Charlemagne
Member
I recently completed Steve Perry?s Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead, and it made me think about the role of the supernatural in Indy adventures. For those who aren?t familiar with the novel, it is steeped in voodoo mythology, including zombies, and it also references an as-yet-unwritten adventure featuring were-jaguars. These are obviously pretty outlandish concepts, but ones that have been pretty standard throughout pulp/adventure fiction. Despite their familiar nature, how comfortable are you with concepts such as these existing in the Indy universe?
Some people will probably think this is a weird or stupid question. After all, the series is rife with supernatural happenings. However, I believe it is important to examine the nature of the paranormal activity of the films. Aside from the Ark and its power, Raiders has no supernatural elements whatsoever; similarly, Last Crusade?s only supernatural element is the Grail (and an immortal knight who drank from it). Both of these artifacts are biblically based and, as such, I think Western audiences have less difficulty suspending their disbelief toward them. Temple probably contains the most paranormal activity in the series, including a personality-altering potion, magical heart surgery, and glowing/ crop-nourishing stones. Aspects of Temple are more fantastic and thus harder to suspend disbelief about, although the Sankara Stones themselves don?t actually do very much. It is interesting that the events of the film are apparently insufficient in making Indy a believer in the supernatural. Crystal Skull veers into science fiction with its ?interdimensional beings,? and thus contains no supernatural elements. While the paranormal elements in the series are explicit, they are not too pervasive and are relatively ?low impact.? Basically, the fantasy elements of the Indy series are more ?realistic? relative to comparable movies. For example, compare the supernatural of the Indy series with a similarly pulp-inspired series, The Mummy. The Mummy series contains reanimated corpses, reincarnation, a half-man/half-scorpion, an army of Anubis-like soldiers, terracotta warriors, and yetis. I feel that most of these concepts would be wildly out of place in an Indy film.
So, how much supernatural can you tolerate in your Indy adventures? Would you be interested in an Indy tale without any supernatural elements (such as Indy and Mac recovering a code-breaking device during WWII)? Would it take you out of a story if Indy battled a werewolf or a mummy? What do you think the best balance is? Thanks in advance for any and all responses.
Some people will probably think this is a weird or stupid question. After all, the series is rife with supernatural happenings. However, I believe it is important to examine the nature of the paranormal activity of the films. Aside from the Ark and its power, Raiders has no supernatural elements whatsoever; similarly, Last Crusade?s only supernatural element is the Grail (and an immortal knight who drank from it). Both of these artifacts are biblically based and, as such, I think Western audiences have less difficulty suspending their disbelief toward them. Temple probably contains the most paranormal activity in the series, including a personality-altering potion, magical heart surgery, and glowing/ crop-nourishing stones. Aspects of Temple are more fantastic and thus harder to suspend disbelief about, although the Sankara Stones themselves don?t actually do very much. It is interesting that the events of the film are apparently insufficient in making Indy a believer in the supernatural. Crystal Skull veers into science fiction with its ?interdimensional beings,? and thus contains no supernatural elements. While the paranormal elements in the series are explicit, they are not too pervasive and are relatively ?low impact.? Basically, the fantasy elements of the Indy series are more ?realistic? relative to comparable movies. For example, compare the supernatural of the Indy series with a similarly pulp-inspired series, The Mummy. The Mummy series contains reanimated corpses, reincarnation, a half-man/half-scorpion, an army of Anubis-like soldiers, terracotta warriors, and yetis. I feel that most of these concepts would be wildly out of place in an Indy film.
So, how much supernatural can you tolerate in your Indy adventures? Would you be interested in an Indy tale without any supernatural elements (such as Indy and Mac recovering a code-breaking device during WWII)? Would it take you out of a story if Indy battled a werewolf or a mummy? What do you think the best balance is? Thanks in advance for any and all responses.
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