Movie Review: What We Can Learn from Jurassic World

So the other night I went and saw Jurassic World in IMAX 3D. My heart was racing the entire time, my palms were sweating, and no matter if they died or not, I am still super jealous of the kids at the triceratops petting zoo. Long story short: it was amazing. So for the rest of this blog post, I'd like to explore out a few concepts the movie hit on:

Intelligence

Impressive considering I don't know any humans who can bake underwater!  

Intelligence is not reserved exclusively for humans. Primates, dolphins, and even elephants all have very high functioning brains, and we still don't know everything about how animals think! Probably the most recent issue on this topic, or at least the most heated, pertains to the orcas in captivity, particularly at Seaworld. While it doesn't encompass the entire Blackfish debate, the intelligence of these animals certainly plays a huge part in it. 

Jurassic World makes the point that animals can be smart, and we often times underestimate their abilities. Like the raptors. Definitely the stars of the movie (Blue is my favorite!!). They have demonstrated their ability to work together in a team, communicate, and problem-solve. Who would've thought that dinosaurs could be smart? The reality is that we're learning more and more every day about the mental capacity of animals. Keeping that in mind, we shouldn't be surprised to find that many species are more intelligent than we previously thought. I mean, in fifty years, we could discover that seahorses are super smart- who knows! 

Any Nostalgia Critic fans out there? 

Wild Animals

No matter how much you train an individual animal, if they are wild, they will do what they want. Wild animals are, and will act like, wild animals. Just take a look at TIME's top 10 incidents. In my opinion, wild animals need to be treated with respect, understanding, and if you see one, distance. In no way am I saying animals are out to get us, but they can be dangerous if we aren't careful. (Of course, there are also many cases of domesticated animals going batpoop crazy, but we won't get into that.) 

I missed this scene because I was in the ladies room. True story. 

Technology


I can sit here at my desk and type out a novel of why we should be using technology for helping with poverty, or preventing suicide, or fighting terrorism. Or I could rant about how we should be using technology to innovate more ways to conserve our planet's natural resources, and help save the many endangered species of animals before they are lost to us forever. But instead, we're focused on using technology for something cool, but useless: bringing back dinosaurs. In this case, I'll just leave the rest of the talking to Ian Malcolm: 

Yeah, go tell this to the people trying to make dino-chickens (see link at end)

The Influence of Money

One of the concepts that really hit home with me was the emphasis on corporate sponsorship. It seems nowadays, advertisements are everywhere- billboards, tv commercials, and even roller coaster cars! Granted, some advertisements are really cool! Take the Science World ads, for example. Go ahead and Google it. Their facts are stunning, educational, and fun! I even picked a dinosaur one for you guys: 

The real question is who would sit on those chairs? 

But unfortunately, in today's day and age, we are overwhelmed with companies begging for our attention. In Jurassic World, the main lady (I'm not bothering to remember her name, sorry- she wasn't my favorite character) is so engulfed by the need to satisfy corporate sponsors that she forgets that the "assets" are actually living animals. This whole attitude keeps her from evacuating the park as soon as the can't-be-caught-asaurus gets out. A good lesson to learn, folks, money isn't as important as lives are. And with animals, they aren't objects, toys, or displays. They are living, breathing creatures, just like you and I, and should be treated as more than just money-makers. Besides, haven't we learned from Little Shop of Horrors that a lot of people will get eaten by giant mutant creatures if we grow them for money? 

Feed me Seymour!

That's all folks! Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, and check back soon for more! I also included some funny related links you might like: 

Zookeepers Recreating the Raptor-Training Scene

Nostalgia Critic's Review (NSFW)

Dino Chickens?