Jurassic Park Revisited!

I was 10 when I first saw Jurassic Park. I thought it was coolest thing I had seen, the possibility of something so spectacular fired me up that I thought that when I grew up someone would really have found a way to create a real Jurassic Park... But then, I grew up! And so it was...

There are some movies which I had seen when I was young but then as I saw it again as an adult, I discovered things about it which I had totally missed, especially matters that pertain to the script. When Jurassic Park came back to theatres on 3D, I wondered if I really wanted to go see... much like I struggled with the decision to go see Titanic when it came on 3D. After all, I knew what it was about. And my childhood dream that someone would really create a Jurassic Park was pretty much dead, so why bother at all! But in the end, because I had a few other nostalgic friends to go along with, I decided to go.

Control Vs Chaos
I am glad I did. My recollection of the movie was that it was cheesy and had some cheesy lines and scenes. This time around, what struck me was that in the cheesy exuberance there were some gems to be gathered. I couldn't say if the gems in the script were more incidental than intentional, but gems they are. Below is one one that sounds cheesy but encapsulates so much...

Malcom says...
God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs.
and ELLIE finishing it for him says...
Dinosaur eats man. Woman inherits the Earth.

In this one line there is so much stuff - history and philosophy and psychology and the queen of sciences, theology. I think this is a great piece of script...

The first part of the sentence implies that God has creative and destructive aspects to his nature. The later part says that man is kind of the same way too. The part that Ellie adds to it says that at the end of the day it all gets squared out and nobody has the last laugh (of course, the woman has the last laugh... or so she thinks). Anyways, ultimately the line as cheesy as it sounds really implies that none is in real 'control' of what is going on here. It is all chaos. In fact, that Malcolm has a degree in chaos theory isn't incidental to the story, because all through the story we see a struggle between control and chaos.

Illusion of Control
Much of the conversation between Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park and the scientists Ellie and Malcolm is centered around whether or not man can control the chaos he creates. Hammond insists, that he can. In fact, his very frequent use of the phrase 'spared no expenses' gives a view into his worldview that he uses money (and of course the power that comes with it) to control people.

HAMMOND ...with this place, I - - I wanted to give (show) them something real, something that wasn't an illusion, something they could see and (feel) touch. An aim devoid of (without) merit.

ELLIE But you can't think through this one. You have to feel it.

HAMMOND You're absolutely right. Yes, you're right. Hiring Nedry was a mistake, that's obvious. We're over- dependent on automation, I can see that now. But that's all correctable for the next time around.

ELLIE John, John. John, you're still building onto that Flea Circus, that illusion. And now you're adding onto it by what you're doing here. That's the illusion.

HAMMOND - - Once we have control again we - -

ELLIE Control?! You never had control! I was overwhelmed by the power of this place. So I made a mistake too. I didn't have enough respect for that power, and it's out now. You're sitting here trying to pick up the pieces. John, there's nothing worth picking up. The only thing that matters now are the people we love. Alan, Lex, and Tim. And John, they're out there where people are dying - - people are dying, you know?

Not Chaos... Not Control...
The narrative of the movie is that there is a struggle between two camps, people who think nature is chaos and ones who think with enough information, power and money it can be controlled. The fact of the matter is that the two camps are in different stages of human thinking. The former chaos advocates are in a state of ignorance. The later control advocates are in a state of illusion.

Ultimately, life isn't about chaos or about control. If we presuppose that God created life, then we presuppose that there is an order and a way to things. If we presuppose that God is the master of life, control is with Him not human beings.

When men do not presuppose a God, then they have two options either consider it all chaos and live in a state of indifferent nihilism which is what Malcolm does, when asked if he was married he replied, 'occasionally... have a few kids'. He gives an impression that he couldn't care less. The other option is for man to take himself too seriously as Hammond does and try to make a God of himself, even if it meant sending his grand kids in the path of danger.

When man presupposes a God and is in a 'covenant relationship' with Him, man gets to have substantial Truth revealed to Him and the substantial Truth tells him that God is God and that he isn't. So he has to submit to God's control and authority. God in turn blesses him with His presence. This way, man isn't indifferent and shallow as Malcolm nor does he take himself to seriously as Hammond does so as to build some monument for his glory only to realize that he had none in the first place.

Nimrod Revisited
Now that I am grown up, I see that my childhood dream of someone creating a Jurassic Park has been fulfilled. But Not in the sense that I thought of when I was a kid though. The Jurassic Parks of today, from Facebook to the Fed are built by men who take themselves more seriously than they should, often as monuments for their own glory, are an attempt at building something spectacular that controls the destiny of mankind. Apparently, these men don't know they are repeating an experiment done by an ancestor by the name of Nimrod.