Throughout Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the protagonist is rather
selfish. Indiana constantly puts himself and others in harms way. Harrison Ford
commented on the nature of his character, stating “He’s kind
of a swashbuckling hero type, but he has human frailties, fears, and money
problems, and therefore is more down to earth. He does brave things, but
I wouldn’t describe him as a hero,” (Pfieffer 115). Indiana Jones plays the role of a
mercenary knight throughout all of Temple
of Doom. He demonstrates his laissez faire attitude from the very first
scene when he is negotiating with crime boss, Lao Che. When Lao initially
refuses to give Indiana what he wants, Indiana grabs the nightclub singer,
Willie Scott, and holds a knife to her side. Although Willie turns out to be
Indiana’s love interest in the film, the scene demonstrates how Indiana is
mercenary and is willing to do anything so that he may personally benefit from
any given situation.
Fast forward to the opening scene of Raider of the Lost Ark, we see that
Indiana has not yet changed his ways and continues to put himself on the
frontline of danger. Indiana successfully retrieves a golden idol from a temple
in Peru, after meticulously maneuvering his way through a series of booby
traps. It is clear that Indiana is still motivated by fortune and glory, two
key components of the mercenary code. Indiana is confronted by rival
archeologist Rene Belloq, who forces Indiana to surrender the idol to him. Soon
after, Indiana returns to Marshall College, where he teaches archeology. Two
FBI agents confront Indiana and his colleague, Marcus Brody, about the Ark of
the Covenant. Feeling threatened by the Nazis effort to locate the covenant and
impressed by Dr. Jones’ credentials, the two agents hire Indiana to search for
the Ark himself. For the first time, Indiana is enlisted by a higher authority,
and it seems as though he is beginning to transition from a mercenary to an
indentured knight. Indiana’s progress regresses soon after though as he engages
in a series of mercenary activities. It isn’t until he and his love interest,
Marion, are trapped in the snake pit that Indiana makes a complete
transformation to indentured knight. Finally realizing the Marion is worth
saving, Indiana’s priorities come full circle and he realizes that he must save
Marion and recover the Ark. Indiana is indentured to the United States
government and must serve them by successfully recovering the ark. His
motivation to save Marion is driven by his personal interest in her. Although
archeologist Belloq intervenes again and takes the ark, Indiana ultimately
comes out on top and successfully delivers the ark safely to the United States
government.
The government ends up betraying
Indiana and history itself, by ignoring the significance of the ark and instead
putting it in storage. However, without the help of the United States government,
Indiana may have never successfully made the transition from mercenary to
indentured knight.
I think it is a very interesting connection between the first Jones threatening Willie and her becoming his love interest. I wonder if Indy takes notice of his attraction to her before he stabs her lightly. Based on what is shown in the scene I would say no but human nature would dictate that yes indeed he was interested in her but forgo that opportunity and stayed focused on his goal of fortune and glory. I believe the rest of the film supports this because at no other point did the two have a moment when romance overcame them and they began to see each other in a new light. Generally, that would imply that the inclination was always there. If so, this strengthens the argument that Jones is fully a mercenary knight. Not only is his chivalry tarnished by threatening a woman but also because of his sacrifice of his feelings. Attraction is often portrayed as a double edged sward but what comes of attraction when it is handled by the hilt and controlled by the person wielding the emotion. Jones displayed the restraint of a knights training but lacks the nobility. He is left a man who has skills and no virtue causing the chaos to ensue everywhere he goes. Willie only enforces the effect of his chaos by screaming and whining all the time. The screams and whining create even more chaos and nose throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of Indiana’s relationship with Willie Scott. Not until later in the film does Indy actually demonstrate that he actually cares about her. Until then he really just uses her as a bargaining chip of sorts, as you mentioned. However, I would argue that in Raiders of the Lost Ark he is not really motivated by fortune, but rather mostly glory. It appears that he has gotten over his obsession with money during the first film. He still wants the glory and prestige of that go along with saving the Ark of the Covenant from the evil clutches of the Nazis, however. This need for glory will serve to put Indiana in some sticky situations. Also, I would argue that Indy being hired by the United States government does not signify his transition into indentured knight. I find that this transformation fully occurs towards the end of the film. This is evidenced by the fact the while he is packing for his adventure, he mocks the power of the Ark of the Covenant and throws his gun and whip in his bag. This signifies that he is still old mercenary knight Indy. Only at the tail end of the film is a noticeable change in his character.
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