down, the pirates don't eat the tourists.”
“Dodgson! Dodgson! We’ve got Dodgson here!”
“Hold on to your butts.”
Dr. Ian Malcolm: “God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.” Dr. Ellie Sattler: “Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth.”
“God help us, we're in the hands of engineers.”
[looking at a ridiculously huge mound of dinosaur feces] “That is one big pile of shit.”
“Look... We can discuss sexism in survival situations when I get back...”
One of the best aspects of JP is that its creative designers thoughtfully integrated CGI while still using mechanical dinosaurs and puppeteering, which makes for a more grounded experience. The sad legacy of JP is that others didn’t learn the lesson and instead opted for CGI to replace most of the effects in their movies.
The number of memorable shots and scenes, thanks to Spielberg and cinematographer Dean Cundey (who also did stellar work on the under appreciated Hook). A few of the best are: Samuel L. Jackson smoking a cigarette in the dark (of which the ash desperately needs to be clicked off) / the water rippling with each T-Rex stomp / the gallimimus flocking scene / the aforementioned introduction of the dinosaurs by Hammond / the raptors hunting Muldoon. I could name more easily…
A final reflection
Spielberg is famously known for exploring parenthood, childhood, divorce and other family dynamics throughout his filmography. But I also think there’s a driving, subconscious question that underpins his movies:
How can adults provide a joyful life for children, knowing that they will face loss and pain?
As adults and parents, we know that no matter how much stability we may try to build into our daily lives, there is no stopping the unpredictability and chaos (chaos theory!) of our existence. We’ve faced varying degrees of tragedy and we realize how arduous life can be, but we also see the hope and joy within children as they encounter life through new experiences. How do we encourage their curiosity and joy while preparing them for how life will inevitably test them? Some adults try to shield and prolong the cocoon of safety for children, fearing that any tears in the fabric will create permanent damage. But I think the messaging in Spielbergs’ films offers an alternative approach: Protection is important for children, indeed, but they also need guides who will create spaces of exploration, questioning, and encouragement as they face the more painful aspects of life. Alongside that, the realization that we can actually help nurture joy and even humor in our predicaments, and that instead of seeing all of these experiences as opposing forces, they are in fact friends that can all travel together in the adventure of life. That is a magic that can be discovered for a richer and deeper existence.
What I’m Watching
Quarterback
After watching a few emotionally-heavy shows in a row, I needed a palette cleanser and found it in the new Netflix docuseries, Quarterback. This eight episode series follows three current NFL quarterbacks (Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, Marcus Mariota) during the 2022-23 season, on and off the field. While there’s a ton of cliché sentiments about growing as athletes and leaders, I found the footage of training and methods of preparation to be fascinating. If you ever wonder what a quarterback goes through in between Sundays to prep for each game, this show provides a solid insider look. Again, nothing will knock your socks off, but it was a good watch if you want something on in the background.
Beef
Another Netflix show, Beef, was a much more challenging but highly enjoyable watch. Spiraling off of an initial road rage incident, Danny Cho (Steven Yeun) and Amy Lau (Ali Wong) are locked in a struggle with each other, their identities, families, upbringings, and more. While the show loses a bit of grounding in the last three episodes, it never stops being engaging. Wong and Yeun carve together phenomenal performances here. Warning: Don’t watch if you are trying to relax.
Oppenheimer
It is always a hallmark of a great film when you’re still wrestling with it several days after a viewing. Oppenheimer is that type of movie, not only creating a sense of awe and terror with the characters and subject matter, but also by producing larger questions about morality and the nature of power (amongst a few other ideas). Cillian Murphy delivers a performance that should garner not only nominations but hopefully several wins (if those events even happen this year). Many reviews have touched on the fragmented aspect of the narrative, especially its third act, but I think Christopher Nolan did a great job forming a story that reflects Oppenheimer’s disjointed experience. The film also feels like Kubrick, Malick, and Stone all wrapped together, which won me over. Not every single aspect works fully, but it’s top-tier Nolan.
What I’m Hearing
Spotify’s AI DJ
I haven’t engaged much with ChatGPT yet. Instead, the most interaction I’ve had with an AI at this point has been Spotify’s new-ish disc jockey. “DJ X” has been solid with the selections up this point, a lot of mellow music but occasionally giving me smaller doses of hip hop. I’m not sure what I was expecting, wait, actually yes I do, I secretly thought it might be able to predict what I wanted before I even knew it myself. Alas, it does not. Perhaps it’s not that smart yet or maybe it’s just another mix that I’ll occasionally skip through, but I will say it has introduced me to a few new bands that I might not have selected on my own. I do know this: When the robots take over, they’ll serenade us with “The End” by The Doors, and that’s not a bad way to go.
What I’m Reading
Of Boys and Men
I finished Reeves’ book on masculinity. I think it’s a solid read and he offers a few concrete and specific ways in which we can deal with several problems that boys and men face right now. A couple of suggestions that are helpful: (1) “Redshirting” boys at a young age to have extended Pre-K experience and delay their entry into Kindergarten. The research shows that developmentally, boys are behind girls by at least 2-3 years. A delayed start into the school system might support this gradual development and lead to more academic success down the line. (2) A renewed push for hands-on training in high school and emphasis on apprenticeships and partnerships with technical schools could help as well, while encouraging girls to also make use of these programs. I wish that the book had dealt with more social-emotional development for boys and young men, but maybe that could be the focus of future work.
What I’m Eating/Drinking
Antoinette Baking Co.
I ventured to the recently renovated Antoinette Baking Co. in downtown Tulsa this past week. It had been a few months since my last visit and I was impressed by how the new interior flows well and makes it easier to navigate the store. More than that, I had an excellent cinnamon roll and the iced vanilla latte (you all know I’m basic) was also quite good. Rumors were that Leo visited here often when he was shooting scenes for Killers of the Flower Moon, and while that fact matters not in this review, it’s a neat detail that should communicate to you that Tulsa is on the up and up.
Later on I would learn that if Hugh Jackman was in the movie, that would definitely get her to buy a ticket.
For the sake of transparency, I have not watched the last two movies in the Jurassic World trilogy. There are a slew of reasons for this, but I doubt I am missing much.