Szklarski: Crystal Skull

Even though this film comes into the series nineteen years after the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, fans of the man with the most recognizable hat in the world were fine with the wait. Sales and popularity of the earlier films soared in the anticipation of the next chapter in the Indiana Jones saga. Knowing full well that there was a lot to live up to, the cast and crew worked hard to make this installment a sensation. Marketing for this film relied heavily on nostalgia of the public viewing audience. Products took inspiration from all of the films. Using this pent-up demand for new Indy after nineteen years of absence, the film needed to have enough homage to the earlier films to satisfy the nostalgia. This film needed references from and similarities to the earlier films. Many elements of this 2008 film were kept consistent with the original trilogy out of respect. Stunt doubles were used, rather than computer generated images, and timed explosives were used again. 

The film, as it is not as much of an homage as it is a parody, makes fun of certain aspects of the character and situations he somehow manages to escape from. The one that I consider to be most comical, or worth of being a parody, involves quicksand.

This scene is a parody from the times that Indiana Jones has flipped out because of snakes in mainly Raiders of the Lost Ark but also The Last Crusade. To myself and American culture, fear of snakes has always been synonymous with Indiana Jones. When I was little, I refused to go to the reptile exhibit. I loved adventure, thrill rides, and looking at lions. Although when it came to snakes, my dad called my Indiana Jones because I could handle literally everything besides snakes. In this scene, Indiana is stuck in the worst kind of trap. Any wrong move and he could be lost forever. His only lifeline is also his worst fear.Indiana can't fathom touching this snake even though it would save his life. Marion and mutt have to call it a rope before he can touch it. It's almost the epitome of everything going wrong at once. This concept is not new to Indiana Jone's character. Why'd it have to be snakes? Well, it is because Indiana Jones has faults. He is not invincible. His past always catches up with him. In this film, it is not only in the fact that this manly, adventurous hero can't even look at snakes without getting the willies, intended.  It is also that his relations and foibles with Marion have resulted in him having no knowledge of the son he fathered.