I've read another of these little Ecw Press essays that examine pockets of culturally significant moments, movies or people and found the content to be really interesting - so I jumped at the chance to read their newest release which looks at Jurassic Park. Hannah Mcgregor does a surprisingly good job at engaging the none Jurassic Park viewer (ie me) into this examination on femininity, queerness and the broader idea of the female monster trope. I also got a good sense of the movies ideas and how it linked into societies thinking of the time.

I do like these little snippets of ideas and essays, as they give a flavour of subjects that can then be researched at greater depth by the reader if they wish. They also show a real passion for the subject from the writer.

Jurassic Park is my all time fav movie so getting to review a book that weaves the movie in with queer and feminist commentary was right up my alley. McGregor’s writing is sharp and witty and their ideas left me feeling like a clever girl. Her mixed use of personal and academic interwove beautifully through this book and meant that few, if any, of the ideas she was presenting should be our with the understanding of someone new to these ideas and thought processes.

I would recommend this book if you love essay collections, Jurassic Park and sharp queer/feminist commentary!

A brilliant addition to the already great Pop Classics Series. One of my all time favourite films that has been cleverly analysed and look at through a feminist eye. Absolutely brilliant and has been ordered in for my stores for release day.

I'm a huge fan of the Jurassic Park franchise and I also love to read feminist/queer books so I had to request this book right away. I will never see the movies the same again, but in a good way.

I thought it would have a bit more on the dinosaurs, but I liked the way that the author added a bit of her life. I also really liked how women and the dinosaurs were a lot alike.

If you enjoy dinosaurs and political/feminist books then I think you will love this book.

Part film criticism, part memoir, McGregor provides an analysis of the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park as they relate to feminism, capitalism, patriarchy, and white supremacy. Her film analysis is insightful and thought provoking and the chunks of memoir that make their way into the text provide valuable context for the critique.

Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for an ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

I genuinely enjoyed reading this - McGregor clearly knows her stuff about dinosaurs (and many other topics) and is very engaging when using Jurassic Park as a jumping off point. I found their writing most interesting when they weren't directly trying to weave a connection between feminist thinking and female velociraptors, as fun as I wanted that argument to be. The first section of the book, on gender and Jurassic Park, often felt like a reach, whereas the sections on colonialism, ecology and apocalypse were much more absorbing and incisive in their commentary. I was particularly engrossed in the section on apocalyptic thinking; McGregor made me think about dinosaurs and how people picture them as part of the planet's history in a much deeper way. This did also make me want to read more books in this series, for thoughtful takes on other films and their historical/cultural/scientific contexts.

monstrous queer femme world take over WHEN?! taking this as call to action. loved loved loved.

i will be following hannah mcgregor to the ends of the earth

dinosaur eats man. woman inherits the earth.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hannah McGregor, Clever Girl, Jurassic Park, ECW Press, October 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Clever Girl, Jurassic Park is written in a style that I often find unappealing. However, I must acknowledge that I was so captivated by the perceptive commentary, the substantial research that underlies the challenging style and Hannah McGregor’s strong personality that emerges through the pages, that I thoroughly enjoyed my reading. McGregor combines her own experiences with the narratives that emerge from the Jurassic Park franchise. She concentrates on the first, Jurassic Park, with some comments (frequently negative) about the others that follow. With her perceptive feminist approach, this book makes an excellent contribution to academic feminist film ideas, as well as a thoughtful read for those who are not in academe.

McGregor dives straight into the film’s use of female dinosaurs as spectacles, accepting that films are about the cinematic gaze and that such a gaze is gendered as explained by Laura Mulvay, the feminist film theorist. However, she soon diverts into the use of remains (in the case of dinosaurs) and non-normative bodies (in the case of circus acts) as a part of popular culture. Such diversions are an important part of this book, taking as they do, an example arising from McGregor’s study of Jurassic Park and developing discussions that rove widely, although making strong points about both the film, audiences and discriminatory practice in popular culture. An early discursive discussion relates to the technology associated with devising the dinosaurs to amaze and maintain the audience gaze. Most importantly, however, is McGregor’s unpacking of the woman as monster as depicted through the Velociraptors who eat humans and do not reproduce.

Clever Girl, Jurassic Park is an exciting read, replete with discussions that amuse, anger and inform. There is a bibliography, and the acknowledgements include Hannah McGregor’s explanation for the inspiration for her book, and her generous and joyful recognition of her community.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I have never read any of McGregor's other works or listened to their podcast or anything, so this was the first exposure i've had to them. I requested this book because the synopsis sounded interesting (i love dinosaurs and jurassic park was my favorite movie when i was younger!), though I wish i knew it was more of a collection of essays than a traditional book.

I enjoyed it, but because I didn't know it was a collection of essays, I was a little disappointed by the writing style and tone. I am not a huge reader of feminist/queer literature so I do not think this was the book for me but i did enjoy her take and am inspired to rewatch Jurassic Park!

