Re: JP3 Thoughts (frilled Dilophosaurus revisited)

["Adam Britton" <abritton@wmi.com.au>]

From: "Tracy L. Ford" <dino.hunter@home.com>
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2001 11:47 AM


> I tire of these kind of posts

Quite.


> AFAIK, movie producers/makers what ever, don't ask if something is
actually
> possible, just 'Hey wouldn't that look great! Lets do it'. They don't care
> about facts, just what draws people to the theater. They don't try to
> justify things, they don't have to.

Perhaps further investigation on your part is warranted. While this is not
true of all such films, with JP in particular there has been an underlying
desire to get these animals to look like real dinosaurs - this is true from
the director to the animators. Don't dismiss this so blithely. Of course
there are constraints such as time, money, plot and overall effect that
result in compromises, and some are deliberate and even annoying. And that's
before you get to the individual theories, preferences et al held by
scientists competing for attention and funding. Sure, we know that T. rex
probably didn't make a sound like the one they used, but that's alright
because it's ONLY A MOVIE and the big, bad dinosaur can't go wheezing after
our stars.

What are we arguing about this for anyway? You seem irritated by the effect
the film has had upon people, whereas I'm pleased with the catalytic effect
it has had on a broad audience. Fact is, it happened, and now we have to
make the most of it. Personally, it had a positive effect on my interest in
paleontology simply because it showed what appeared to be living, breathing
dinosaurs the way I'd always imagined them. But I didn't stop there, as I
know many others didn't, and it motivated me to learn more about the science
behind it. I don't dismiss it now because I find they made compromises.


> Yea, and a whole new crop of people asking
> questions and stating facts of the movie because they saw it on the big
> screen.

I suppose one could view it as an irritant, or as a starting point. Getting
people's attention is the hardest part with science. Anyway, I think I've
beaten this dead horse enough.

Adam