[A couple years
ago, I spent a
fun week AmericanStudying summer blockbusters—this year, it was time for
the sequel! This crowd-sourced smash is drawn from the responses of fellow BlockbusterStudiers—add
your thoughts in comments, please!]
On Facebook, a
good conversation followed up my
Jurassic Park post. Michelle
Proctor writes, “Love any and all Crichton—I think the movie missed too much of
Malcolm’s ‘People will not destroy the world, but the world will wipe out
people that trash it’ message.” And Tim
McCaffrey adds, “I enjoyed the book and was initially disappointed in the
movie for all the reasons you mention (also, the switching of the sibling
genders, if I remember correctly). But over time I have come to enjoy the movie
as a separate entity. Agree with you on Jaws.
Very rare case of movie > book.”
Chance Lee also follows up that post,
commenting, “I rewatched Jurassic Park recently! You mention how ‘the film
turns Hammond from a dark, pointed commentary on capitalism and the modern
corporate world into more of a naïve but good-hearted teddy bear, played with
silly charm by Richard Attenborough.’ What I realized on my recent viewing was
that Hammond is /still/ a commentary on capitalism and the modern corporate
world. Even though he's *played* as a goofy harmless old man, the disaster of
the park is still mostly the result of his hubris. By *not* punishing him in
the end, as Crichton does, Spielberg shows that evil corporations can kill
people, get away with it, and still be viewed as likable.”
For other
blockbusters, Paige
Swarbrick highlights The Shining (1980), noting the important “Lesson learned: don’t lock your
family away in a remote hotel in the snowy mountains because you just might
lose it.”
Jason Flinkstrom
goes with ID4 (1996), for which Jeff
Renye adds this video
that is an analysis of the film in its own right.
Jeff also
highlights “the complicated
production and cultural history of The Goonies (1985).”
Andrew DaSilva
writes about Jaws (1975), noting, “Being that I live on the Cape, would have to say Jaws being that it takes place right off
the coast … Plus the music keeps ya at the edge of your seat the whole movie
without seeing any shark. Goes to show ya don’t need any special effects to wet
yourself with fright.”
Nancy
Caronia focuses on Die Hard (1988), for which she’d
analyze “images of white American masculinity through
Bruce Willis' character, the changing American domestic landscape through the
relationship between John McClane and his wife, images of globalization through
both Hans Gruber and the Nakotomi building itself—those are just starters.”
Next series starts
Monday,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Other summer blockbusters you’d analyze?
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