“Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”
4.5/5 ****-
“Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), directed by Stephen Spielberg, is a historical action film about Dr. Indiana Jones or “Indy” (Harrison Ford), an American archeologist, who is sent to Cairo to find the lost Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do. The film was an instant hit when it first came out, and it inspired multiple sequels and became branded into pop culture. The filmmaking is really solid, with an incredible script, a tightly woven story and the iconic John Williams score.
To start off, it is important to acknowledge the fact that this film promotes outdated Orientalist and colonial themes, as well as problematic casting choices. “Orientalism” is the concept of Westerners portraying people of other cultures (usually Asian cultures) based on preconceived notions and stereotypes, resulting in inaccurate and harmful depictions. The film’s nonwhite, mostly Arab, characters contain a lot of stereotypes, not to mention the villainous Arabs who appear in the film all have darker skin tones compared to the heroic Arab characters. While overall the Arabs in the film are not portrayed as villains, these depictions are still harmful. The film also promotes themes of colonialism, portraying Indy as the “good” and “noble” archeologist compared to his rival, René Belloq (Paul Freeman), despite the fact that they both travel the globe stealing artifacts and sacred pieces from indigenous groups. It is also important to note that all the nonwhite characters with speaking roles are played by white actors. This is most apparent in Indy’s friend Sallah, who is played by Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies. While this film is incredible, it is still important to acknowledge its many, many flaws while praising its strengths.
A lot of this film’s elements have made their way into pop culture, from Indy using the Staff of Ra to find the location of the Ark to the line “snakes, why did it have to be snakes?”. Most of that is attributed to the film’s solid writing and story. Harrison Ford’s performance as the titular character is amazing, and it is clear that he truly loves the character. The way Indy’s love interest, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), is written is also great. It is very refreshing to see a female lead in an ‘80s action adventure movie acting like a real person. Marion is her own person with her own motivations. She did not go on the adventure solely because of her history with Indy, and she does not act like a damsel in distress. When she is captured by Nazis, she immediately makes an effort to escape. When Belloq, who became the Nazi’s head archeologist, tries to interrogate her, she makes an escape attempt by seducing him and using her alcohol tolerance to get him drunk. While the plan backfires when Nazi Major Arnold Toht (Ronald Lacey) walks in, Marion in that scene is shown to be intelligent and resourceful.
The film also has incredible fight and action choreography. The fight scenes do not come out of nowhere, and they all further enhance the narrative. The way the characters in the scenes fight each other is great because the choreography is so creative. Indy and Marion use their wits (and whatever they have around them) to fight the people attacking them. When Indy and Marion are attacked by a group of swordsmen sent by Nazis, Indy hardly fights them. He throws a couple punches at them, but they are mostly taken down by Indy dodging their blades, resulting in the swordsmen stabbing each other. When Indy is struggling to fight a giant Nazi, he takes advantage of Marion accidently starting a plane to lure the Nazi into getting hit by the propeller.
Overall, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” is an incredible film. From start to finish, this film is so engaging. From the writing to the action to the characters, it is no wonder that this film was an instant hit. However, it is still important to acknowledge and criticize the film’s problematic aspects, from white actors in brown- or yellow-face to the colonial and Orientalist themes, when discussing its brilliant writing and story. It is also just fun watching Nazis getting killed by the wrath of God as a result of their hubris.