Mesozoic Utopia: Why Ecosocialists Should Read "Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time"

by Robin Koenig

There is a small cottage industry on the left of “leftist books for children”. They are marketed to socialist parents looking for something to give to their kids that they hope will impart better lessons than the more mainstream offerings. These books vary in quality, from the charming to the somewhat grating, but as far as I’m concerned, the best book to impart ecosocialist values onto the young (and maybe not so young) is a book about an undiscovered island inhabited by dinosaurs. 

Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time is a book written and illustrated by artist and author James Gurney, and first published in 1992. The premise is that on a remote island surrounded by impossible-to-pass reefs, dinosaurs (and other prehistoric creatures such as pterosaurs, various aquatic reptiles and also some ancient mammalian megafauna) not only survived the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, but thrived. Over the course of millennia, they developed a writing system (based on dinosaur footprints), philosophy, art and culture. They have also formed a sort of multispecies civilisation alongside humans, descendants of those washed up on their island's shores from the many shipwrecks along Dinotopia’s storm-wracked reefs.

The actual plot of Dinotopia follows two of these shipwrecked survivors, 19th-century scientist Arthur Denison and his son Will. Following the sinking of the ship they were on, they are carried to the shore by a pod of friendly dolphins. The Denisons soon meet and are initially terrified by the island's saurian inhabitants, but after having it be patiently explained to them (by both dinosaurs and humans) that dinosaurs are valued friends and fellow citizens of the island, their fears dissipate. 

The rest of the book follows Arthur and Will exploring the island, along with various dinosaur and human guides. Gurney uses the framing device that the book is actually Arthur Denison’s journal, which Gurney “found” in an obscure archive. (This fun conceit is lost, for the worse, in the many Dinotopia sequels). The illustrations, also by Gurney, are beautiful oil paintings of different scenes from the book, and of dinosaurs and humans living together. These are genuinely stunning, and I have strong memories of leafing through the book even before I could read myself, just staring at the pictures. 

That's all very well, and this sounds like a very nice book to give to a child, but you may ask:  what does it have to do with ecosocialism? The society portrayed in Dinotopia is one where humans and non-humans live together in relative peace, with each human or dinosaur giving according to their ability, and taking according to their need. The origins of the human population of the island being shipwreck survivors means that the humans living on Dinotopia are incredibly diverse, with many different cultures, backgrounds and ancestries, from Yoruba to Irish to Tibetan. This diversity is considered a great strength, with the island's denizens having a culture of being very welcoming to the perspectives of new arrivals, while also being eager to share their own insights and culture. 

The relationship between the human and the non-human, and between all and the world around them, is key to the world presented in Dinotopia. Dinotopian society is built on mutual admiration and respect between humans and their very non-human neighbours. Most humans and dinosaurs are portrayed as living cheek by jowl, as colleagues, coworkers and sincere friends. This is despite most dinosaurs not being able to “speak”, instead communicating via sign language adapted to their varying body plans. Even the “scary” dinosaurs, for example Tyrannosaurus Rex, who live apart from settlements and cities of Dinotopia, are not portrayed as mindless monsters, but as powerful and dangerous individuals who nevertheless can be reasoned with and negotiated with, and with an inherent purpose and worth. This is a worldview that would be beneficial for many adults, let alone children.

The environment, and the importance of living in harmony with it, is another important facet of the world presented in James Gurney’s book. The different biospheres or “habitats” present on the island (alpine, freshwater, desert, forest etc.) all have assigned guardians, always a partnership between a human and a non-human (a dinosaur, pterosaur, ancient mammal etc.) who meet to discuss any changes in their different domains. The monitoring of biodiversity levels, pollution, and other environmental change or disruption is a vital part of managing our impact on the planet (and in the real world, these systems of environmental monitoring are often the first cut, cancelled or curtailed by our right-wing, fossil-fueled, capitalist governments).

Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time has a very gentle plot, one focused on learning and exploration. There is very little conflict. As mentioned, encounters with carnivorous dinosaurs are dealt with diplomatically. The closest thing the book has to an “antagonist” is a miserable malcontent called Lee Crabb, who refused to trust any non-humans or engage with Dinotopian culture. However, in the first book at least, all he does is complain, and is generally seen as a harmless crank. 

Dinotopia is in the tradition of utopian fiction, one intended for children, but still enjoyable and interesting for adults. Its messages, of cooperation and comradeship over conflict and violence, of unity in diversity and trying to understand those who might seem very different from ourselves, of deeply valuing, caring for and seeing oneself as part of the natural world, are core parts of what I consider an ecosocialist worldview. Despite all this, the book is not overly didactic, and most of its worldview is imparted through showing the world of Dinotopia and how it functions rather than hitting the reader over the head and shouting “AND THIS IS HOW WE SHOULD LIVE!”. 

Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time is a lovely way to introduce children to the idea of thinking about a better, more ecological world, and how that world might look. There are also many Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, Brachiosaurus and other prehistoric animals, which I think is a vital aspect of any work of ecosocialist utopia!