Is Indy a "Family hero" and a good role model for kids?

Is Indiana Jones a good role model for young kids?

  • Yes, he's a perfect role model.

    Votes: 18 46.2%
  • Not really but I don't mindmy kids watching the movies.

    Votes: 17 43.6%
  • NO WAY! He took advantage of teenage Marion amongst other things.

    Votes: 1 2.6%
  • I have NO idea...

    Votes: 3 7.7%

  • Total voters
    39

monkey

Guest
HJJNR said:
Not many movies or characters can carry across the generations quite like Indy movies (Superman perhaps) as my son is 7 and he adores Indy and no I havent force fed it to him, I was watching Raiders 2 years ago and he came through and started watching it and that was it, he was hooked. (obviously a 5 year old wouldnt want to see the scary Ark scene at the end so that was skipped). He has an awesome little collection of Indy memorabilia (even the gas mask bag ha ha). I even had to paint his bedroom into an Indy theme.

He's written his own Indy 5 idea and thinks it should open with young Indy listening to a story his Mother is telling him about a mythical jewel that gives the holder infinite life (yes he loves Harry Potter too lol).

Indiana Jones is timeless and any 5th or 6th episode should keep to that formula and then I think we'll all be happy.


Please don't take offense here HJJNR, but I think you are all wrong. And further, I think this is the major problem that has plagued Indiana Jones, and perhaps doomed him, from the beginning.

Indiana Jones is not a childrens' character. He is not even a juvenile character...........he is an adult character, with adult themes.

Why oh why have they tried to market him as a childrens' character? Who did that??? George? Steven? .......Who???

I think this has ruined what could have been...what could be.

Maybe it could still be, but not as long as 7 year olds determine his future.

Barney, The Teletubbies, and Indiana Jones..............???

Sorry HJJNR, I'm really not a bad person, and you are probably a very good person, and good parent, .....but you are killing me (and Indiana Jones). The kids have plenty of Heroes...........give them Harry Porter, three dozen or more Saturday Morning cartoon characters and puppets, and...whoever, but let Indiana Jones be who he was meant to be......a long long long time ago:

An Action Adventure Hero for a mature audience.

The fact that you couldn't let your child watch a scene from the Greatest Indy film of all time........should send a clear message.

The future of Indiana Jones depends on it.

No disrespect intended. I hope you can appreciate my opinions without being offended. If I have offended then I apologize.
 

HJJNR

New member
monkey said:
Please don't take offense here HJJNR, but I think you are all wrong. And further, I think this is the major problem that has plagued Indiana Jones, and perhaps doomed him, from the beginning.

Indiana Jones is not a childrens' character. He is not even a juvenile character...........he is an adult character, with adult themes.

Why oh why have they tried to market him as a childrens' character? Who did that??? George? Steven? .......Who???

I think this has ruined what could have been...what could be.

Maybe it could still be, but not as long as 7 year olds determine his future.

Barney, The Teletubbies, and Indiana Jones..............???

Sorry HJJNR, I'm really not a bad person, and you are probably a very good person, and good parent, .....but you are killing me (and Indiana Jones). The kids have plenty of Heroes...........give them Harry Porter, three dozen or more Saturday Morning cartoon characters and puppets, and...whoever, but let Indiana Jones be who he was meant to be......a long long long time ago:

An Action Adventure Hero for a mature audience.

The fact that you couldn't let your child watch a scene from the Greatest Indy film of all time........should send a clear message.

The future of Indiana Jones depends on it.

No disrespect intended. I hope you can appreciate my opinions without being offended. If I have offended then I apologize.

I fully appreciate what your saying but I was 6 when I went to see Raiders at the cinema and I was hooked from there. Indy is a PERFECT hero for a young boy; brave, adventurous, intelligent and so on. I can remember jumping across ditches and digging in the dirt looking for relics lol humming the theme tune to myself. My son is now REALLY into history and learning more about history and if he is stuck on a puzzle he'll tell me if he thinks like Indy he'll solve it. Too many kids these days are playstation oriented and dont know what fresh air is. the main reason I think its a good character for kids to look up to is because Indy is human, no magic wand or superpowers red cape and what do kids learn from watching stuffed animals? Not a lot.

I wont say I think your wrong coz its your opinion but I have to say that Indy is a great hero for young kids to have if it gets them off the playstation and into the fresh air and stimulating their imagination.
 
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HJJNR

New member
monkey said:
The fact that you couldn't let your child watch a scene from the Greatest Indy film of all time........should send a clear message.

There are parts of Harry Potter that can be disturbing for (then) 5 year olds, I thought (as a parent) that watching exploding and melting heads would be a bit much. He watches it now and because he's a bit older, I have explained how the movie effects work etc.

I'm curious to know how old most of us here were when we first saw Indy. :whip:
 

emtiem

Well-known member
monkey said:
Please don't take offense here HJJNR, but I think you are all wrong. And further, I think this is the major problem that has plagued Indiana Jones, and perhaps doomed him, from the beginning.

Indiana Jones is not a childrens' character. He is not even a juvenile character...........he is an adult character, with adult themes.

