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| Yes | 17% | 83 votes | Total: 475 votes | |
| No | 83% | 392 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesIndiana Jones might bring more people to archeology but wouldn't bring the right people, the people with the patience to do the job right. For every exciting Jewel or classic book there will be thousands of coins and bits of crockery. The job wont be dodging spears and fearsome tribes but will be more sitting in a ditch brushing dirt from a piece of a plate. Most will understand the difference between fact and fiction but many will believe at least a portion of what they see and expect some degree of reality. They have to realise that there are hours and hours of patient nothing in order to achieve something. There will be travel and there will be boredom. There will also be little chance of making a fortune from what you might find and there may be history but little else. You may get lucky, but it is far from a guarantee.
To be fair if the film was true to life people wouldn't watch it, the same reason all police shows depict arrests and all fire brigade shows have constant fires. The reality bears little relationship to the job, but of course fiction isn't supposed to. If you watch the films then concentrate on Indy teaching class and watch the people digging ditches and brushing dirt, these are the closest scenes to the real world. You may find something of real value and great history but its not a thing you can be sure of.
Many heroes from James Bond to Indiana Jones gives the impression of constant excitement and a life of thrills, the reality is far less in all aspects. Mi5 exists for all the things they show but also they spend hours on computers and sitting watching people. To make a film they condense all possible aspects of the job, add some unreality and come up with ninety minutes of whats diluted from all the parts. If you do find the gem or you find the spy you have been tracking you will get the glory and may become famous for it.
The film may bring some of the right people in to the field , those who know what is involved and what sacrifices are involved. These people will have patience and will be in the job for the history as opposed to the excitement. They will be the people who want to find the rare artifact and are ready to sort through tons of earth to possibly find nothing. You may find an item that takes hours of gentle cleaning in order to find out what you have and if it is important or even valuable. It may be a small piece of a larger item or a whole item that you find, you may not know till much later what it is. You have to have patience in the discovery and then even more once the work is done, this isn't something a hyperactive film show will do.
Learn more about this author, Ashley Smith.
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No
Is Indiana Jones bad for archeology? Is Boston Legal bad for law, or perhaps Brothers and Sisters inappropriate considering that is a presidential nominee on the program? No! Was the Scorpion King, starring the Rock bad for archeology? No! Absolutely not.
Indiana Jones is a fictional character! We know Harrison Ford doesn't have credentials in archaeology. He is an actor. George Lucas didn't discover King Tut's tomb. He is a director.
To make the argument that Indiana Jones in bad for archeology is in my opinion a bit highbrow. It's placing much too much importance on a fun loving fictional character that people have fallen in love with over the years. Instead of looking for flaws, either enjoy the movie for the fluff and adventure that it is, or turn the channel to Discovery or PBS. People that are interested in archeology know the difference, as does the general population.
I think everyone that has watched Indiana Jones films understands that these are fiction and their inception is intended to provide entertainment. People know that a huge boulder chasing Harrison Ford in a mystical temple isn't for real.
If anything, I think fun loving movies such as this offer people a bit of general knowledge that they may now know or understand. Indiana Jones was the first time I had ever heard of the chalice that Christ drank from. Honestly, I learned more about the story when I read another fictional book called The Da Vinci Code. Do I take either story as fact, no I do not, but it raises interesting questions.
Hollywood is supposed to take stories, myths, and exciting adventures and put them on the big screen. Even stories that are supposed to be true to life are often glamorized for entertainment value. Gone with the Wind was a beautiful story but I'm sure historians will find fault with it's story lines and plots.
Harry Potter are excellent books and fine movies, however it in no way has any bearing on Wicken, which is the religion practiced by witches. Everyone understands that Voldermort is fictional and witches don't fly around on brooms playing quidditch.
In conclusion, is Indiana Jones bad for archeology? Absolutely not. Indiana Jones movies are nothing more than that...movies.
Learn more about this author, Molly Carter.
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