Whilst I can’t say that I’m an archeologist, that’s my fathers field, I’m actually a paleontology student. Actually, I’m apprenticing a paleontologist from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History this year and will be doing field work in the badlands of Montana for possibly up to an entire year. I’m amazingly nervous, it’s quite a commitment. I can only imagine the heat, but I’m utterly ecstatic as well. After all, it’s certainly something unique, and I’ve now got a story to tell. Working behind a cubical has never been my style. I don’t want happiness, I demand euphoria! So I’m perusing my dream, as much work as it may take, and hopefully things will work out.
But much of Paleontology could be applied to Archeology. For my perspective, as well as a realistic view, Indiana Jones is naturally highly exaggerated. That much is common sense. It’s archeology meets Hollywood. If you enter the field expecting to avoid deadly natives, be chased by gigantic spherical boulders, and be caught in a spiked death trap…you’ve got delusions of grandeur. It’s not exactly a pulse pounding action adventure career choice. Very much of it is spent reading or theorizing. If you’re lucky enough to be on a dig or expedition, let alone leading it, you’ll know it’s an incredibly slow and rhythmic process that revolves around paying attention to even the smallest of details. OCD goes hand-in-hand with archeology. Hah. However, I would say it’s very rewarding, obviously worldly and cultured, that is if you’re talented enough or lucky enough to have funded travel, and naturally unique. You potentially have the ability to see things most people only see in dreams. Perhaps you’ll even be fortunate enough to discover something entirely new to contemporary society and science. Behind the superficial eye candy of the supernatural plot devices, archetypical Nazi and power-hungry villains, and pulse pounding fist fights…Indiana Jones has roots deeply imbedded in real myth, folklore, and archeology. I find the film caught the spirit of what it takes to be an Archeologist. There is a type of romance behind the field that’s unlike any other. After all, who really wants to work behind a desk all their life?
So it has it's adventure, but not in the Indiana Jones sense of the word. After all, I consider adventure to be traveling and seeing the world and it's wonders.