Re: Jurassic Park - Science and Society (posted for J. Lipps)

From
Date
Reply-To
Mime-Version: 1.0
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 08:50:37 -0700
To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
From: jlipps@ucmp1.Berkeley.EDU (Jere H. Lipps)
Subject: Re: Jurassic Park - Science and Society (posted for R.D.K. Thomas)
Status: O

>Date: Fri, 05 Jan 1996 18:48:13 +0100
>From: R_Thomas@ACAD.FANDM.EDU (Roger Thomas)
>Subject: Re: Jurassic Park - Science and Society
>To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
>MIME-version: 1.0
>Status: RO
>
>Well said, Roger Kaesler.  Technically, Jurassic Park has a lot to
>recommend it, although I found the climactic 'threat of destruction'
>sequence unrelenting and ultimately rather tedious.  However, the
>representation of nearly all the characters in the film, notably the
>scientists, as cardboard caricatures does science and society a
>considerable disservice.

I read an article in the Oakland Tribune detailing Spielberg's generally
anti-science position.  I gather he equates science with all the
destruction that technology brings, especially bombs, environmental decay,
etc.  He apparently doesn't like to make scientists look especially good.
Too bad, because everyone does some kind of science in their ordinary
lives, certainly most use it daily, and so many issues, including those he
dislikes, need science.  But we will never be able to make people
scientifically friendly, let alone literate, if movies, TV, talk show hosts
like Limbaugh, the media in general, continue to equate the search for
understanding our world with applications that may have gone astray.

I hope his next film on dinosaurs (Lost World) puts us in better light, but
I doubt it.