Re: The Mountain: Is Indy a LDS? Your thoughts requested.

Posted by graml from sdn-ar-002vannewP317.dialsprint.net on February 09, 2000 at 07:38:26:

In Reply to: The Mountain: Is Indy a LDS? Your thoughts requested. posted by Inbanana Jones on February 09, 2000 at 04:29:52:

: Points of fact (in "movieland, anyway"):
: *Indy is an archaeologist.
: *Indy lived for some undetermined time in Utah (LC).
: *Indy obsessed with occult, conversant with religious, esp. Christian traditions.
: *Indy's poppa has strong religious convictions, hopes son will too (LC).
: *Indy not overly dedicated to monogamy.
: *Indy easily drawn to obsessive quests with finding the "truth" of history, elements of faith demonstrated in fact (esp. LC).
: *Indy obsessed with carrying his interpretation of history to others (esp LC).
: *Mountain motif common in films, as is penetration into mountains to gain knowledge/insight.

: Ok, maybe I'm full of horse pucky, but the above (especially the apotheosis implied in "Last Crusade") makes me wonder: is Indy a Mormon? Of course this was never stated explicitly, but my half-cocked interpretation finds parallels with elements of Latter Day Saints, resulting in a picture of Indy that is almost a sterotype or parody of Mormon character. To wit: strong religious traditions propagated via male descent; extreme interest in archaeology as way to prove Mormon tenet that Native Americans were formerly an "advanced culture" that fell into primitivism when they rejected word of god; interest in religious traditions as means to find common threads originating in Mormon theology; flight from flat Midwest into the heart of the mountains of Utah to find paradise on Earth and refugia from persecution/ignorance.

: This is NOT meant as an affront to any group or person; I was truly struck while watching LC by these thoughts. It almost seemed as though the film's writers were trying to project a subtle religious subtext to the character than went beyond the overt Christian display.
: Any thoughts?

Hey. You've raised some interesting points, but I think you may be reading too much into Indy's character. I figure it's all a coincidence; like Kennedy having a secretary named Lincoln and Lincoln having a secretary named Kennedy, etc. Besides, Indy had a few drinks in YIJC and Raiders. If he was as devout as you describe, I doubt he'd touch the stuff. It is a little strange, though. I wouldn't say you're full of horse pucky; in fact I'm pretty sure few people would be as observant as you. Just my two cents.
-graml
PS Strange that all these indicators come from Last Crusade.

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: : Points of fact (in "movieland, anyway"):
: : *Indy is an archaeologist.
: : *Indy lived for some undetermined time in Utah (LC).
: : *Indy obsessed with occult, conversant with religious, esp. Christian traditions.
: : *Indy's poppa has strong religious convictions, hopes son will too (LC).
: : *Indy not overly dedicated to monogamy.
: : *Indy easily drawn to obsessive quests with finding the "truth" of history, elements of faith demonstrated in fact (esp. LC).
: : *Indy obsessed with carrying his interpretation of history to others (esp LC).
: : *Mountain motif common in films, as is penetration into mountains to gain knowledge/insight.

: : Ok, maybe I'm full of horse pucky, but the above (especially the apotheosis implied in "Last Crusade") makes me wonder:  is Indy a Mormon?  Of course this was never stated explicitly, but my half-cocked interpretation finds parallels with elements of Latter Day Saints, resulting in a picture of Indy that is almost a sterotype or parody of Mormon character.  To wit:  strong religious traditions propagated via male descent; extreme interest in archaeology as way to prove Mormon tenet that Native Americans were formerly an "advanced culture" that fell into primitivism when they rejected word of god; interest in religious traditions as means to find common threads originating in Mormon theology; flight from flat Midwest into the heart of the mountains of Utah to find paradise on Earth and refugia from persecution/ignorance.

: : This is NOT meant as an affront to any group or person; I was truly struck while watching LC by these thoughts.  It almost seemed as though the film's writers were trying to project a subtle religious subtext to the character than went beyond the overt Christian display.
: : Any thoughts?

: 
: Hey.  You've raised some interesting points, but I think you may be reading too much into Indy's character.  I figure it's all a coincidence; like Kennedy having a secretary named Lincoln and Lincoln having a secretary named Kennedy, etc.  Besides, Indy had a few drinks in YIJC and Raiders.  If he was as devout as you describe, I doubt he'd touch the stuff.  It is a little strange, though.  I wouldn't say you're full of horse pucky; in fact I'm pretty sure few people would be as observant as you.  Just my two cents.
: -graml
: PS  Strange that all these indicators come from Last Crusade.

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