Kooshmeister
New member
Okay, so Katanga attempts to protect Marion and keep her aboard by telling Dietrich that he (more or less) wants to sell her as a sex slave. Dietrich reacts by calling him a savage and telling him he'll take what he wants, blah, blah, blah, villainous blather.
This situation and Dietrich's reaction to it are interesting. Unless he knows Katanga is friendly with Indiana, he has no reason to think he's being anything but totally sincere in wanting to sell Marion.
A few points:
1. Does Dietrich think Katanga is being sincere, or does he see though the charade?
2. If he thinks Katanga was telling the truth, is his angry refusal because he dislikes the captain thinking he's in a position to bargain and (as he sees it) making arrogant demands? Or was Dietrich genuinely against what Katanga is proposing?
3. Regardless of which one it is, it's interesting that he immediately does more or less the exact same thing Katanga had proposed, by giving her to Belloq as payment (or, rather, Belloq suggests it and Dietrich implicitly goes along with it; he neither agrees nor objects).
Which leads me to:
1. If Dietrich thinks Katanga was lying, then there's no ambiguity to his actions; he saw through an obvious charade and evilly takes Marion prisoner. With a hint of racism thrown in because he's a douchebag.
2. If Dietrich thinks Katanga is telling the truth, and took Marion because he was pissed off that the captain presumed to bargain with him while also being black, does (as far as he knows) saving her from sexual slavery just to spite Katanga count as doing the right thing for the wrong reasons?
3. If he thinks Katanga is telling the truth and objects to the idea of slavery (at least of a white woman), then Dietrich is still a racist scuzzbag but one with something resembling principles.
Either way, he's clearly a racist, but I always found the scene ambiguous as to whether Dietrich knew Katanga is lying or not, and what his reaction said about him as a person.
This situation and Dietrich's reaction to it are interesting. Unless he knows Katanga is friendly with Indiana, he has no reason to think he's being anything but totally sincere in wanting to sell Marion.
A few points:
1. Does Dietrich think Katanga is being sincere, or does he see though the charade?
2. If he thinks Katanga was telling the truth, is his angry refusal because he dislikes the captain thinking he's in a position to bargain and (as he sees it) making arrogant demands? Or was Dietrich genuinely against what Katanga is proposing?
3. Regardless of which one it is, it's interesting that he immediately does more or less the exact same thing Katanga had proposed, by giving her to Belloq as payment (or, rather, Belloq suggests it and Dietrich implicitly goes along with it; he neither agrees nor objects).
Which leads me to:
1. If Dietrich thinks Katanga was lying, then there's no ambiguity to his actions; he saw through an obvious charade and evilly takes Marion prisoner. With a hint of racism thrown in because he's a douchebag.
2. If Dietrich thinks Katanga is telling the truth, and took Marion because he was pissed off that the captain presumed to bargain with him while also being black, does (as far as he knows) saving her from sexual slavery just to spite Katanga count as doing the right thing for the wrong reasons?
3. If he thinks Katanga is telling the truth and objects to the idea of slavery (at least of a white woman), then Dietrich is still a racist scuzzbag but one with something resembling principles.
Either way, he's clearly a racist, but I always found the scene ambiguous as to whether Dietrich knew Katanga is lying or not, and what his reaction said about him as a person.