Jurassic Park: Gender Politics and Dinosaurs

Man has always said that women are an entirely different species. As humorous as it sounds, no single gender cannot exist alone and are not depicted as superior to another. In Steven Spielberg’s film Jurassic Park (1993) the gender politics in the film associate the female gender to nature and the dinosaurs as well, but at the same time it deems the female gender as an enigma. While the film presents only two female characters, Dr. Ellie Sattler [Laura Dern] and Lex Murphy [Ariana Richards], they present feminist ideologies that not only present them as modern women but seem to contrast Ellie to nature and dinosaurs as a commentary on the changing roles of women. Despite the gender politics regarding equality, the film notes the typical female traits that are associated to nature such as the nurturing quality of mothers and the female association with the dinosaurs. The female gender can also be compared to the monstrous, in addition to the idea of birth over the institution of marriage. Ellie takes on the role of the heroine who is “characterized as “modern women” —capable, intelligent, and employed” but is still in need of help from her male counterparts (Belmont 350). The association with women, nature and dinosaurs is critiquing the change of gender roles and the rise of feminist ideologies.

In Belmont’s article “Ecofeminism and the Natural Disaster Heroine” she notes that the definition of ecofeminism stems from the “theory that the ideologies which authorize injustices based on gender, race, and class are related to the ideologies which sanction the exploitation and degradation of the environment” (351). In Jurassic Park, the film makes clear distinction of gender boundaries. For instance, when the group first meets th...

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...urassic Park exemplifies the fact that the female gender is the epitome of feminist qualities. Though the gender politics demonstrates a woman’s passivity against the heroic male, the film proves that the female gender is associated with nature. Through a comparison of Ellie and the natural surroundings of the park, it illustrates that women are contrasted to nature as a means of procreation and at the same time, the female gender is associated with the monstrous. So perhaps the film is right. Maybe women are an entirely different species.

Works Cited

Jurassic Park. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Per. Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenbourough, Ariana Richards and Joesph Mazzello. Universal Pictures. 1993. Film.

Belmont, Cynthia. “Ecofeminism and the Natural Disaster Heroine.” Women’s Studies: An Inter-disciplinary Journal. 36.5 (2007): 349-379. Web.