Z dweller said:
A minority of Raven posters (the "Ford is Indy and Indy is Ford" brigade) are clearly more attached to the actor than to the character, which is a form of fetishism.
And you are hardly qualified to preach forum etiquette, pal.
Well, it kind of makes sense though, doesn't it? I mean, we've had what...6 actors play Indy in different mediums (I'm including the now-deleted George Hall segments from Young Indy). But even despite that, it's the films which have made the most impact arguably. It's Harrison who has made the most of the role, even despite having some great actors play Indy more often than he has. It's my opinion that he played the part the best.
I mean, it's not like Indy is James Bond, where the character first existed on some other medium and was only later transferred to the big screen. It's easy to imagine tons of different actors playing different intepretations of Bond and Batman because there's source material to give leeway to both. Whereas with Indy, any interpretation of Indy's character, even in say, a reboot, would (if Disney didn't want to offend fans) incorporate Ford as much as possible - Even if just in the new actor's looks and/or mannerisms. You can't really get too far away from how Indy is portrayed in those departs without it drifting away from Indy...So, you can't have for example, a Roger Moore sort of Indy. Harrison is so firmly established in the public consciousness as Indiana Jones that it just wouldn't work.
Indy didn't really exist until Harrison played him and gave him the little personal quirks etc that Harrison uniquely brought to the role. In that way, Harrison is Indy; He's iconic in the part so much that Indy (as played by Harrison) is a part of pop culture history.
Yes, it is easy to imagine a post Ford era in Indy's history, and I hope the franchise
does continue past Harrison (if done right), and yes, other actors have proven they can play the part well (I quite liked River and Flannery's portrayals myself; I think Tom Selleck could have been really interesting as Indy in theory).
But, I don't think anyone else could have been (or will be) quite as iconic as Harrison was. Harrison's no Brando, but he is a quirky actor and puts little details and differences into the parts he plays. Beside that, he's always been more than just 'the guy wearing the costume' - Spielberg and Lucas have always had him invested partially in the creative process behind each film (IE, the Cairo Swordsman sequence). Even if say, you get an amazing actor to fill the role, I don't think he'll ever capture the public's imagination in the way Ford in the part did. It's not like replacing Connery as Bond...It's not that easy. And even that, for a time, seemed unimaginable to many people.
You may call it fetishism if you wish, but I do think considering the above, it's not irrational that to some, Indy would be Ford.