By Alex Pugh

The Park is Open

So I saw Jurassic World last Thursday. To say I was looking forward to this movie is a hell of an understatement. Jurassic Park is my favourite film of all time, and Jurassic World was anticipated to be the sequel we’ve all been waiting for. 

I remember when the counter on the fan websites was seemingly stuck in the 500’s. As the number began to dwindle to the double digits, the hype was almost palpable. 

But now it is over. I’ve seen it. The movie was great, sure. But at the end of the day it is just a movie. Shock horror. Entertainment. Art… maybe at a stretch. But ultimately it was something I was looking forward to consuming. So much of my mental energies had been diverted from more important tasks like creating stuff. In retrospect, it is scary how much of my life and brain I had devoted to something as trivial as a movie. 

I guess Jurassic Park is part of my brand. But I look at what it is that constitutes my brand, and most of it is shit that I consume. Do I really want to be remembered for the stuff I watch? It’s not very worthy is it? 

Don’t get me wrong, loving movies is fine. But when what you consume forms the bread and butter of your character, not your enthusiasm, your work ethic, your output, it’s kind of sad. 

Jurassic World was going to be a way for me to relive the first movie. To relive a moment in my life when I was 6 years old, no responsibilities, no cares, when something like Jurassic Park could somehow, someway, be real. But it was a delusion. 

Movies are a kind of legitimised delusion. For me, I try to disappear in them. They’re a kind of hyper-reality, more real than real. When you come out of the cinema, life seems a little more exciting. Why am I trying to run away from reality? In other words, how can I make (my) life more exciting, more real than real. This kind of questioning is the path to a more fulfilling life. 

When you make work, in direct and indirect ways it will outlast you. That’s where one should be directing their energies.