Saturday evening, Barry and I embarked on a cinematic journey back to The Lost World (1960). Barry’s nostalgia brought this to the screen,...
Saturday evening, Barry and I embarked on a cinematic journey back to The Lost World (1960). Barry’s nostalgia brought this to the screen, but for me, Dale T. Doll, it was a sobering reminder of the lengths humans will go to create their so-called “entertainment.”
The “prehistoric creatures” of the film were no cleverly crafted puppets, but actual reptiles—monitor lizards, alligators, and their ilk—manipulated and paraded as prehistoric beasts. Their scenes, which ought to evoke fear or wonder, instead left me with a sense of discomfort. Watching these creatures interact, sometimes forced into staged battles, was unsettling—not because of their appearance, but because of their plight.
Let us not forget, dear Earthlings, that the true horrors of The Lost World lie not in its clumsy depiction of dinosaurs but in the ethical shadows cast by its production. It is a sobering thought: these living beings, reduced to mere props for a spectacle, enduring indignities far removed from their natural lives.
And yet, humanity seems to revel in such displays. Barry, blissfully unaware of my growing disapproval, sat enraptured, his dinosaur-themed socks twitching with excitement. Oh, to be so oblivious.
As for the film itself, well—Fernando Lamas and his flair for dramatics provided some amusement, though his theatrics did little to distract me from the uncomfortable reality of what unfolded on screen. The plot, if one could call it that, lumbered along much like its reptilian stars—predictable, clumsy, and unable to inspire any true sense of dread.
I must admit, there is a certain irony in calling it The Lost World, for it feels less like a window into a forgotten past and more like a mirror reflecting humanity’s penchant for exploitation. It serves as a reminder that true terror is not found in roaring dinosaurs or snarling beasts, but in the shadows of our own ethical failings.
Yours in reflective disapproval, Dale T. Doll
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