Raiders of...

[Pale Horse]

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

Raider: 4) A predatory operation mounted against a competitor, especially an attempt to lure away the personnel or membership of a competing organization.


Source: Roget's Interactive Thesaurus, First Edition (v 1.0.0)Copyright © 2003 by Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. All rights reserved.

Raider:
Entry: bandit
Function: noun
Definition: thief
Synonyms: brigand, crook, desperado, forager, gangster, gunman, highwayman, hijacker, holdup man, hooligan, marauder, mobster, outlaw, pillager, pirate, plunderer, racketeer, raider, ravager, robber, villain
Concept: law entity

Given this "colorful" yet shady personification, how do we as fans feel about Indiana Jones? We know he is a grave robber, but did we believe it? Do we really want to see it? I know there are some here who do (me in particular).

[Attila the Professor]

Sure, I think (or at least hope) that most of us acknowledge that Indy isn't that great of a guy, when you get right down to it. Yes, he's robbed a goodly sum of graves in his time, and I'm glad to know that. It makes what otherwise might be a rather bland character more interesting, if not admirable.

[Pale Horse]

So should it be IJ and the marauding
IJ and the pillaging
IJ and the brigands???

[Attila the Professor]

Originally posted by apalehorse
So should it be IJ and the marauding
IJ and the pillaging
IJ and the brigands???

You mean for a film title? No, I don't think so.

[wolfgang]

apallehorse, I think you are right in all you said except marader. I call it self defense, or defending another person, but I'm sure he doesn't go around killing people or any mafia stuff. But you are very right in what you said! you just made me look at the indy trilogy again in a different way this time.

[swords]

This is why Raiders is my favorite...

I think it was the author who did the Raiders adaption who once said Indiana Jones was one of the most appealing heroes to grace the screen. However, he hates the two sequels where Indy becomes more "hollywood cliche" and how his mysterious background is shattered in both Temple and Crusade.

I have an thread somewhere where I expressed the same views, particularily at LC's beginning.

[Canyon]

Hmm, I understand where you're coming from. Indy is certainly not your 'usual' archaeologist. The word I like to use to describe Indy is 'unorthadox' and that's what makes him so interesting as a character. In Last Crusade he seemed to have more morals, but in some ways he is the same Indy that we all know and love.

I think people like Indy more in Raiders because he is much more of a darker, mysterous character and perhaps Crusade takes some of that away.

Saying all this though, I think that all the great things that Indy does, i.e. rescuing hundreds of children from an evil cult, saving his father, and generally taking on the might of the Third Reich all by himself, far outweighs all the 'bad' stuff about him.

In some ways, I think that people can read too much into Indy's characer. Okay, I'm well aware that Indy has a 'dark' side and that he's not all sweetness and light, but I think his character went through a kind of 'fortune and glory' stage (read Indiana Jones and the Hollow Earth for details - the fact that Indy takes three bars of gold so he can stop a curse and be with the woman he loves). This, of course is shown in parts of Temple and in Raiders.

I think we have to remind ourselves why we are all Indy fans in the first place. Here is someone who is reckless and doesn't always think about what he's doing. Indy is no saint, but usually does what is right, and that is why we all love Indy. He is brave and is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

Now, we could turn this the other way and look up some other words to describe Indy:

Eminent
Meaning: distinguished, esteemed, famous, grand, great, illustrious, noted, outstanding, prestigious, prominent, well-known.

Heroic:
Meaning: bold, courageous, daring, fearless, intrepid, mythological, noble, unafraid, valiant.

Determined:
Meaning: decisive, driven, resolute, single-minded, steadfast, strong-minded, strong-willed, stubborn, tenacious, unfaltering, unflinching, unhesitating

In a nutshell, yes, Indy has a dark side (he's beginning to sound like Darth Vadar now!) but his heart is in the right place. ;)

It's an interesting thread though... :D

[Coldfyre]

I think Indy's only a grave robber when you put it in the modern context. Back in the 30's, archaeologists were less interested in digging up sites slowly to learn as much as possible about them, and more interested in obtaining glorious artifacts that looked impressive. Indy may use some extreme methods to get artifacts, but he only kills in self defense. This, and the fact that he sells his artifacts to a museum where they can be appreciated, rather than on the black market where he would surely make more money, makes him more of an archaeologist than a grave robber.

[swords]

Just realized I didn't answer the question...

Yes, its interesting to watch a hero who can't really be an hero due to his methods which are somewhat shady, not black and white, so yeah, he's not your typical archeaologist. But he saves damsels in distress and is willing to save a village by "stealing" the Shankara Stones. Yet I think that would be termed "anti-hero", but Im not too sure about that either, his intention is well, right? I think that dictionary meaning is used loosely.

Anyway, I like the fact that Indy is not as cleaned cut as other action heros...

...I don't think I answered the question, oh well!