Why does Indy wear glasses?

Shipwreck

Shipwreck

Moderator Emeritus
Coldfyre said:
Because he's secretly Superman.
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If you will remember - Indy is suppose to be a professor of archaeology. His exploits, according to the books, comics and films are not suppose to be public knowledge. If you think about it, only his enemies seem to recall his involvements...

The glasses may very well represent Superman - the cliche that he is a normal guy by day, but by night or abroad - a hero.

Just a thought.
 
R

Raiders90

Well-known member
Lao_Che said:
;)

The KotCS novel has Indy remembering Marcus joking about "going native" and
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Who is this "Golden Goddess"?

Also, if wearing glasses is just part of Indy pretending to be a professor, why does he wear them for example in the scene with Sallah and the Old Man when the Headpiece is being translated in Raiders? He's out in his own environment there with no need for an academic disguise. Same thing with the dinner in TOD. And with his father reading the Diary aboard the Zeppelin.
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Attila the Professor

Attila the Professor

Moderator
Staff member
Raiders112390 said:
Who is this "Golden Goddess"?

Also, if wearing glasses is just part of Indy pretending to be a professor, why does he wear them for example in the scene with Sallah and the Old Man when the Headpiece is being translated in Raiders? He's out in his own environment there with no need for an academic disguise. Same thing with the dinner in TOD. And with his father reading the Diary aboard the Zeppelin.
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I like this post. (And this thread revival.) :hat:

I'm not struck by the dinner scenes in Temple being ones in which he wears his glasses, as those are the stand-in for the university scenes. Furthermore, his credibility at dinner is largely based on his academic reputation. Chatter Lal knows the kind of man he really is, but the academic mask is nevertheless the one he's wearing there. (And the point I made - geez - 8 years ago about him still using his professorial language while seducing Willie still stands.)

The other three scenes - the old man's, the zeppelin, and Indy's house with Mutt - are similar scenes of translation, of reading, in the midst of the adventure. The question is, I suppose, whether there's more to this choice than just the practical idea of adding a bit of visual variety for a clearly comprehensible reason. Is he - to go back to the old Clark Kent/Superman analogy - somehow really wearing his more academic identity in these scenes? One of them he's at his home, so that's not too hard, but his excitement there seems much more akin to the "the shield is the second marker!" moment in the catacombs; still, this scene occurs after the first major action scene of the main story, with the motorcycle chase. The zeppelin's a more formal environment (and, as has been suggested above, it's cool that he gets to remove them when he realizes the airship is turning around.)

But the Raiders one probably bears the most consideration, since it is both the original case of his glasses appearing outside of the university context, and the one that is most far afield of an easy contextual explanation, like the others. He's not really looking at the headpiece himself, or reading it (we often forget that he's not a master linguist in Raiders, not by a longshot). Perhaps they're trying to align his relationship with Sallah with his relationship with Marcus, showing that Sallah understands his dual nature? Or maybe it's just for the look of it.
 
Dr Bones

Dr Bones

New member
I thought perhaps he only wore them in atrificial lighting as it gives hi migraines...;)

Like many who wear glasses for reading, maybe e doesn't always put them on, especially in the field as they are liable to get damaged or lost, he doesn't have time or other practical reasons.

In reality, it's juts an affectation of the intelligent/scholarly Dr Jones as opposed to Indy the adventurer...i.e to point it out the the audience he's not just an action man.:cool:
 
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Mickiana

Well-known member
He definitely wears them for refractive error. When we see him closer up in Raiders while Imam is explaining the head piece, we can see the curvature of his face is slightly narrower behind the lens indicating that the correction is for short sightedness ie myopia (difficulty seeing in distance). Lenses for short sightedness are concave and make an image smaller thus sharpening the image for a myopic person. But it appears he puts on the glasses to read things. I wear glasses for myopia (too much reading as a kid) and, even though I don't need them for reading, it can make it more comfortable in certain situations such as poor light or with small/faint print. Someone raised astigmatism as a possibility and this is certainly possible. Astigmatism is a warp in the cornea of the eye and it can occur at any angle. It is usually associated with other refractive error problems. So, Indy does take his glasses on his adventures with him and he does need them for clearing up his eyesight in certain situations. The round style he wears in the first three movies definitely lend that academic look but with Indy this academic look of his glasses is more noticeable in the field when he is adventuring in his Indygear. In these moments he is displaying his dual natures simultaneously.

ps He seems to carry them in his shirt pocket, or maybe in his inner pocket of his jacket.
 
M

Mickiana

Well-known member
If he only needs them for reading why does he wear them at the banquet in ToD? He's not reading his dinner. Since he needs them in both situations of up close and further away (up close merely means that's where the blurriness starts, so a shortsighted person may need them for reading. Saying he needs them for reading doesn't tell us exactly what his visual acuity problem is) I assume that he wanted to be able to see his hosts more clearly at the dinner table. He had already heard they were up to no good and maybe thought best to have a good view of them. Also, looking academic would have perhaps raised Chattar Lal's personal estimates of him, who knows?
 
indyclone25

indyclone25

Well-known member
well i know i wear my "reading glasses' when im on the copmuter to see the small items on the screen and as indy puts his glasses on to see waht imam is showing him on the medallion of ra. it's just to be able to see those fine details, and when he's teaching, when i draw i need to have my glasses on to see the way im drawing or writing . i hope that has come across well .:D
 
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Montana Smith

Active member
Mickiana said:
If he only needs them for reading why does he wear them at the banquet in ToD?
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He wanted to be absolutely sure exactly what he was eating. (And you never know, with the enemies he's made over the world, he might even spot the telltale signs of poison).
 
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Mickiana

Well-known member
Maybe, Montana, but everybody was digging in to common dishes and poison wouldn't be visible. He spent most of his time talking and eyeing his hosts, noting facial expressions and exchanges. He is short sighted, but at times requires his glasses for closer up. I'm short sighted and blurriness begins within two feet of my face. I'm wearing them now to work on the computer.
 
Rocket Surgeon

Rocket Surgeon

Guest
Mickiana said:
Someone raised astigmatism as a possibility and this is certainly possible. Astigmatism is a warp in the cornea of the eye and it can occur at any angle.
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I thought he smoked the buddah doojie for that...
 
M

Mickiana

Well-known member
I don't think he sat around thinking how to look like a professor.

Yes, imbibing a bit of Bob Marley can actually improve eyesight. Extracts of cannabis are used to treat glaucoma.
 
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