Jurassic World's Creation Actually Broke U.S. Law

Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Jurassic World proved that a dinosaur theme park could be possible following Jurassic Park, but its creation involved breaking U.S. law.

Following the T-Rex rampage through the streets of San Diego in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, U.S. Congress decided to take an active role in handling the genetic creations brought to life by John Hammond's company, InGen. The Gene Guard Act was put into law in 1997 and effectively prohibited creating any more prehistoric creatures and plant life. The bill made Isla Nublar and Isla Sorna restricted areas and gave the dinosaurs residing on them the same rights as endangered species. While the Gene Guard Act was concrete in protecting existing assets, this didn't stop InGen from "innovating" by aiding in the creation of Jurassic World. By its opening, the park had already violated the act on more than one occasion.

During the transition phase that eventually led to Jurassic World, Masrani Global purchased InGen following John Hammond's death. In Jurassic Park III, while stranded on Isla Sorna, Dr. Alan Grant and a group of survivors began uncovering secrets in a genetic lab. It was evident that even though the lab was abandoned, the work taking place within it was more advanced than what had occurred in Jurassic Park. The biggest examples of this came in the forms of the Ankylosaurus and the Spinosaurus that actively hunted them throughout the film. Not only were both new creations, but they were also never on InGen's list of dinosaurs to be created before the Gene Guard Act.

Only two years after Jurassic Park III, Masrani Global succeeded in working out amendments to the Gene Guard Act that allowed the cloning of more dinosaurs for Jurassic World. This new, flimsier bill was supposedly created "for reasons of medical advancement." It later came to pass that many of the dinosaurs present on Isla Nublar were actually created sometime earlier on Isla Sorna, tying directly into what was shown in Jurassic Park III.

In 2005, Jurassic World opened to huge attendance and revenue, proving that Hammond's dream was not only possible but a massive success. Due to lax laws in the Gene Guard Act and multiple interested parties, including CEO Simon Masrani, Dr. Henry Wu began work on genetic hybrids. This led to the creation of the Indominus Rex, which was meant to be a new attraction until she escaped and destroyed Jurassic World only ten years after its opening. Following the incident, InGen's past and the creation of the park were under scrutiny.

After the Jurassic World incident, multiple employees brought up what they had learned, calling into question potential violations of the Gene Guard Act. Following the allegations, U.S. Congress learned that the survivors from Jurassic Park III vocalized their discoveries as well, but the officials who handled it were bribed into silence. Furthermore, some of the creations that appeared in Jurassic World were being created long before the relaxation of the Act in 2003.

While Jurassic World succeeded in proving that it was possible to run a theme park with dinosaurs, its illegal origins were the reason for its downfall. The Gene Guard Act was designed to protect all creatures on the islands and prevent InGen from creating even more, but it failed in its mission. Instead of being known as the first functioning dinosaur park, Jurassic World represents the greed of humanity and how desire for power can ruin a beautiful thing.

Source: www.cbr.com/