Hold on… you’re upset because Hollywood got it wrong?

 

I saw an article on the internet today focusing on the velociraptors in Jurassic World. I’m not going to link to it, since it actually isn’t the first item I’ve seen on this subject… specifically for the velociraptors, and generally for other moments… which, frankly, seems a bit silly to me.

Ready? Ok…

Apparently, the person was mad (or disappointed, take your pick in describing it) because those working on this movie portrayed the dinosaur with errors.

Let that sink in.

Someone is disappointed that… when making a movie where the central big baddy is a dinosaur hybrid that never existed… with a foundation using dinosaurs, which have been extinct for millions upon millions upon millions of years, so long ago that it seems daily people are releasing new theories about anything from coloring to diet and yet potentially can’t definitively prove any claim to have the appearance right more conclusively than a child with a box of crayons staying inside the lines could… that some of the characteristics and details might be off by a bit?

Yeah… umm… wow.

In other news, if you’re interested, some of these investigators will be releasing articles next week explaining that gamma rays aren’t likely to create massive rage issues, ghosts aren’t likely to be busted with specialized backpacks, and there are loopholes in time travel that likely make it impossible with current technology.

Don’t get me wrong, I do understand that at times errors in movies, on television, and throughout the literary world, are actually significant. When things can be done correctly… should be done correctly… mistakes can be insulting.

That’s not what we’re talking about here.

Nope.

We’re going to make a movie where GoPros are strapped on dinosaurs, and those dinosaurs are sent out on a hunt with a character riding a motorcycle leading the charge, and… (shaking head, still can’t believe this)… and reporters and individuals are going out to get feedback from paleontologists about whether or not the dinosaur bodies are appropriately sized, if the skin and feathers and colors are accurate, and… and… and…

Wow.

Just wow. Where does it end? Because I feel a need to mention… many times when Hollywood gets it wrong, over time quite often Hollywood eventually gets it right.

For a moment, let’s consider a film like Cars. I think we can all see how this animated classic is wildly out of control in depicting automobiles. After all, it’s not like a car can talk to us, be connected to the outside world, or park itself. (Can you imagine? A car parking itself. Those silly Hollywood folks with their motion pictures and wacky imaginations.)

And how about Star Wars and it’s galaxy of zany things. No one is building a Death Star. (That I am aware of… although, again, do your own search, it’s not for lack of petitioning the American President to fund such a project.) And yet, these days there are people crediting and citing Star Wars as predicting propulsion possibilities.

We’ve got articles and reports appearing daily about progress on military weaponry such as an Iron Man suit.

(And now that’s all beginning to tangent… a Jules Verne and H.G. Wells tangent… about turning fantasy into reality, and imagination providing inspiration. Back to the point…)

A movie about something that we pretty much all agree couldn’t happen… takes a few liberties in creating the visual images of dinosaurs… the actual depiction that would be accurate can’t be presented with absolute certainty as we continue to learn more every day… and yet some people go bonkers.

And not a tongue in cheek bonkers. Not a question of continuity bonkers. There are reports all over the internet, in interviews, and plenty of other places where you kind find lists and stories that review errors in movies. But this isn’t about pointing out that a film set in Alaska has the timing wrong since the day they claim was depicted would have far more daylight hours than presented.

No.

This is bordering against, and crossing over into, something personal for those offended.

These are groups that are telling you in a project featuring the Loch Ness Monster, Nessie should have a longer neck, since historical data and eyewitness accounts proves the creature must be a this-or-that, and then going to get a professional to support the claim.

If you want to blame Hollywood, or more widely any branch of the entertainment industry from books to television to screen, for not fact-checking or doing simple research, you have a friend in me. I think there are times for proofreading, editing, and making certain corrections. And yet…

I think we have to say that if someone is standing at a podium, arguing that Bigfoot is the wrong shade of brown and his feet are too big… yeah… the train is off the tracks.

There is a place for making sure we are moving forward, updating the outdated, and establishing new opinions and theories (even only in the interest of sparking debate). When a dinosaur is in a movie, with a camera on its head though… don’t look for references for gauging the length of its stride… just enjoy the ride.

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail me at Bob@inmybackpack.com