Tag: Jurassic World Dominion

Social Anxiety did not exist in the actual Jurassic World millions of years ago, but it certainly does in it’s Dominion.

Home to the largest creatures the planet has ever seen, Jurassic World: Dominion has certainly made an impact on the big screen. New dinosaurs, old dinosaurs, and even original characters from the original Jurassic Park movie from 1993 made this movie as suspenseful as it did nostalgic. Watching dinosaurs towering over the human population is always cool, but seeing the villains in the movie about to be eaten is even cooler. That has always been one of the most exciting things about the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies.

Like the previous Jurassic World movies, Chris Pratt’s Owen Grady is the ultimate hero in the film. Saving not just his daughter (sort of), but also the offspring of his most loyal dinosaur friend, Blue. Having help from a few of his old friends (Barry, Franklin, and Claire), a bad-ass pilot named Kayla, and some of the original Jurassic Park experts, Grady saves the day one last time in the conclusion to this 20 year sequel.

Prehistoric Social Anxiety

Although the oversized animals with enormous teeth were the center of attention in this prehistoric film, there are two parts that were social anxiety cringeworthy. If you’ve lived in pre-historic times and are unfamiliar with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), then click here to learn a thing or two about it. I promise, it won’t bite!

Two Social Anxiety scenes in Jurassic World: Dominion

In today’s Jurassic World, Social Anxiety does exist. An act of desperation from Claire might help her overcome social anxiety disorder this one time, but Ramsay’s betrayal is a whole different story.

Scene: 1

Claire meets Kayla (the pilot) for the first time in the restroom of the underground dinosaur black market.

Anxiety provoking event: Asking and pleading with someone you don’t know for their help

While desperately looking for her (sort of) daughter, Claire enters the restroom of a very dangerous underground dinosaur black market. It is here that she meets a pilot, Kayla Watts (played by DeWanda Wise). After realizing that Kayla is American, Claire leverages that fact to try and speak with her. Even more so, Claire immediately asks her for help in finding her daughter. Kayla refuses several times, even making fun of Claire for being in such a dangerous place as it’s really “not her vibe.” Kayla even tells Claire that just because they are both American, Claire does not have the green light to speak to her. She made it very clear that they are not friends and Kayla would never befriend someone like Claire. Later on, we see that Kayla actually was extremely helpful and even critical to Claire and Owen.

Meeting new people

Now lets be clear about something right off the bat: people with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) have a tough time meeting new people. If Claire had SAD, she would not be pleading with someone she just met for help. And she definitely would not continue to plead after being told several times to stop. This would be to anxiety provoking to even think about. Now given the circumstances about her missing daughter, she probably would develop the courage to petition Kayla like that. It desperation adrenaline running through her would allow Claire to overcome the inhibition of pleading. So I can see that working out for her. But generally speaking, SAD sufferer’s would not have an easy time pulling that off.

And what makes it even more difficult for Claire is that she is in a very dangerous place with no real fighting skills, while being told by a tough-ass woman to go away. This by itself builds a degree of anxiety, which would only add to the social aspect of it.

If Claire had Social Anxiety Disorder

As mentioned, because Claire was desperately trying to find her daughter, she would have been strong enough to overcome the SAD. Her brain chemistry would be altered in a way where it wouldn’t care about SAD. It would be one of a few times where SAD sufferer’s don’t need to worry about Red Face.

In general however, if nothing urgent was happening, Claire wouldn’t have even tried to talk to Kayla in that restroom. Approaching a stranger is not easy for an SAD sufferer, and even more difficult is asking a stranger for help. In fact, just the thought of approaching a stranger and sparking a conversation could be really daunting for social anxiety sufferers. Within seconds, Red Face will develop and lead to a humiliation and a ton of regret. Bright red facial blushing, profuse sweating, trembling hands, and thumping fast heart rate are just some of the symptoms to deal with. And if that really did happen to Claire, and Kayla notices, then Red Face becomes worse. Drawing attention to the blushing and sweating causes a person to blush more and sweat more. It’s really uncomfortable.

Scene 2:

Ramsay Cole betrays his boss, Lewis Dodgson, throughout the movie

Anxiety provoking event: The thought of getting caught and developing Red Face in front of the boss is amplified in an SAD sufferer. In fact, Ramsay can get Red Face even when he hasn’t been caught. He could be alone in his office just thinking about Dodgson finding out of his betrayal and how Red Face he would get. That thought by itself can be enough to get SAD symptoms, like Red Face.

Doing the right thing is not always easy. For Mamoudou Athie’s Ramsay Cole, it’s especially difficult. After receiving a ton of praise from one of the world’s richest and most powerful men, Lewis Dodgson, we find out that he was betraying him the whole time. Dodgson, the CEO of Biosyn, was intentionally creating a ecological food chain shortage using genetically modified locusts. He would leverage this disaster to control the world’s food supply and gain a huge profit. Ramsay, Biosyn’s head of communication, notifies Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) who works as a consultant at Biosyn. Malcolm then informs his old pals from the first Jurassic Park movie, Dr. Grant and Dr. Sattler, who then help take down Biosyn by the end of the film.

The problem with ramsay’s plan

Ramsay’s proactive approach in preventing Dodgson’s plan from occurring was the right thing to do. The problem is that his plan required lying, deception, and betrayal. If Ramsay had Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD), the dreaded Red Face would plague him every time he see’s Dodgson or even thinks about him. The fear of getting caught and then dealing with the social event that would transpire afterwards is so nerve racking for SAD sufferers. This fear will lead to the social anxiety symptoms causing a rush of heat and blood to the face, blushing, sweating, fast heart beat, and shaky hands.

One of the most fearsome and anxiety provoking thoughts that would cause havoc on Ramsay is “would he blush and sweat if he were caught?” And the answer to that is a resounding “yes”. When he does blush and sweat, that would be a huge indication that he is guilty. Ramsay would then need to defend himself on two things now: (1) his actions of betrayal and then (2) defend himself against anyone criticizing him for showing signs of lying (sweating, blushing). Which by the way, no one suffering from Red Face wants to discuss their Red Face symptoms. This would only make it last longer and the symptoms would be more intense.

The SAD fear of being caught

Whenever someone is doing something wrong, unethical, or immoral, it takes some effort to cover it up and prevent anyone from finding out. That is usually the hard part. Now if someone has Social Anxiety Disorder the hard part isn’t covering up their wrong actions, but rather dealing with the thoughts of the social event that would transpire after getting caught. Scenarios of getting caught and the conversation between you and the person you wronged would play out in the mind. All these scenarios might have different ways in which you get caught, but all will unfortunately lead to the same conclusion; an intensely red and moist Red Face.