Fun fact: My dad was one of the Nazi’s that was marching during the book burning scene because he was in the airforce and they needed people who could march. So most of those Nazi’s are US airmen
Using soldiers to depict Nazis seems to have been quite common. In this soviet film ruclips.net/video/pBojdyXr9E8/видео.html one of the crew members wanted to bring his family to play Nazi guards, but the director looked at it and said "Why do we have Jews guarding gestapo" and Spetsnaz guys were chosen instead.
Indiana Jones is not a meathead muscled action hero. I always thought this was part of his appeal. The way he wins at the end of Raiders is not his brawn, but his brains. In fact most of his iconic victories are due to his knowledge and his quick wits rather than his strength (sword vs gun anyone?).
I think that may be an appeal of Fate of Atlantis. Sure, you can take a path that requires A LOT of fighting (Fists Path), but even then the game encourages you to take more thought-out and well-calculated plans to deal with the Nazis. Instead of just going up and fighting some, hide behind a stone slab and get their attention. And when they're in front of the slab, push it on them. Or use a broken stalagtite to impale a soldier below you, and use a boulder to take out the macho man. Putting Indiana Jones in a Secret of Money Island Point and Click adventure MAY have seen absolutely ridiculous, but when you take a closer look at Indy, it's no reason why it ended up being one of the best adventure games ever made.
Interestingly, that sword vs gun scene was not written that way. Harrison Ford came down with food poisoning, and didn't have the stamina to shoot the intended whip vs sword scene. Spielberg mockingly suggested "just shooting him" which evoked giggles around the crew, which made him decide to actually shoot it.
Indiana really didn’t do anything in that movie tho, the Nazis still would’ve died even without Indiana jones. The only thing he did was save the chick by telling her to not look.
Indie:"I don't believe in magic hocus pocus" Indie a year earlier: *Witnessed someones heart pulled out with fingertips and was put under multiple curses causing him pain and putting him in a slave-like cultist trance*
It's even deeper. In the Torah, the high priest Eli's sons also tried to weaponize the ark, and they both died in battle. The Philistines then capture the ark and also try to weaponize, but not only do they fail, the statue of Dagon the ark was placed in front of collapses. Basically, according to Jewish tradition, the ark has been kicking ass for thousands of years
Just to clarify the biblical story, it can be found in early chapters of 1 Samuel. Eli's sons dying in battle was God's judgement on them cos they slept around with women who weren't their wives and took advantage of people trying to worship God properly in the tabernacle, also having contempt on God's offerings by essentially stealing God's portions and threatening to take them by force if someone called them out on it. God also had Eli himself die for not doing anything about this. People who touched the ark died not because the ark killed them, but because the ark was holy and was not to be touched. God killed anyone who defiled it by touching it. I believe the reason the Israelites lost the ark at that time is because they treated it like some kind of relic to go before them in battle, saying 'the ark will save us' rather than 'our God, whose throne this ark is, will save us'. And yes, because the Philisines had taken it, God put plagues on them until they realised not to mess with it. So they sent it back.
@@wrenchinator9715Yes then there was some Israelites who thought it was a good idea to open the Ark. I assume since we are all Indiana Jones fans that we know what happened. Maybe not face melting though.
Even if I love inglorious basterds, I would say the actions against the nazis feels more like revenge fantasy than anything else. In indiana jones tales, the vengeance is better integrated in the history in a more meaningful way. Gret video.
I should say that I also love Basterds. In fact I think that film does a brilliant job exploring cinema's role in regards to German history. But in terms of dismantling Nazi authority, Indy is still king. Thanks for your support, as always.
@@EyebrowCinema agreed, I saw a film review stating that one of the messages in Inglourious Basterds is "Cinema is what killed the Nazis." In the aspect, that yes soldiers historically fought and defeated the Nazis, but what prolonged the belief that Nazis were evil were the countless movies portraying them as villains during the post-WWII era. It's the reason Lt. Archie Hicox is chosen for Operation Kino b/c he was a film critic, Bridget Von Hammersmark was an actor, Shoshanna owns a movie theater, and both Goebbels and Hitler are villains for their racist propaganda.
I remember hearing somewhere that Inglourious basterds is laughing at your face because in the beginning of the movie the nazi's were watching a propaganda film where they were all brutally killed and the theater all laughed but then, you watch the same exact thing and turn a blind eye. So in a way it's saying you're just as bad as them
Spielberg later publicly expressed regret at the caricature of the Nazis in the Indiana Jones movies. I remember him talking about it in an interview back in the day. Here is a quote from a New York Times piece from 1993: "Mr. Spielberg recalled that "when we were making 'Schindler,' Liam came up to me one day and asked me if I could ever make another Indiana Jones movie where the Nazis are cartoon villains. I said, 'Never, never.'"
I do understand how he might feel guilty over time with how much he made the Nazi's look like baffoons in Indiana Jones. But at the same time, tonally I think it works considering the series is a homage to serial action films where that tone fits, as oppose to Schindler's List which displays the Nazis in a much, much more horrible and inhumane light.
