Bloggrokker (Scott) 11/07

Apparently, postmodernity has gone paleontological.
Here's proof:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracorex
Dracorex hogwartsia, the Latin nom de plume for the "dragon-king of Hogwarts," a shining, new fresh-from-the-factory-floor of unrecorded history pachycephalosaurid dino, a scaly denizen ripe for digi-simulation in future Jurassic Park entries--the cinematic bastions for simulated saurians, and, oh, one can only imagine the "Jurassic/Potterific" media convergence resulting from such a blockbuster-geared cine-flagrante delicto--or, more prescient in terms of a feedback loop, perhaps the prehistoric prototype for a future reptilian horror to threaten Mr. Potter in an as-yet-unwritten installment from The Enchanted Word Processor of the Faerie Queen of Fantasy Fiction Franchises, J. K. Rowling.
And, if anyone else out there has followed recent trends in paleontological nomenclature, you'll know the media-branding of Dracorex hogwartsia is far from unprecedented.
It's something we might call "Pop-Culturization in Paleo-Nomenclature."
There's Gojirasaurus--a rather small theropod (think tyrannosaurid) named after Gojira, the original Japanese title for the film Godzilla, a film whose monster-star ("monstar?") is conceptually structured from, what else, tyrannosaur reconstructions. Ah, those sweet feedback loops!
Raptors? Call 'em the paleo-bogeys Jurassic Park made.
And, too, children's lit.
We've got Bambiraptor (ooh, therein lies a great oxymoron!) and Ozraptor (the "Great and Terrible" raptor, yaryar!). No kidding--hey, where's Paddingtonraptor? Coming soon to a natural history museum near you, perhaps? Maybe even, too, to the plush toy department at Toys 'r Us--a knowing nod to Jameson's definition of the Cult of the New, with trendily-monikered cuddly carnivores the focus of the "frantic economic urge to produce ever-more novel-seeming goods," a frantic urge dependent upon the paleontological community to unearth and conveniently media-tag future discoveries.
I've gotta say I'd place a wager for a future event wherein some paleontologists might "find"--yes, yes, pun alert--an extinct species of fish and christen it Nemoichthys. I can only hope the discoverers secure permission from Disney or Pixar.
Alright, yes, I know, all very punworthy, but is this "Pop-Culturization in Paleo-Nomenclature" truly postmodern? I believe it is, and I also believe Bourdieu can bring it home for us.
Bourdieu writes "journalists want nothing so much as to be part of the intellectual crowd." I see an inverse of Bourdieu's statement in what is currently happening in paleontological circles: specifically, paleontologists are inching their way closer into the realm of pop-cultural commentary. Paleontologists, intellectuals of the science-oriented kind, are revealing a desire for the roles of journalists, who are currently pop-cultural commentators and little else.
And the reason for this desire? For years, the work of paleontologists has meant big-buck blitzes for the pop-culture industry--Jurassic Park, Disney's Dinosaur, 50-60% of Ray Harryhausen's cinema-fx work, etc. It appears only logical for the fossil-happy set to engage in media-branding for their discoveries. After all, the media affects (infects?) them just like everyone else.
Rather than saying something here regarding 'Pop-Culturization in Paleo-Nomenclature" as another nail in Latin's coffin, I'll simply ask this:
Where does it go from here?
Might the identification of extinct species progress down a path headed to something akin to, oh, I don't know, perhaps "Corporatization in Paleo-Nomenclature," wherein the naming process is derived from the corporate sponsorships for fossil digs?
McDonaldsceratops?
Epcotidon?
Raytheonosaurus?
Microsoftornia?
Pepsitherium?
"Geo-Politification in Paleo Nomenclature," wherein paleontological finds are named after the culturo-political global points of their unearthing?
Oktoberfestrodon?
Woodstockisaurolophus?
Hiroshimaspondylus?
Jihadodactylus?
Aumshinrikyopteryx?
Where does it go from here?
And what royalties, if any, does J. K. Rowling receive from certain circles regarding the nomenclature of Dracorex hogwartsia?