No he isn't; he's a family hero and that's why kids love him. Yeah there's some scary stuff in there, but all kids like that. If you think it's an issue that's plagued him from the beginning, isn't it more likely that it's you who've misunderstood what he is? He's never been an adult hero.
 

Sharkey

Guest
emtiem said:
No he isn't; he's a family hero...

He's never been an adult hero.
You are so wrong. Indiana Jones was never a family hero.Not even now. He raped an underage girl and later he got her pregnant and left her at the altar.

He sleeps with his students and in his later years gets married because everything else in his life is being "taken away"...selfish and hardly a family hero.

Hasn't this been pointed out time and time again?
 

Crack that whip

New member
Sharkey said:
You are so wrong. Indiana Jones was never a family hero.Not even now. He raped an underage girl and later he got her pregnant and left her at the altar.

That's a pretty gross mischaracterization of his relationship with Marion (and if it weren't, then really, what would make him any kind of hero, even an adult one?).
 

Darth Vile

New member
Sharkey said:
You are so wrong. Indiana Jones was never a family hero.Not even now. He raped an underage girl and later he got her pregnant and left her at the altar.

He sleeps with his students and in his later years gets married because everything else in his life is being "taken away"...selfish and hardly a family hero.

Hasn't this been pointed out time and time again?

"Raped an underage girl"? I've never seen that version of the movie... ;) Indiana Jones is about as dark and dangerous as Han Solo i.e. not at all. He's a likeable rogue who is capable of giving as good as he gets, but even then, it's well within the boundaries of what most rationale people would call 'family entertainment'.
 

Sharkey

Guest
How would you describe a 42 or 25 year old man having sex with an 11,12 or 15 year old?

Nothing screams family entertainment like - I was a child, I was in love it was wrong and you knew it!

Yeah, family hero, if you're the Manson Family.

Can't wait to catch up with you and yours...don't forget to bring your sweet little daughter to the church drinking contest. I bet she doesn't wet herself THIS time!

Never seen that version...please.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Sharkey said:
How would you describe a 42 or 25 year old man having sex with an 11,12 or 15 year old?

Nothing screams family entertainment like - I was a child, I was in love it was wrong and you knew it!

Yeah, family hero, if you're the Manson Family.

Can't wait to catch up with you and yours...don't forget to bring your sweet little daughter to the church drinking contest. I bet she doesn't wet herself THIS time!

Never seen that version...please.

Indy never raped Marion. In the story he was 25 and she was 15, and Marion was angry because he left her (that is, he did the right thing for her). He walked out on her. (The reverse occurs in A.C. Crispin's Han Solo Trilogy - a girl walks out on Han, and when she returns 10 years later he's the one getting angry). Indy isn't your typical hero, but he was intended for a family audience. The creators pushed the boundaries as far as they could with violence and horror (adding big doses of comedy and black comedy), and when they did TOD they just so happened to push the boundary too far (thereby helping to create the PG-13 rating).
 

Mickiana

Well-known member
Thanks for all your moralising, Sharkey. It is truly tedious. The character of Indiana Jones is neither a rapist or a "family hero". WTF is a "family hero" anyway?!!!
 

Montana Smith

Active member
Mickiana said:
Thanks for all your moralising, Sharkey. It is truly tedious. The character of Indiana Jones is neither a rapist or a "family hero". WTF is a "family hero" anyway?!!!

"Family hero" sounds like a definition of Seth MacFarlane's American Dad! It makes Indy sound cheesy, which, at heart, he never has been. He's two-fisted, incredibly ambitious, self-centred, yet with a strong moral code which becomes apparent. He might be a "family anti-hero", though!
 

monkey

Guest
"Dark" Indy, or "Family" Indy?

I think the big question here is: Do you want the "Family" Indy?.........or the "Dark" Indy?

And secondary to that question is: Which one is the REAL Indiana Jones?

I think the real Indiana Jones is the Dark Indy. Why? Because he is by far more interesting.

There are more than enough Super Good, Super Heroes, who, when they smile, there is a flash of light and corresponding "DING" flashing off of their front teeth.

Jones DID sleep with an underage girl. Jones DID rob graves to steal antiquities to sell for $$$. Sure he is 'Good', but he is also 'Bad', and that is what makes him interesting.

HJJNR, you did say something that was very important. You talked about how imitating Indiana Jones inspired your son to jump over ditches and dig in the earth for 'treasures'................reminds me of my own youth. I think that is very important, and I understand better what you mean about your son's interest in Indiana Jones. That is a good thing.

(By the way, you are obviously a very good Dad; something the world needs more of.)

I just don't want to see Indiana Jones lumped in together with Superman, Captain America, or even the Teletubbies....Barney, or any other puppet or Davey and Goliath claymation figure.

Jones drinks, Jones steals (when he needs to), Jones likes women (and even young girls), he is human, he is interesting.

I hope that Indy V can be perhaps a new beginning to the character; one that will maybe represent more truly who he is.
 

Montana Smith

Active member
monkey said:
Jones DID sleep with an underage girl. Jones DID rob graves to steal antiquities to sell for $$$. Sure he is 'Good', but he is also 'Bad', and that is what makes him interesting.