There's a time to portrait nazis as a monstrous threat and a time to portrait them as bumbling buffoons; it doesn't have to be one or the other. And the Soviets defiinitely didn't work as well as cartoon villains in Crystal Skull.
@@ArkadiBolschek I think the Russians could've worked. I think the issue is Russians were the villains for most of the late 20th century, and it was just getting boring. For some reason, Nazis are more fun.
Wait, the scene where the Ark kills the Nazis ruins the film to some?! OK... If anything, this scene can be seen as showing of how resourceful Indie is. Maybe these Nazis didn’t die by his hands, but he still played them. Indie knew how to act in that situation and got off unscathed. That scene was a dynamical equivalent of stepping away from the railtrack and not telling your enemy about the incoming train.
And it really works quite well as a scathing critique and mockery of the Nazi's. Here is the thing about Nazi's, they weren't just evil and cruel on a biblical proportion, they were also incompetent morons. They built large mega tanks bigger than that of any of their opponents! That crumbled under their own weight the moment they entered the battlefield... The making of the V2 rocket killed way more people than the V2 rocket ever did in the war. So it is only fitting that the ark kills the Nazi's in the end, because it is only appropriate that the nazi's would have destroyed themselves with or without Indiana Jones. Which is why the Indiana Jones movies will always have the best nazi's, because they are as dumb as they are vile.
Even more than that- its a thematic restatement of the Airplane Fight which foreshadows the ending. Indie can't defeat his enemy with his fists or strength, but hes cunning and knows his weaknesses.. and when to stand out of the way of a propeller/opened Ark of the Covenant!
People sometimes say that it's a plot hole that the nazis finding and opening the ark would have happened without Indy's involvement. In fact, I now see that it's symbolic of how the nazis had sealed their own fate and were doomed from the start.
Like the above comment says, kind of like how the Nazis pretty much sealed their own fate in WW2 in real life - through their own arrogance and sense of invincibility. They started a huge war with three major world powers - USA, USSR and the British Empire - which they could never possibly win, most especially after invading the second of those three, and massively pissing off so much of the rest of the world with their acts of warmongering and genocide, thus creating a desire for vengeance against them. A good definition of a Nazi is someone who embraces death and destruction, and is thus the architect of their own death and destruction.
A detail I never noticed until I was older, was that in the Last Crusade, when Donavan is negotiating with the shah, he offers gold "donated from some of the finest families in Germany". Only later did I know that it was meant to be gold seized from Jewish people.
It was actually supposed to be the a line about treasures being stolen from the finest Jewish families in Germany. My guess is they changed it, because they thought it was too on the nose. I like that the opening of Dial of Destiny references this.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was one of series of awesome movies Sean Connery did in the 80ies, including The Untouchables and The Name of the Rose.
Damn I already knew Raiders and Crusades were masterpieces, but this is such an interesting analysis into them. Never thought about the reason why the main antagonists were collaborators rather than simple Nazis. Superb work
A big factor motivating me to make this video was love for Raiders and Crusade, and a desire to demonstrate a hidden aspect that helps make them great.
I'm Jewish. I love the Indiana Jones movies and I have always viewed the Indy films as Spielberg's revenge fantasy. It was never lost on me that Harrison Ford was part Jewish, and I always interpreted the ending as God himself punishing the Nazis. I'm also a film aficionado but never noticed how the films use their cinematic language to mock the Nazis and rob them of their power. You lay out a wonderful case here, Eyebrow Cinema.
@@nathan3710 A country that was rapidly militarising and mobilising the an era where the world had just cooled off from what more believed at the time would be the last war humanity would ever fight. Given that, it should be clearer why the populace of most countries chose appeasement or temporary pacts instead of flinging themselves into. Another war.
Excellent video. To put it in even more perspective, Raiders was filmed just 35 years after WWII, so it was something that Spielberg’s own parents had lived through and I’m sure he heard a lot of stories from his family growing up. It’s kind of weird that Raiders is now closer in time to WWII than to present day!
true. Wait I just realized that most of the actors for that film were older then him. Literally even the main star Harrison Ford was older then him by like 6 years.
Elsa describes herself as Austrian, rather than German, and the film is set in 1938, the year of the Anschluss, after which the Nazi government very deliberately removed the name "Austria" from the map, renaming the region as "Ostmark", and the provinces of Lower and Upper Austria as Lower and Upper Danube. I don't know if that's intended to be significant or not, but until relatively recently (and I think probably at the time "Crusade" was released, the narrative of Austria having been Hitler's first victim, rather than a willing participatn, was strong. Perhaps Spielberg is critiquing that, suggesting that Elsa sees herself as a victim of Nazism rather than a participant - hence her continued use of "Austrian" rather than embracing a "greater German" identity. Or perhaps I'm just talking bollocks.
