5 thoughts on “The ‘Indiana Jones Has No Impact on the Plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark’ Theory is Dumb

  1. The heroes journey is not necessarily to save the day or save the world. The hero is meant to persevere and survive, which Indy does, and much more. Thanks for this.

    And I do think Sheldon is an idiot when it comes to human stories, which is intentional.

  2. And I do think Sheldon is an idiot when it comes to human stories, which is intentional.

    It’s definitely intentional, I just wonder if they went overboard sometimes.

  3. Quite the opposite, in the grand scheme of things, Indy is, inadvertently, the villain of the film, if not history. Because of his interference, the Nazis choose to open the Ark on the island first before showing it to Hitler. If he had let things be, they would have waited and opened it for Hitler, ending him before World War II could happen. The blood of millions is on Indy’s hands.

  4. As you point out, it’s not just about stopping the Nazis, it’s also about Indy and Marion healing old wounds and coming together again. Whether Indy affects the Nazis getting the ark or not, the love story still works.

  5. It’s not “dumb”, then, just beside the point.

    Actually, articles like these make me dislike the movie even more, because they’ve got it right: Indie’s character arc is to go from someone who’s arrogant, but at least intellectually curious and skeptical about believing things simply because those beliefs are old, to someone who’s willfully incurious and now accepts that there are things humans not only cannot understand, but shouldn’t even try – it’s safer and more moral to just accept things as they are.

    I’d almost *prefer* to think it’s simply a goofy adventure where Indy is a hapless bystander who can’t quite manage to be the protagonist.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *