Murray - Indy's past

The final Indiana Jones movie was a great asset to the trilogy because it did add more depth to the character of Indiana. Character depth can only ever add to a story because humans are so innately deep.  The trilogy acts as a metaphor for how we meet new people.  We meet Indy at face value in the first film and see who he is.  In the second film it as though we have become friends with Indy and are now gaining insight into who he was not long ago.  In the final film we not only have now acquainted ourselves with him but now have spent some time together and are allowed to see him how friends see each other.  Friends have grown with each other but also are privy to personal information about their past. This point was made clear when Jeffery Boam stated “I could bring an added dimension to the Indy character and basically get inside him and let the audience find out how Indiana Jones becomes Indiana Jones… By the time is over, Indiana Jones won’t have many secrets left” ( Pfeiffer 176). In With the intro to the last film we have secured a friendship with Indy not just observed his life.  In this intro there are some very personal facts that only friends would know of each other.  The scar on Indy’s chin for example was explained to the viewer by Indy accidentally whipping himself.  Often times people will discuss their old battle scars and tell stories of their past.  Likewise, Indy’s iconic dress is another subject under conversation which gets explained.  These fluffier pieces of information are juxtaposed next to some deeper conversations as well.  One of these deeper topics is why Indy mistrusts people especially those in positions of power.  Like the way we get to know our friends better it is the small nuances of the way a friend reveals themselves are often the most important.  When the young Indy states “everyone is lost but me” the viewer can now understand the now blatant correlations between the Indy we know and the events that shaped him.  Perhaps the most imperative detail we get from the opening scene is Indy’s relationship with his father.  As a friend would not push the subject the viewer does not get to push the subject of Indy’s relationship with his father.  Only for a moment does the viewer get a glimpse of it but like a long friendship the questions answer themselves with time and the current event our friend Indy must endure.  Indy is the viewer’s friend.  The viewer now has known Indy and finally gets insight into who the depth of the person we so enjoyed at face value.