Jurassic Park’s first scene reveals a hidden theme everyone missed

Jurassic Park (1993) by Steven Spielberg featured many scenes that induced in the audience a profound sense of dread with its nerve-wracking sequences. In contrast, the opening scene was slowly built, with shadows, sound effects, and chaos.

As a group of InGen workers attempts to transport a raptor, a worker is brutally dragged into the beast's cage. Throughout this sequence, viewers are given very little glimpse of what happens until the very end, when the huge eye of the beast is seen on screen.

Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers. Reader discretion is advised.

Jurassic Park’s first scene reveals a hidden theme everyone missed

What happens in the opening scene?

The opening scene is full of chaos, and even in the midst of it, it induces a sense of mystery as viewers are compelled to ask, "What is that beast?" and "Why is it caged?"

It's almost as if, from the very beginning, the director establishes a contract between the film’s narrative style and the viewers. With a single glimpse of the worker's fatal killing, he lays out how much of the threat will be directly shown on screen and what will remain hidden for future exploration.

The theme that emerges is clear but hidden in plain sight amidst the chaos and terrifying scenes: human ambition, backed by unbridled power, is founded on shaky ground.

Let’s dive deeper into how this central theme of ambition's transience branches out into related themes.

1.Even the strongest systems can collapse under pressure

One thing becomes clear by plain observation: the opening scene does not feature any of the film’s main characters. This suggests that the story of Jurassic Park isn't about the humans, but about the systems they've built.

We see cages and armed guards, but not the characters whose lives will be deeply and directly affected by the events inside the park.

From science and capital to cages and containment systems, everything appears strong, until they aren't. Spielberg effectively sets up what’s at stake by directly introducing the danger to the audience before the protagonists even appear.

Thus, the opening scene turns us into insiders who recognize the hubris at play: the human ambition of entrapping a mammoth beast. The central theme here is the lust for power and its consequences, which ultimately lead to the collapse of these structures.

2.Unseen monsters cause creeping dread

Spielberg perfectly places violence alongside careful restraint. In the opening scene, the Velociraptor is never fully exposed to us; we only hear auditory details like the snarls and the metallic sound of the cage. This atmospheric use of sound lets our imagination fill in for what we cannot see.

This was a technique Spielberg perfected with his previous hit, Jaws, where he carefully built up the opening scene. In Jurassic Park's opening scene, the raptor's presence indicates the beast is contained, but something tells us that it won't stop the potential destruction.

Thus, by the time the jaw-dropping Brachiosaurus is revealed and the T. rex breakout happens, the element of terror is already established, thanks to the first few minutes of the movie. By opening the film with an innocent worker's demise, Spielberg contextualizes the entire narrative in the terror. The dinosaurs are not zoo animals, but they're the class of predators who will inevitably break free.

Spielberg crafts the opening scene of Jurassic Park with artificial lights and shadows; the attack taking place at night becomes something chilling, evil, unnerving, and claustrophobic.

3.The raptor is a microcosm of the park

The chaos surrounding the raptor is a carefully crafted microcosm of the park's inevitable collapse. The failure of the containment system hints at the complete breakdown of all the park's safeguards; we eventually see that every locking and defense system in the park collapses.

The workers' vain confidence also mirrors the vain pride of John Hammond, who "spared no expense" and made the park's beasts a family attraction.

The motto stands in direct thematic contrast to the palpable terror of the opening scene. Even as we sit in the comfort of a theater or our homes, we feel increasingly involved with the main characters, as if we are also on a tour of Jurassic Park.

This careful thematic balance of wonder and dread is the true genius of Spielberg's Jurassic Park, making it a timeless touchstone that is just as brilliant now as it was in 1993.