I thought I'd make a thread specifically about the Utah, 1912 sequence of LC. It's basically a mini film within a mini film (In that it's prelude to an adventure we see the end of, which acts as the film's main prologue). We learn a lot about Indiana in this brief glimpse back into a distant past--Where he got his scar, his fedora, his fear of snakes, and even the model for his attire as Indy.
Essentially, that fateful day in the summer of 1912 was the moment where Indiana Jones, the adventurer we all love, began to be conceived within the psyche of Henry Jones, Jr. Now, obviously over a decade would pass before the two "identities" if you will would fully come together--But here was the genesis of it in many ways.
We see already that by age 13, Indy has a considerable knowledge of obscure, forgotten artifacts--and a profound respect and desire for them. We see he already knows at least one foreign language. We see that archaeology as an interest is something already ingrained in him. But there's an honorable side to it--"It belongs in a museum"--An idealistic sense of protecting relics that Jones later lost until 1936.
We see a lot of things which give us a portrait of where he came from--His father barely acknowledges his existence; His father's a man more concerned with enlightenment that could come from the mythical Holy Grail than with what his son might have to say. We see however that this knowledge, this love of the ancient world and it's relics is shared between father and son--albeit in different ways. Indy is even at this young age largely on his own--His mother is dead and outside of Herman his only other real companion is his dog, Indiana.
He learns and gains quite a few things in this important day in his life: One that nefarious men will obtain for profit what he sees are priceless relics; That for a price, even the honorable town Sheriff can look a blind eye at illegalities; He learns that a whip can become a valuable tool, and painful weapon; He gains a lifelong, pathological fear of snakes, and he gains his trusty, beloved hat as a consolation prize for losing the Cross--and that hat accompanies him through World War and even possibly into his middle age (Depending on if you believe the hat is [in canon] the same hat in all four movies)
While some (myself included) have joked at the improbable nature of one day holding such importance, and of the oddness of Indy fashioning his adventuring attire off of Fedora's, it is actually a fun romp and one of the more believable events in the Indy universe.
If we can accept one man finding the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Sankara Stones, Akator, and dozens of other artifacts (both in on screen adventures and in the novels), as well as a man surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge, or a couple of hundred foot fall in a boat, or surviving the collapse of a rope bridge and subsequent slam into a mountain side, or Indy surviving the mine cart chase or being able to pull himself up against a truck, and him meeting many of the most important figures of the early/mid 20th century, as well as being a Spy during WWI and WWII--Then I think we can accept the events of Utah, 1912 as just a "typical day" for Indy.
It's a VERY important moment in the story of Indiana Jones and the development of him as a character--perhaps THE most important that we see on screen--and is an exciting, Hardy Boy-esque adventure, with a rollicking, fun, energetic score to boot, and, like the later Wyoming, 1950, it's a short adventure of it's own--And very much unique in the universe of Indiana Jones.
Essentially, that fateful day in the summer of 1912 was the moment where Indiana Jones, the adventurer we all love, began to be conceived within the psyche of Henry Jones, Jr. Now, obviously over a decade would pass before the two "identities" if you will would fully come together--But here was the genesis of it in many ways.
We see already that by age 13, Indy has a considerable knowledge of obscure, forgotten artifacts--and a profound respect and desire for them. We see he already knows at least one foreign language. We see that archaeology as an interest is something already ingrained in him. But there's an honorable side to it--"It belongs in a museum"--An idealistic sense of protecting relics that Jones later lost until 1936.
We see a lot of things which give us a portrait of where he came from--His father barely acknowledges his existence; His father's a man more concerned with enlightenment that could come from the mythical Holy Grail than with what his son might have to say. We see however that this knowledge, this love of the ancient world and it's relics is shared between father and son--albeit in different ways. Indy is even at this young age largely on his own--His mother is dead and outside of Herman his only other real companion is his dog, Indiana.
He learns and gains quite a few things in this important day in his life: One that nefarious men will obtain for profit what he sees are priceless relics; That for a price, even the honorable town Sheriff can look a blind eye at illegalities; He learns that a whip can become a valuable tool, and painful weapon; He gains a lifelong, pathological fear of snakes, and he gains his trusty, beloved hat as a consolation prize for losing the Cross--and that hat accompanies him through World War and even possibly into his middle age (Depending on if you believe the hat is [in canon] the same hat in all four movies)
While some (myself included) have joked at the improbable nature of one day holding such importance, and of the oddness of Indy fashioning his adventuring attire off of Fedora's, it is actually a fun romp and one of the more believable events in the Indy universe.
If we can accept one man finding the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the Sankara Stones, Akator, and dozens of other artifacts (both in on screen adventures and in the novels), as well as a man surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in a fridge, or a couple of hundred foot fall in a boat, or surviving the collapse of a rope bridge and subsequent slam into a mountain side, or Indy surviving the mine cart chase or being able to pull himself up against a truck, and him meeting many of the most important figures of the early/mid 20th century, as well as being a Spy during WWI and WWII--Then I think we can accept the events of Utah, 1912 as just a "typical day" for Indy.
It's a VERY important moment in the story of Indiana Jones and the development of him as a character--perhaps THE most important that we see on screen--and is an exciting, Hardy Boy-esque adventure, with a rollicking, fun, energetic score to boot, and, like the later Wyoming, 1950, it's a short adventure of it's own--And very much unique in the universe of Indiana Jones.
