Jurassic Special, Part 2: Hobbesian Ethics, Male Readerships, and the Orgiastic Love of Story

In episode 26 of Unedited, we continue with Part 2 of our Jurassic discussion, this time joined by writer, podcaster and returning guest Will Gish. Together, Gish and Gomolin take a magnifying glass to the techniques Crichton uses to rope readers into his story, from the authoritative and academic introduction, to the pulse-pounding prologue, to the deceptive lull of the first chapter and the gradual unfurling of the plot. The G gang also unpack the Hollywood of it all, pondering how the latest entry in the franchise matches up against the first and whether a story that so elegantly balances cerebral and spectacle would—in today’s cultural climate—break out like it did thirty years ago, as either a book or film.Will / William / Bill / Who? Gish is a novelist and screenwriter living in Los Angeles whose work has appeared nowhere and received zero accolades. Growing up in both New Jersey and Vermont, he was drawn to theater, earning awards for playwriting before graduating high school (full disclosure: he gave himself most of these awards). Will has a BA in Art History and Japanese Language & Literature from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and an MFA in Feature Film Screenwriting from Loyola Marymount University. He is the writer of an untitled Mexican sci-fi family dramedy film (sounds fake but it’s not!), currently in post-production and White Devil, currently in editorial with Inkshares. He likes dogs and knows nothing about wine.