I just did a quick Google search for the age of consent in 1930s America, and found this page:

http://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230

In the 1930s, support for setting the age of consent at 16 years or older began to weaken. Characterized by growing economic, social, and cultural independence, girls in their teens assumed a place in western societies quite distinct from that of younger children. New concepts of adolescence and specifically of girlhood normalized sexual activity during the teenage years, at least within peer groups, as "sex play" necessary to achieve adult heterosexuality. Emboldened and influenced by such ideas, girls more often talked of being "in love" with the men charged with having sex with them, and expressed sexual desire. Prosecutors and juries increasingly refused to treat such cases as rape.

Legislators, however, did not reduce the legal age of consent. The resulting tension was reflected in slang, most notably the American term "jailbait," dating from the 1930s, that registered cultural recognition of teenage girls as sexually attractive, even sexually active, but legally unavailable. American legislators did amend laws to take account of the offender's age during the 1940s and 1950s as teen culture expanded and female adolescents exercised their sexual autonomy.
 

Indy's brother

New member
Sharkey said:
He raped an underage girl and later he got her pregnant and left her at the altar.

He sleeps with his students and in his later years gets married because everything else in his life is being "taken away"...selfish and hardly a family hero.

Sharkey said:
Yeah, family hero, if you're the Manson Family.

As much as I would rather stay out of this, as it is veering off topic, I've been scratching my head over your comments since you posted them. If this is your true opinion of Indy, why are you a fan? Your take on his character paints him out to be little more than an unlikable lech.

While I agree that in a purely legal (statutory) sense of the word in our modern age, the term "rape" could be applied, the context that you set it in makes him undeniably a monster.
 

HJJNR

New member
I recently had a debate as to whether or not Indy is a good role model for kids or not as my 7 year old son adores Indy and anything Indy related and I said it was a good thing however, some of you think he's a bad role model for young kids an some say he's strictly an adult orientated character.

What do you think? :whip:
 

HJJNR

New member
Sorry I took it a bit "off topic" there so...

Since this subject seems to be a healthy debate I have started a new thread to discuss the 'pro's and con's about Indy being a good role model or not. So if there are any mods reading and you want to move the off topic stuff to here: http://raven.theraider.net/showthread.php?t=19966 it tidies this thread up a bit.

Sorry about the going off topic.

HJJnr :whip:
 

Sharkey

Guest
Indy's brother said:
As much as I would rather stay out of this, as it is veering off topic, I've been scratching my head over your comments since you posted them. If this is your true opinion of Indy, why are you a fan? Your take on his character paints him out to be little more than an unlikable lech.

While I agree that in a purely legal (statutory) sense of the word in our modern age, the term "rape" could be applied, the context that you set it in makes him undeniably a monster.
An appropriate and diametric response to wacked out unequivocal, extreemist and absolute view of a dynamic character. I appreciate your approach to the mayhem.

I've seen many posts already about this subject and it bogles the mind that people so easily turn the blind eye and simply write off themes and content that establishes Indy squarely as NOT family friendly...my hyperbole not withstanding!
 

JuniorJones

TR.N Staff Member
Indy's brother said:
As much as I would rather stay out of this, as it is veering off topic, I've been scratching my head over your comments since you posted them. If this is your true opinion of Indy, why are you a fan? Your take on his character paints him out to be little more than an unlikable lech.

While I agree that in a purely legal (statutory) sense of the word in our modern age, the term "rape" could be applied, the context that you set it in makes him undeniably a monster.

Just to note, (this is in no way a justification for any sexual relations that occur when one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior, including Indy) that it was not until the 1920s that states within the United States actually started raising their "ages of consent", with most states settling on ages from 14 to 18.

Prior to 1889, the age of consent in California was age 10 then in 1889, they raised the age of consent to 14, in 1897 to 16 and in 1913 to age 18.
 

Goodeknight

New member
Well, he's not that great of a role model, really. I mean, he does shoot an awful lot of people for starters.:gun: "Now, now Jimmy, you can't just shoot the Cairo Swordsman. Use your words. Now give each other a hug and make up."

My 7-year-old son adores Indy (just like his dad, and his mom for that matter), and we have no problem with that. If you're going to watch adventure movies, there really aren't many good role models. There are some better ones that can lead to good discussions, though. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of the best examples. Lord of the Rings. Solid Christian principles presented through allegory.

Indy mainly runs around shooting bad guys. Bit too much of a ladies man as well. At least by Crystal Skull he really settles down and recognizes the love of his life, rather than just getting the girl.

However, in spite of that stuff, he does have a lot of positive qualities. Generally trustworthy, honest, reliable, loyal -- all the stuff from the Boy Scout Law and then some. He's a man of principles, integrity, and honor. So there's a lot kids can learn from Indy. You just have to get around the shooting people part. (y)
 

Dr.Sartorius

New member
Prior to 1889, the age of consent in California was age 10 then in 1889, they raised the age of consent to 14, in 1897 to 16 and in 1913 to age 18.

Huh?!!??:eek:

Well I guess it has something to do with what the life expectancy was back then. 30 years old was probably middle age.

If what you're saying is true...
 
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