Team Hammond or Team Malcolm?

The Jurassic park series is my favourite set of movies. The series is based on the novels written by Michael Crichton. The big problem that the franchise considers is whether genetic manipulation is okay or not. The latest movie in the series questions whether the artificially created dinosaurs should survive or if they should be left to perish in the impending volcanic eruption on their island; thereby correcting history. A larger question can be traced from the first movie through to the most recent one: do these genetically manipulated animals deserve life in the first place? The original creator of the park and the dinosaurs, Dr. John Hammond, would fight for the animals to live in peace. However, Dr. Ian Malcolm fights against that idea. He believes these dinosaurs should never have been created in the first place, and now that they have been created, they should be left to die out to correct Dr. Hammond’s mistake.

Many fans of these movies have battled over whether they are Team Hammond or Team Malcolm. This debate is something I’ve wrestled with since first watching these movies. But, I’ve finally settled on my opinion. I am totally Team Malcolm.

The reason I love these movies is because I love the lesson it teaches to those who try to overpower the natural world. I also love dinosaurs. The combination of the two work together to create an action-packed movie with an underlying lesson in morality: you can’t play God. The first movie analyzes this situation well and highlights the dichotomy between Hammond and Malcolm best.

The reasons why I’m strongly team Malcolm are simple. Nature is the strongest force in the world and is not a force to be reckoned with. You can’t try to over power nature. As Dr. Ian Malcolm said, “Life breaks free. Life expands to new territories. Painfully, perhaps even dangerously. But life finds a way.” Life is always evolving and undesirable traits die out; in other words, life will literally find a way to survive and thrive. This is the central theme of the whole saga and is something that shouldn’t be forgotten.

Another central theme is not only that you can’t play God, but that you shouldn’t. As Dr. Malcolm so eloquently put it: “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.” The awesome power that the team of Jurassic Park harnesses was too much for them to handle. The scientists were so concerned with being able to recreate these genetic monsters that they never considered whether it was a good idea. Malcolm, and many supporters, argue that it definitely wasn’t. Anyone who has seen these movies knows that literally nothing good happens when dinosaurs are involved, and this serves as a reminder for what can happen if you disregard the laws of nature.

The Jurassic park series can teach of morality and humility. It reminds people of the power of genetic manipulation and is hopefully a cautionary tale of the malfunctions that can occur when harnessing power that is greater than your ability. Our modern world is not equipped to accommodate these creatures. Similarly, dinosaurs aren’t equipped to live in harmony with us. Dinosaurs had their shot, and they couldn’t make it. That’s the whole idea behind Darwin’s theory of evolution: survival of the fittest. While dinosaurs adapted and survived in their environments, their time was up. They might be able to thrive in our modern world, but that would result in wiping humans out. In this battle for survival, the fittest always wins, and it definitely isn’t us. If dinosaurs should have survived, they would have. After all, life will find a way.

• dinosaur
• Jurassic Park
• movie