Comments on: The Religion of Indiana Jones http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/ public domain playground. friendly entities welcome. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:57:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: james http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/comment-page-1/#comment-4819 james Mon, 22 Aug 2005 18:46:57 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/#comment-4819 I am a huge Indiana Jones fan, and I think this is a case of reading way too much into things. Lucas and Spielberg intended "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" to be a tribute to the cliffhanger serials of their youth like "Sky King". The artifacts and relics are all McGuffins, plot devices to move the narrative along, and the screenwriters care very little about the actual significance of these treasures. This is evident in the astounding amount of liberties they take with the stories. There's really no good or evil arc in the Indy movies-- look what happens to the ARk at the end of the first film, lost in a bureaucratic sea of red tape and endless crates in a warehouse. Is this what he risked his life for? So that the U.S. Gov't could misplace the Ark? No, Indy does it all because he loves archaeology (i.e. The Past) with a passion, and it seems like Jones is a stand-in for both Lucas and Spielberg, who equally love the past-- which is why they plunder it for their movies. "Star Wars" is Flash Gordon writ large, and so on. Lucas & Spielberg love mythology and apply it everywhere they can. I am a huge Indiana Jones fan, and I think this is a case of reading way too much into things. Lucas and Spielberg intended “Raiders Of The Lost Ark” to be a tribute to the cliffhanger serials of their youth like “Sky King”. The artifacts and relics are all McGuffins, plot devices to move the narrative along, and the screenwriters care very little about the actual significance of these treasures. This is evident in the astounding amount of liberties they take with the stories.

There’s really no good or evil arc in the Indy movies– look what happens to the ARk at the end of the first film, lost in a bureaucratic sea of red tape and endless crates in a warehouse. Is this what he risked his life for? So that the U.S. Gov’t could misplace the Ark? No, Indy does it all because he loves archaeology (i.e. The Past) with a passion, and it seems like Jones is a stand-in for both Lucas and Spielberg, who equally love the past– which is why they plunder it for their movies. “Star Wars” is Flash Gordon writ large, and so on.

Lucas & Spielberg love mythology and apply it everywhere they can.

]]> By: alistair http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/comment-page-1/#comment-4812 alistair Mon, 22 Aug 2005 13:51:37 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/#comment-4812 true in life too. in the venn diagram of spirituality as the whole circle, how large a portion of that circle is actually used by religion? 90%? 50%? 10%? 1%? true in life too. in the venn diagram of spirituality as the whole circle, how large a portion of that circle is actually used by religion? 90%? 50%? 10%? 1%?

]]> By: meg http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/comment-page-1/#comment-4802 meg Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:52:11 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/#comment-4802 What I always liked about Indiana Jones was that there was no "right" religion. Enough knowledge and luck could make any god's toy work. What I always liked about Indiana Jones was that there was no “right” religion. Enough knowledge and luck could make any god’s toy work.

]]> By: Fell http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/comment-page-1/#comment-4798 Fell Sun, 21 Aug 2005 16:18:01 +0000 http://www.timboucher.com/journal/2005/08/21/the-religion-of-indiana-jones/#comment-4798 He also approaches conspiracies and the occult with the same semiotic fashion in his novel <em>Foucalt's Pendulum</em>. He also approaches conspiracies and the occult with the same semiotic fashion in his novel Foucalt’s Pendulum.

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