Early on, the book uses the incorrect pronouns (and incorrect punctuation) for <a href="https://www.them.us/story/sue-the-t-rex-is-a-nonbinary-icon"> Specimen FMNH PR 2081</a>, Chicago's own muderbird. Yes, I note that it is in a quote from another author, and prior to SUE's announcement. I raise not out of a sense of loyalty to my City's quppy theropod, as I know that to them, I am, at best, elevenses. But it would seem to alter the context of the citation, and while I like <i>Clever Girl</i>, I feel that it is a bit of an exemplar for what I find missing here.

The book is about monsters, more specifically the dinosaurs as found in the movie <i>Jurassic Park</i>, and still more specifically their connection to other presentations of the monstrous. There is a cinematic trope of the "feminine-monstrous," which appears in <i>Jurassic Park</i> in that all of the dinosaurs are created female. And while the fact comes up as plot-relevant in a different sort of way, the author points out the ideas and events of the movie thematically tie up with the representations of the feminine in culture and society. Including how the monstrous turns into a sort of icon, specifically for queer, fat, and traditionally marginalized people, including the author herself.

As a cyclops who lives in garden apartment, eating rats and the occasional party of adventurers drawn in by the mock-up of a distressed princess in the turret above, I am personally invested in the idea of monster as ally and icon that shows up here. I think that this is where the book acquits itself the best. The author presents a good reading of <i>Jurassic Park</i> in the application of the role of the feminine within it and repeated themes on variations of female destructive and system-rearranging power. It closes equally strongly in the look at <i>Jurassic World</i> which outright inverts the value system of the original (and makes a much worse movie in the process). The writing is funny and clear. But while the argument makes sense and is well-supported, the interpretation on the movie is somewhat superficial.

The film is substantially addressed as text, with limited analysis of the cinematic qualities, and it is only the film <i>Jurassic Park</i>. I understand that it is the specific inspiration, and again the book is not silent on the other properties, but I generally feel like the sequels and the novels have a lot to say about the thesis of the book, outright and in the changes between them. And in general, the middle section of the book is the weakest. The sections on First Nations come off as contradictory, and the evidence not as well-expressed. There is a colonialism-based critique of <i>Jurassic Park</i>, but the focal shift results in a glancing survey of it. And lastly, I feel like there is a more grievous critique on the book in the way that a lot of the book's premise relies upon affirming the reverse image of the patriarchal beliefs. There is a throwaway paragraph in the middle of the book that acknowledges this and looks to distance itself from it, but without an alternative understanding. It does not fall to the book to rewrite a new philosophical understanding, but I could easily see a more Right critique treating the book as an affirmation of its views.

But the writing style, its vivacity and humor, anchors the book. So while I think that there is a lot more that it could have been, the book argues its point well and is plain fun to read, which counts for a lot.

Thanks to the author, Hannah McGregor, for writing the book and to the publisher, ECW Press, for making the ARC available to me.

Intelligent, well-constructed essays that present interesting insights and interpretations with a feminist slant of Jurassic Park (mainly the first film, although the other films come up from time to time; the book is not really discussed). Obviously recommended for those who already know they enjoy reading pop culture analysis essays. But I would also recommend this as a nice way to tip your toe into the space if you're interested in the idea of pop culture analysis (especially through a feminist lens) but haven't done a lot of reading on it yet. This is a slim volume and the essays and language are accessible, not dense or overrun with terminology.

Here are a few quotes I particularly liked:
-On the dinosaurs: "Their ferocity is the ferocity of deep time: they aren't just dinosaurs, they're chthonic forces, ancient goddesses who have awakened furious and hungry. ...[These] dinosaurs come from the earth and from the past as well as from the lab. And they don't arrive alone: they bring their wilderness with them."
- On the term "nature": "Is it [nature] the opposite of civilization - that which humanity hasn’t intervened in - or is it the opposite of the unnatural, something that is innate or inherent in the world?”
- "Patriarchal cultures throughout history (the Mesopotamians, the Ancient Greeks, the early Christians) have associated chaos with femininity and order with masculinity."

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this eARC for unbiased review.

Hannah McGregor's 'Clever Girl' is a supremely, well-informed book. While my cousins are fans of Jurassic Park, I was not as into it. Though, I really wanted to understand more. Ironically, the book 'Clever Girl' is indeed clever. There is no doubt about the author's deft intelligence. McGregor's book is one I will definitely pick up again. I think this is one of those books that deserves multiple readings to really get to grips with the rich information / analysis it provides.

Cultural studies is an interesting field. Recently we’ve had Chris Kempshill showing us how an increasingly conflicted Star Wars Universe reflects history and politics. Here McGregor delves into a much smaller universe (which she freely admits is one of declining quality) and how it reflects feminist and queer politics.

