Friday, February 7, 2014
GASPARI: TEMPLE OF DOOM AND THE LOST ARK
I think that in the Indiana Jones series we see a lot of interesting progression, from Raiders of the Lost Ark to The Temple of Doom. One of the reasons the character progression in the sequel is so easy to see comes from the way Harrison Ford's character is portrayed. Some would say that the Han Solo Character from Star Wars is very similar to the brash style of Indiana Jones, but I would say that it is not the similarity in characters, but the similarity in how they develop Ford's Characters in both films. Ford has been quoted saying, "'I think there is a similarity between Solo and Jones, but they’re as unlike each other as they are alike. They’re both fast-talking, smooth guys in a certain way. But Han Solo is less complicated than Indiana, a less sophisticated person. Jones is a character who has some other dimensions’” (Pfeiffer 115). In many ways Indiana Jones is a bit more sophisticated than a space pirate smuggler, but then again, in many ways he is still a wild, outlaw, smuggler who goes on crazy adventures in search of loot and glory. On the other hand though Indiana Jones is a different character than Solo as he is the lead, and because he is the lead antagonist he must represent the certain features of the hero/knight/good guy.
In Temple of Doom we see many instances of Indiana Jones acting chivalric and working for the greater good to help the small indian villagers from the evildoers at Pankot. However, in Raiders of The Lost Ark we see many actions of Indiana that make him seem as if he is only trying to find the ark for conquest and glory. We do not truly see him taking the initiative and doing anything for the greater good until the stand off with the Nazi's over the ark. We see that Indiana Jones cares about something more than himself as he is unable to destroy the ark, and he also does not want to sacrifice Marion at the hands of the Nazis. Overall, we see at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark that Indiana Jones is finally setting down the call of the mercenary to follow the path of the indentured knight, doing what he must, sacrificing and toiling for the service and greater good of others. In the end though, we kind of see this with Ford's character in Star Wars But at the same time it is not a clearly announced and focussed on as it is in the Indiana Jones films.
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ReplyDeleteSmith - Indiana Jones Comment
ReplyDeleteThe order of the movies seemed to play a big part in your blog post. I like the scene you chose to depict the fist time that Indiana truly takes initiative towards anything. When the stand off with the Nazi’s over the ark occurred, he had to choose and decide what was more important. History (which is written by the winners) or companionship (which Joned hasn’t quite found but is currently looking for). This is the first time we see that he cares for anything or anyone other than himself.
Your expansion of the parallel between Ford’s characters Han Solo and Indiana Jones was interesting and was something that is relevant having just watched Star Wars with the class. I think that the reason the character of Han Solo is not as defined and expanded is because Indiana Jones is the main character in his movies and everything is about him. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker is the hero and the man making the journey. Han Solo is a side character and is important, however, we do not see the same amount of character building. They are both undoubtedly similar in mannerisms and character and they do make some similar choices, but they also are on different journeys.