Mather - Indiana Jones' Past and his development

The opening scenes of The Last Crusade (1989) are to me, some of the most important scenes in the Indiana Jones trilogy. That being said, I don't believe they offer as much as character development as other scenes in the trilogy. I view character depth differently than character development. The opening scenes most definitely add depth to Indiana Jones' (Harrison Ford) character, but they don't progress the Indiana Jones we know in the movies outside of the introductory scenes of The Last Crusade. "The scenes, which feature Indy (played by River Phoenix) as a Boy Scout trying to prevent the theft of a sacred artifact by scavengers in a deserted gold mine... Indy's battle with the thieves takes him from inside the mine, to a chase on horseback, to a cat-and-mouse game aboard a circus train with deadly animals." (Pfieffer 180) These scenes not only start off the film in an exciting way, but they introduce the origins of the iconic things that make Indiana Jones who he is. The scenes explain Indy's fear of snakes after he falls into a train car full of snakes, they explain the origin of the bull whip, which young Indy uses to fend off a circus lion, and it explains the origin of the Stetson hat, which Indiana is seen making extra effort to save throughout the movies. The "Indiana Jones" hat has been parodied ever since, and it's importance is solidified when the viewer sees how Indiana Jones becomes attached to his hat. The scene ends with Indiana being told by the guy who 'beat' Indy, that "you lost today kid, but that doesn't mean you have to like it." This quote obviously resonates with Indiana Jones' character, as every movie displays Indiana Jones' unwavering persistence. If one thing is to be said about Indiana Jones, it's that he doesn't give up. This is solidified in The Last Crusade, as the scene immediately following that quote shows Indiana on a boat, trying to recover that same artifact that he attempted to acquire in the opening scenes.

So while the opening scenes add depth to the character, they don't develop Indiana Jones as well as other scenes. That is not to discredit the importance of character depth or development. Both are absolutely integral in how the audience connects with the character. In the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones transforms from the mercenary who believes that anything goes, to the character in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) that serves his country in the fight against the Nazi's. One could also point to his treatment of the female characters in the trilogy for his development. In Temple of Doom, Willie Scott is the relatively useless damsel in distress that Indiana Jones seems fine with sacrificing, to the man in Raiders of the Lost Ark that loves Marion. He is clearly distressed when he believes she died in the truck explosion, and even goes as far as hesitating to kill his rival, Belloc (Paul Freeman), because the blast would endanger Marion as well. Indiana Jones would be the same character, and would develop in the same way if those opening scenes had been different. They are obviously integral to Indy's past, but as far as the audience goes, they exist to help explain Indiana's character, and not to develop him.

Tom Mather