Jurassic Park II
The sequel and 2nd installment of the Jurassic Park franchise has an interesting narrative that we can use to explain at least one part of the opposition to the War. The battle between father and son, in which the son fails or succeeds in somehow "outdoing" the father has appeared in stories, myths and legends for as long as human history. This drama often plays out every day with nearly every set of father and son on the planet. In story and reality some fathers welcome their son's accomplishment while others resist it (think Darth Vader). This theme figures into the plot of a mediocre sequel to a good action/adventure movie and unfortunately for us, the Presidency of the United States.
John Hammond the creator of the "Jurassic Park" from the first movie, has a son who wants to bring a T-Rex back from an island where another failed experiment led to dinosaurs running amok. Jeff Goldblum's character, Ian Malcolm, sees clearly the disaster that lies ahead of him. He also sees clearly that the son's need to "outdo" his father clouds his judgement and drives his ambition to bring back a dinosaur. Malcolm gives a brief speech in which he tells the man that he is not his father ("When you try to sound like Hammond, it comes off as a hustle. I mean, its not your fault. They say talent skips a generation. So, I'm sure your kids will be sharp as tacks.") He concludes by saying that when the son does "become" John Hammond, Malcolm wants to be there to whisper it in his ear.
Those familiar with this movie already know what happens, for the rest, what follows is a spoiler. Right after the ship has crashes into the dock at San Diego and the T-Rex flees the scene, shrugging off all attempts to subdue it, Ian Malcom leans over to the fool who brought about this disaster and whispers in his ear: "Now you're John Hammond."
The parallels to the Bush family history look startlingly obvious. The eldest son of a wealthy and influential man, one who worked successfully in private industry, served as a Congressional Representative, Director of the CIA, Vice President and then President, George W. Bush does not much resemble his father. Comparisons prove superficial at best. Although both pilots, the son never served in a war. Although both businessmen, the son failed at every undertaking and needed the intervention of his father's friends (and a lawyer willing to take the blame for a blatant and shameless insider trading deal) in order to avoid financial disasters. Although both entered politics, the son needed hundreds of millions of dollars and the Supreme Court's intervention to ascend to the Presidency, after having lost the popular vote.
Jurassic Park's first sequel, although not a great classic, nonetheless provides a convenient pop-culture reference to the Presidency of George W. Bush. Abundant public records and books by Republicans who resigned in disgust show that the younger Bush and his inner circle wanted a war with Iraq from the very beginning of his administration. This obsession had nothing to do with the welfare of either the American nor the Iraqi people. He wanted to be a "war President" because war presidents made a bigger showing in the history books. Iraq he saw as something his father left unfinished in not having invaded and captured Saddam Hussein. In both fiction and real life we can see men ruled by petty, personal desires, speaking words of rationalization and arrogant self-justification. Sadly, it's the fictitious character who realizes the enormity of the tragedy and suffering he has unleashed. And in the movie-world, even the bloody minded big game hunter (played to perfection by Pete Postlethwaite) realizes the error of his ways, as we can see in his brief, eloquent response to a job offer from the failed son. These words should be our response to the next warmongering Presidential wannabe: "No thank you. I believe I've spent enough time in the company of death." Haven't we all?
(Quotes taken from The Internet Movie Database which has a Page of quotes from Jurassic Park II).