And as I said, a narrow field. But she’s got that personal touch to talk about her own life (caring for a dying mother, asexuality) but the broader themes of rampaging dinosaurs and fleeing humans.

It’s not a long read, but the research has been done. McGregor has spliced the DNA so you don’t have to. It’s published by ECW Press on October 1st and I thank them for a preview copy.

A collection of essays following the same vein as Creed’s Monstrous Feminine but about dinosaurs? Count me in. This is such a short and sharp exploration of female monstrosity with lots of discourse surrounding ecology, colonisation, capitalism, queerness and its inherent feminisation and monstrosity. McGregor weaves academic research alongside her lived experience within marginalised groups to depict their liminality and how they align with one of the largest franchises in the world. The hyper-masculine ‘dude’ film we know and love turns over a monstrous-feminine leaf and it was such a fun read, highlighting the similarities between some of the most intriguing and dangerous creatures to walk the planet and their feminine rage in Jurassic Park. If you’re into essays this is a must!

I feel it would be disingenuous to share this review without first being frank about the parasocial relationship I have with the author. I’ve been listening to Hannah podcast since 2015, I’ve learned and grown a lot listening to Hannah and her various co-hosts and/or guests. Hannah’s ability to model and talk through her own growth as academic, a podcaster, an activist, a member of the queer community still learning about where she fits in that community, with grace and even a sense of humor, has taught me so much about how I can approach these various aspects of my life and more.

I’ve also read Hannah’s other written works, most notably “A Sentimental Education,” which much like this book is difficult to define as just one thing - part memoir, part scholarly thought experiment, part silly fun. Hannah has a real knack for taking something in popular culture and interrogating it through a scholarly theoretical lens in a way that is accessible for general audiences.

Much like her last book, this book is what I would call academic adjacent, the way she thinks through things, utilizes theory, references other works, etc. is all academic. But Hannah also brings in the personal, sharing things about her own life experiences which brought her to where she is today and inform her relationship to the world around her. And She uses her academic training and knowledge of theory to interrogate her relationship with popular culture and entertainment. I personally love this about Hannah’s writing because I too get great joy from dissecting popular culture in this way.

I was excited when I heard this book was forthcoming because I loved the episode of Hannah’s podcast Secret Feminist Agenda episode 3.1 from October 5th 2018 entitled “Jurassic Park!” Where Hannah first publicly discusses some of her thoughts about the film and how it shaped her relationship to feminism. This podcast was also in conversation with Lindy West’s 2013 Jezebel’s piece titled “I Re-Watched Jurassic Park for You Because, Really, Who Has the Time?” which I was also familiar with and a few other related pieces. So this book felt like a natural extension of these previous forays into the world of Jurassic Park.

Where this book grows and builds on the podcast is that here Jurassic Park is more of a jumping off point and framing device, rather than The point, it is a way to apply theoretical elements to a particular kind of - unapologetic, space taking, “monstrous,” community oriented feminism which Hannah is constantly modeling on her podcasts. She uses the film almost as a key to working through different theoretical frameworks as they apply to her own life and the way she interacts with the world. She uses it to look at the unconscious ways in which Jurassic Park the movie and media shaped her early life, and how those early encounters now inform the conscious ways in which she chooses to live her life and build community. Listening to Hannah think via her podcasts always gets me thinking – about myself, about the world and my place in it, about the community I cultivate, and about how I want to live my life. This book is no different and I’ll likely return to it over the years and just as with her podcasts find new layers and new meaning in it based on where I am in my own life at the time.

I really enjoyed reading McGregor's writing style and look into feminism and Jurassic Park. Definitely opened my eyes to themes that I hadn't noticed in the movies before. It wasn't until writing this review that I realized she's one of the co-hosts of the Witch, Please podcast that I used to listen to years ago, so I was pleasantly surprised to engage with her work again. I think that anyone who wants a better look at how women and societal notions of womanhood clash but also are celebrated in the movie, should give this a read.

As a raging feminist who LOVES Jurassic Park, I was excited for this! Hannah McGregor clearly knows her stuff. She writes in a way that is both intelligent and accessible for the reader to understand. I do feel I learned a lot. However, I felt the weakness here was the connection with Jurassic Park. I get what she was going for, but some of the connections felt a little reaching and I would love to read her critiques on other areas of pop culture instead.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

I loved this I’m a huge Jurassic park fan and love dinosaurs so was so excited when I seen this book and it did not disappoint I found it interesting and felt u had a few things in common with Hannah which was nice it felt more personal to me
I’m now off to watch Jurassic park again as this book brought my love for it back

Hannah McGregor's Clever Girl was an interesting, well thought out and very well written examination of Jurassic Park that tickled my English Major heart. Despite the differences between myself and the author I found a lot of common ground between us and thoroughly enjoyed her writing.

Special Thanks to ECW Press and Netgalley for the digital ARC. This was given to me for an honest review.