Popular Culture Review Vol. 12, No. 2, August 2001 | Page 118

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Popular Culture Review

TV. After the fascination with the glorious view, the richness of the gold mine, or
the beauty o f the mountains, audiences have been conditioned to expect a quest for
something. This quest, a staple of adventure formats, supersedes the importance of
the people. The viewer is presented with some images of the inhabitants, but often
this is peripheral to the action. Whether it is First Nations on the plains of North
America, or Zulus in the south of Africa, if they are not shown attacking, they are
shown as additional scenery, employed in a way to help—to serve — the white
visitors. Indiana Jones always has a train of them nearby, many of whom are depicted
as willing to die for the causes of the adventurer. Campbell and Pratt have discussed
this concept in travel writing, and Robert Hart gives the film version:
The indigenous population served as nameless bearers to lug
the imported paraphernalia of civilization along jungle trails...
When the story needed to be invigorated by vignettes of
incidental action, one or another of the expendable porters would
topple off a cliff or be eaten by crocodiles. (Hart, in Parenti 19)
Just think back and try to recall how many movies have employed this scenario.
The Temple o f Doom duplicates it exactly - in one escape scene, hundreds of natves
fall off of the bridge into the mouths of crocodiles.
It is only the intrepid archaeologist who makes it through. He uses the
valuable item to buy time. In The Temple o f Doom, he does return the holy stones,
in Raiders, the Ark gets processed by the government, and in The Last Crusade,
the chalice is left “where it belongs”. But what about all the secondary objects that
provide the impetus for the chases and thrills? Using one as an example, according
to Indy in The Last Crusade, “It belongs in a Museum!” He shouts this at another
fortune hunter, for the two have been competing for the same relic. Indiana’s actions
are suggestive of benevolence and legitimacy, while his adversary’s motives are
downright evil and guided solely by profit.
Among the areas to explore regarding this paradox is the legitimization
of pillage. It is okay, according to this logic, for some valuable items to be stolen,
regardless of their meaning, and put int