Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
A Closer Look at Indie's Character Development and Depth
In the Last Crusade, I believe that the opening
scenes tremendously added to Indiana Jones's character development. I wholly
agree that the two prior films did not present a backstory to Indiana and only
offered insight to who he was. The question of how he came about persisted
until this third film where the entire opening sequence was fully dedicated
towards provided a character history. I believe that character depth appeals
towards the audience's emotions. The more that a character appeals towards
emotions, the better the character will be remembered. If the character has a
weak backstory that does not appeal to the audience, then the audience will not
likely pay much attention to the character. However, if the backstory is strong
and developed, then the character will be better remembered and ultimately
contributes towards the depth of the character. Pfeiffer iterated that Indiana
Jones was just a daring adventurer that seemed to just jump into our lives
without any context, and that the character really needed a backstory to
contribute towards his depth (Pfeiffer 114).
Three
main elements are presented in the opening scenes. The snake scene, lion whip
scene, and fedora scene each gave Indiana a depth towards his character in
explaining what made him who he is and gave the audience insight towards how he
felt emotionally in certain situations. Originally, Indiana was not afraid of
snakes when he and his friend first scouted out the cave where the treasure
hunters were. However, when Indiana fell into the snake pit he developed a
pathological fear of snakes that references back to Raiders of the Lost Ark when he went to retrieve the Ark. It
significantly contributed to telling the audience how this fear of snakes
developed as a child.
The whip that he uses in the lion's den was what saved
his life, so it was significant as it symbolized throughout all three films how
he relied on his trusty tool to get out of any situation. Finally,
the fidora essentially marked the beginning of Indiana's adventure in life, and
it symbolizes his journey through life and thirst for adventure. Without this
scene, audience members would ask, "Why a fedora?" It is a perplexing
question that many may just take for face-value that it just adds to his
physical appearance only, but by adding an emotional and historical reference
to the fedora, it adds another layer of depth into Indiana Jones as a
character. In essence, it makes his stories and adventures more believable if
the backstory shows that Indiana started out growing up just like any other kid
on the block. This is where the audience can finally connect with the
character.
Overall, character depth was achieved, but personally, I believe that he could use even more character development despite what was already achieved.
First off I would like to say that it was a pleasure to read your review on Indiana Jones' character development that was shown in The Last Crusade. I agree with your statement that this background information makes a person feel emotions, and these emotions in turn an otherwise infeasible character into someone relatable. His fear of snales, love of artifcats, and use of a whip is all explained. While I feel this is a way to make a character more likable, it can also be a. bad thing. Part of Indy's charm is his mystic about exactly where he comes from and how he is. Do you feel that sometimes too much information can be a bad thing? I do and personally didn't need to know that "Henry Jones JR" got the name Indiana from the dog.
ReplyDeleteI believe Indy received as much character development as he possible could have received. I don't wanna know why he keeps his whip on the left side, or how many women he and his father have slept with. Too much information can kill the mystery of a character and diminish their charm.
The three moments that you discussed here are without a doubt the most iconic (or at least blatant) moments of character development in the opening scenes. As far as character development goes, there are other moments, albeit much less significant moments, that are worth mentioning.
ReplyDeleteFor starters, the conviction with which Indy said, "It belongs in a museum," is very telling. It is comical to hear because of the semi-dramatic irony created for the audience as they know about what Indy does in the future. This strong alignment to justice and law is clearly something ingrained within Indy's core.
Shortly after this remark, Indy runs out of the cave expecting the rest of his troop to be waiting for him, to assist in the punishment of these ne'er-do-well bandits, and then finding no one. On top the twinge of humor that the entire troop abandoned a young boy scout in the middle of the canyon, Indy claims, "It seems everyone is lost but me." This line suits his apparent confidence in his own decisions which remains constant throughout the first two films. It is a characteristic of most physical world heroes.
Finally, the interaction he has with his father once Indy gets home sets up a new element to the character of Indiana Jones that is expounded upon throughout the film as an important part of the plot.