The definitive 1990s blockbuster, Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park met with almost universal critical and popular acclaim, broke new ground with its CGI recreation of dinosaurs, and started one of the most profitable of all movie franchises. To mark the film’s 30th anniversary, this exciting illustrated collection of new essays interrogates the Jurassic Park phenomenon from a diverse range of critical, historical, and theoretical angles. The primary focus is on Jurassic Park itself but there is also discussion of the franchise and its numerous spin-offs.
As well as leading international scholars of film studies and history, contributors include experts in special effects, science on screen, fan studies, and palaeontology. Comprehensive, up to date, and accessible, The Jurassic Park Book appeals not only to students and scholars of Hollywood and contemporary culture, but also to the global audience of fans of the greatest of all dinosaur movies.
Edited by:
Matthew Melia (Kingston University UK)
Imprint: Bloomsbury Academic
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 226mm,
Width: 148mm,
Spine: 20mm
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9781501384837
ISBN 10: 150138483X
Pages: 360
Publication Date: 26 June 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
List of IllustrationsTables and Graphs List of Contributors Foreword by Linda Ruth Williams Acknowledgements Introduction Matthew Melia (Kingston University, UK) Part I: Production, Adaptation and Reception 1. Writing the Raptor: from Script to Screen Oliver Gruner (University of Portsmouth, UK) 2. Rebellious Creations, Monstrous Animals and (Un)Natural Disasters: The Jurassic Park Franchise and Box Office Hit Patterns Peter Krämer (De Montfort University, UK) 3. Sounds of the Lost World: Musical World Building in the Jurassic Park Franchise Daniel White (Huddersfield University, UK) 4. Beyond the Gift Shop: Onscreen Merchandise and Modelling the Consumer-Spectator Tom Livingstone (University of Kent, UK) 5. Jurassic Park and Dinosaur Fandom Ross Garner (Cardiff University, UK) 6. Jurassic Park’s Smoothing Pass: The Dinosaur Input Device and Digital Materialism Julie Turnock (University of Illinois, USA) 7. From ‘6ft Turkey’ to Marketing Monster: Marketing Jurassic Park and its Sequels Ed Vollans (University of Leicester, UK) Part II: Critical Perspectives and Interpretation 8. Jew-rassic Park Nathan Abrams (Bangor University, UK) 9. Virility, Venality and Victory: Three Faces of Masculinity in Jurassic Park Katie Barnett (University of Chester, UK) 10. Jurassic Park and Spielberg’s Scientists James Kendrick (Baylor University, USA) 11. The Dinosaurs of Jurassic Park and the Portrayal of Prehistoric Life and Paleontology in Film Ali Nabavizadeh (University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, USA) 12. Lost Worlds and Dino Violence Jennifer Schell (University of Alaska Fairbanks, USA) 13. Jurassic Park: Disaster, Chaos and Existential Threat Matthew Melia (Kingston University, UK) Part III: Beyond Jurassic Park 14. Smoke and Mirrors: the 3D Re-Imaginings of Jurassic Park Allison Whitney (Texas Tech University, USA) 15. The Jurassic Joke Janet Staiger (University of Texas, USA) 16. A Chance to Three-Dimensionally Live the Movie’: Jurassic Park Attractions and Their Influence on Global Themed Experiences Carissa Baker (University of Central Florida, USA) 17. Family, Nostalgia and Dinosaurs on Stage: The Jurassic Parks Catherine Pugh (Independent Scholar, UK) Index
Matthew Melia is a senior lecturer in film, television, and English literature at Kingston University, London, UK. He is editor of The Films of Ken Russell (2021), a contributor to The Bloomsbury Companion to Stanley Kubrick (2021), and co-editor of The Jaws Book (Bloomsbury, 2020).
Reviews for The Jurassic Park Book: New Perspectives on the Classic 1990s Blockbuster
Editor Matthew Melia and 16 enterprising colleagues dig deep into Steven Spielberg’s pivotal masterpiece and reveal everything you want to know about Jurassic Park and the universe it established. Contributors of this work answer questions you never thought to ask about the movie’s production, marketing, box-office success, franchising, fandom, ecopolitics, merchandising, and afterlives, as well as the representation of men, Jews, scientists, and dinosaurs. Required reading for every T-Rex, velociraptor, and their hosts of descendants and distant relatives. * Thomas Leitch, Kirkpatrick Chair of Writing, University of Delaware, USA * The Jurassic Park Book is a timely, necessary collection for students and scholars about the enduring power of popular entertainment and its limitless capacity to imagine new worlds while critically and commercially shaping our own. From franchise expansion to ecohorror nightmare, Jurassic Park harnesses the scholarly vitality of blockbuster entertainment to spectacular effect; its legacy proves again that Steven Spielberg is the master storyteller of this age. Through insightful, original, and rigorous readings lensed through several interdisciplinary frameworks, including fan and marketing studies, 1990s masculine anxieties, ILM’s radical advancement in creating digital lost worlds, and the franchise’s adaptation to and beyond the screen, Matt Melia’s superb collection joyously unveils the film’s rich scholarly depth and why it still matters in blockbuster entertainment today. * Sorcha Ní Fhlainn, Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and American Studies, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK *
