The Utopia of an Ideal Community
The Utopia of an Ideal Community

Reconsidering the Myth of Atlantis in James Gurney’s Dinotopia: "The World Beneath"

Author(s): Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer
Subject(s): Pre-WW I & WW I (1900 -1919), Interwar Period (1920 - 1939), WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Post-War period (1950 - 1989), Transformation Period (1990 - 2010)
Published by: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Atlantis; James Gurney; Dinotopia: The World Beneath; conceptual blending; meta-myth; utopia; dinosaur
Summary/Abstract: This chapter focuses on the depiction of Atlantis in James Gurney’s "Dinotopia: The World Beneath" (1995). The island of Dinotopia is populated by humans and dinosaurs, who live together peacefully. Dinotopia originates from the sunken kingdom of Poseidos whose fate is inspired by the Atlantis myth. Furthermore, the Atlantis myth is connected with the history of Ancient Egypt, the Sumerians, Old China, and Classical Antiquity, thus creating a meta-myth. Moreover, the time frame of this meta-myth is extended into the past and the potential future by encompassing the Mesozoic era – the period of the dinosaurs – as well as references to advanced alien societies in outer space. The hybrid conceptual blending of these diverse cultural and mythical concepts provides a utopian social system. The peaceful cohabitation of dinosaurs and humans and the refusal of colonialism, suppression, and intolerance set up an exemplary and timeless model by transferring the Atlantis myth from a given historical moment to our present time.

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