#371: The Wooden Dinosaurs
Finding your dinomania
Look at these majestic creatures, glinting in the evening sun. Two wooden models. Specifically, dinosaurs.
I made these as part of my lockdown model-making spree, finding escape from chaos in the following of instructions.
Since these two dinosaurs entered my home, I have begun to see dinosaurs everywhere, to recognise the cultural phenomenon they have become. They are on lunchboxes, blankets, mobile phone cases, mainly aimed at young boys, but also for “quirky” adults.
In the new film, The Mitchells vs The Machines, a boy is obsessed with dinosaurs. It becomes a bonding point between him and his sister, as well as a girl he likes. Dinosaurs here feel like code for “eccentric hobby or special interest”. Something unique, loved and shared. It is easy to imagine children who can reel off dinosaur facts and obsess about the accurate details of dinosaur history. Loving dinosaurs is a cultural shortcut that stands for that one topic that is yours, that holds your imagination, that you love learning about.
This National Geographic interview with paleontologist and historian Paul Brinkman explores the concept of Dinosaur Culture or “Dinomania”. In it, Brinkman tries to explain why dinosaurs — large, fierce creatures — are so associated with children.
“That’s probably because as children we’re taken to marvelous places like museums and encouraged to wonder (if not to wander). Curiosity and awe are positively reinforced in children by indulgent adults.”
It is true that it takes a lot of imagination to believe that dinosaurs were real, that they truly once walked the earth, that something so huge could have existed. Dinosaurs feel like something born out of a child’s imagination. It feels magical to believe in them.
I am a big supporter of carrying forth this belief, this imagination, this love, into adult life. Too often we are cynical as adults, or frankly, too busy, but I love having these dinosaurs in my flat as a reminder of that feeling of wonder.
I am not obsessed with dinosaurs, but I am obsessed with finding those subjects or hobbies that are our own, that inspire our imagination, and that most importantly bring us joy.
