Film & TV goesZen

It is 1993 and Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" lands in theaters worldwide, reigniting "Dino-Mania" and breaking ground in many fields, like VFX in Cinema and also Nerdism. Yes, you read that right.
Among its influence on popular computer culture is the saying "It's a UNIX system. I know this", or the graphical file explorer of Silicon Graphics computer systems (which didn't exist back then on Irix, but was subsequently coded as a gimmick for users of SGI machines).
What we also learn or see in Jurassic Park is how two different philosophies of system administration collide: the steady hand of Ray Arnold, Chief Engineer, and the chaotic opportunism of Dennis Nedry, lead programmer. Their contrasting approaches offer a cautionary tale for any organization relying on complex infrastructure and Jurassic park's author, Michael Crichton, rally nailed these archetypes of corporate computer culture. here is what they represent:

Ray Arnold: The No-Nonsense Responsible Guardian

Ray Arnold, famously portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson, embodies the classic sysadmin archetype: cautious, methodical, and deeply aware of the risks inherent in managing critical systems. His catchphrase—“Hold onto your butts”—isn’t just cinematic flair; it reflects his understanding that even routine operations can spiral into disaster if not handled carefully. He is the reliable "no nonsense" guy that get things done but never receives the attention he deserves.

Arnold’s approach to sysadmin includes:

• Redundancy and caution: He resists shutting down the entire system because it’s never been done before and could lead to unpredictable consequences.
• Operational transparency: Arnold communicates clearly with the team, announcing system statuses and storm warnings over the loudspeaker.
• Respect for complexity: He’s visibly frustrated by Nedry’s undocumented personal modifications to the system, which make troubleshooting nearly impossible.

Arnold’s downfall isn’t incompetence—it’s trust. He assumes the system is secure and that his colleague Nedry is playing by the rules.

Dennis Nedry: The Rogue Coder and Vain Ubernerd

Dennis Nedry, on the other hand, is the embodiment of the malicious insider threat. Disgruntled and financially motivated, illoyal and selfish, he weaponizes his deep access to the park’s systems to disable security, steal dinosaur embryos, and attempt a covert escape.

Nedry’s sysadmin style is marked by:

• Obfuscation: He disables keystroke logging and leaves behind no traceable logs, making it nearly impossible to reverse-engineer his sabotage.
• Over-centralization of control: Nedry builds the system in a way that only he understands, creating a dangerous single point of failure.
• Exploitation of trust: He uses his privileged access to bypass safeguards, proving how dangerous unchecked admin rights can be.

Where Arnold seeks stability, Nedry thrives on control and secrecy. The result? A catastrophic system failure that unleashes prehistoric chaos.

Lessons from the Park, for the real life

The contrast between Arnold and Nedry underscores a timeless lesson in cybersecurity and system administration:

• Transparency, documentation, and shared knowledge are essential.
• Privileged access must be monitored and distributed.
• Trust is not a security strategy.

We won't spil how the fate of these icon sysadmins throughout the plot of Jurassic Park evolves but let's hope our real world computer problems are far from what these two endure.
And if you're a sysadmin, better choose wisely what type to follow.