Indiana Jones - The Temple of Doom and Raiders of the Lost
Ark
Indiana
Jones struggles with his choices and whom he decides to trust. Betrayal is
something that shows up a lot in these first two movies in the series. In The
Temple of Doom before Raiders of the Lost Ark, I noticed a lot of differences
and that his journey to become an indentured knight makes more sense. In class
we discussed how Indiana Jones is not an easy case to analyze. He does not go
through the steps as they are expected; he takes a few steps forward, a step
back, and continues with that pattern. The journey is going to take him a long
time to complete in order to reach an indentured knight status.
There
are many scenes that highlight when he makes progress towards becoming an
indentured knight. In the beginning of Raiders, Indiana would like to be seen
and respected as a prominent archeologist and he is instead in a classroom
where his students are not listening to him because they are ogling him. The
beginning scenes show two very different personas. In the Temple of Doom, he is
clean-shaven and sophisticated and in Raiders he is menacing and rugged. He is
still a mercenary knight at the beginning of both movies because he has not
made that leap yet. He has no real connection to an authority that he can
respect. He is an archeologist and he talks about museums. The mantra has
changed for him. Museums are a dodge because he is still being selfish; Trading
gives him money and prestige/recognition. This is the second half of fortune
and glory.
In
Raiders he is working for the federal government and not himself, which is a
big change. He goes to see Marion Ravenwood and realized how much his betrayal
meant to her and her father. He betrayed Ravenwood’s trust by having an affair
with his daughter. This was Indiana’s inability to recognize the importance of
their relationship. She says that she was only a child and Indiana realizes his
responsibility to the damsel in distress. He owes something to Marion. He sees
her as worth saving in the snake pit, and he does everything he can to get them
out of that situation. When he was climbing the post, he said that no matter
what happens to him she should keep going and save herself. His attitude
towards the woman had changed. He is making progress to understanding his
responsibilities to the larger world and the society. In Pfeiffer, I like it
when they said, “Indiana had to rely on only his wits and logical tools of a
thirties archeologist to help him escape the numerous death traps he would
encounter” (Pfeiffer 115). This showed his need to rely on himself and the
trust he must build to rely on someone else.
‘I don’t want the
ark, I want the girl.” Beloch knows that Indiana won’t blow the ark up. It’s
his responsibility and Indiana has gained a respect for artifacts, and wants to
help get them into the right hands. When Indiana takes the job, he hasn’t
aligned himself with an authority that he respects. Beloch says, “You and I are
passing through history, and the Ark is history.” Beloch knows how to
manipulate Indiana. The situation between them is transitory. To destroy it,
they would be destroying something that is above their ability to understand.
History is something that has already happened, an artifact that has already
been created and that represents a whole culture and thousands of years. You
can’t destroy something that has so much permanence. History is something that
is told by the winners.
The ark gave
ultimate power according to the Nazis. They want to harness it to control the
world. This occurs when Indiana goes beyond his own personal quest and decided
to take that leap. The transition is complete. The ultimate scene where the Ark
destroys the unbelievers is the final climax. Consumed. It destroys the Nazis
and it gives Indiana new kind of faith.
He goes home and he
and his colleague go to sit with the representatives of the federal government.
Indiana and Markus say that the ark needs to be in a museum and needs to be
studied to understand the past so that people do not repeat it. The government
says that it is safe. It is in a warehouse. Marion comes down the stairs to
meet Indiana and he has lost his faith in the government that he thought he was
serving. He thought he would get to study it. It is the final betrayal.
He has changed, he
has accepted the rule of a superior authority (the government) and he has
changed his attitude toward women so he has moved closer and closer to a
chivalric ideal of an indentured knight. He is willing to serve. The people he
is serving betray him. This could send him backwards a step or forwards a step
on the path to an indentured knight. We will just have to wait and see.
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