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.