The myth that Austria was a "victim" of Nazism is a myth. Austria greatly profited from the Third Reich and lots of prominent nazis ringleaders were austrians
There's a semi-obscure film theory I'm fond of, which is interesting in this context: What if Belloq was a Jew? It's not impossible, and there are some interesting hints towards it. Like, in the bar scene, he appears to be a sincere believer in God, and sees the Ark as a means of contacting God. Why would someone like Belloq, who knows he is iniquitous, want to talk to God? Also, it sure was easy for him to find that Rabbinical outfit and everything else for the Ark opening ritual, not to mention reading and speaking fluent Hebrew. The full argument for Belloq being a Jew is pretty long (and with way too much discussion of a liquor bottle), but skipping ahead, this makes Belloq so much more interesting as an antagonist by giving him a clear and very relateable motivation. In the film, he never spells out his motivations, although in the bar scene he seems to be dancing around the idea of opening up to Indy. What if his plan all along was to steal the Ark - a favorite tactic - and use it as a weapon to save his people? What *wouldn't* a person do, to prevent the oppression and murder of millions? Even the deaths of Indy and Marion, which he does seem a bit upset about, would be arguably justified from that perspective. And then basically, the ritual actually happened exactly as Belloq had hoped... except for the part where God judges him unworthy and smites him along with everyone else. Whoops.
If he was truly Jewish then he would know only the high priest can open the ark, and only for an hour during a specific prayer once a year. Also, he would've known that to wear that version of the high priest garb is not even worn on the one day he can open the ark, so... Also, there's a whole section of the mishnah that he's apparently just ignoring, which I doubt, cause if he were truly Jewish, then having gone through all that trouble he probably would've been well versed, cause non religious Jews wouldn't have bothered doing stuff like that in the first place
Very late to the party, but I don't think Belloq was. If he was Jewish, he'd be truly vile as a traitor to his people, as it were. As it is, he's vile in that he's a quisling, a traitor-collaborator with the Nazis. re: the second paragraph, he's very open about why he wants the Ark. (Paraphrasing?) "It's a transmitter for talking to God." That's what Belloq wants. He wants not only to talk to God, but to be God, in a sense. And he's willing to do whatever it takes in order to achieve his goal. As for putting on the Jewish priest's garb, he's simply following the standard of the religion, which I'm sure he studied and knew about. He wanted everything to go right in summoning the power of the Ark, not because he believed in the religion, but because he wanted the power that it held. And, of course, he got blown up real good at the end, and his allies got melted. Bottom line: never mess with an angry God. Ever.
Nice job, Jason. Belloq's List. A kind of shitty guy decided the only way to stop the coming Nazi purge of Jews was to get a hold of the Ark. That means he would be ok with it destroying Toht and the other Nazis. And he always spared Indy, perhaps realizing he is a good man and didn't want God's judgement against him. He may have thought the robes would protect him, while his collaborators were immediately destroyed. Leaving him. Indy and Marion in charge. He probably would have still been a dick , but the first time able to speak openly, would admit his plan of Jewish vengeance. I like it. Not a complete bad guy like Magneto. Has a plan.
@@NickNuiGames at the end of the day... Belloq was a damn scumbag and he's a brilliant character. The way him and Indy standoff with the Panzerfaust is such a great exchange for him. He was until this day and likely until the end of time, the greatest Indy villain.
Raiders took place in 1936 The last crusade. 1937 (Hindenburg zepplin is a giveaway. ) temple of doom. 1935. Kingdom of the Crystal skull..1957. However, lost Ark is the true CLASSIC !!!.
Jewish legend says the prophet Jeremiah hid it just before the Babylonian conquest. But the old Ark of the Covenant appears in heaven, right at the end if Revelation chapter 11, IMMEADIATELY followed (chapter division badly inserted 12th century) by what the Early Church Fathers all agreed was the New Ark of the New Covenant is the Woman crowned with 12 stars, feet upon the moon, and who (personally) gives birth to "he who shall rule the Nations with a rod of iron", i.e., the Messiah, Jesus the Lamb of God. And who is this woman in heaven? Not the cleaning lady....
David Jones look up the archeological finds with Ron Wyatt. Red Sea crossing, ark of the covenant, Sodom and Gomora etc, and even the true mount Sinai. All the sites are still there :)
I think one thing you talked a bit here but REALLY needs to be talked about a lot when discussing the subtext of Spielberg's politics in the Indiana Jones trilogy is the part about how the Nazis WANTED people to think they were a uniform, unstoppable force that could squash anybody who got in their way. IE something that is more false than what some may think. The Nazis were DORKS. With a capital D. See, a common thing about fascism that may seem a bit odd to some, is that it's actually not something that tends to come from the ubermensch people picking up tools and starting this glorious rebirth of triumph that their propaganda would want you to believe. It's usually from a good chunk of the population (men in this case) that feel emasculated by society and seek a common purpose to regain the manhood they think they are either owed or should have. So they put on the bravado of being the rightful heirs to this glorious kingdom and put large emphasis on the other (ie the invasive pests, thin skinny weaklings, or stupid inferiors) in order make themselves feel superior. But the reality of course is that they're incredibly insecure childish bullies. Just look at their overall aesthetic. Wearing these overblown military uniforms, hanging out in castles and wanting their architecture to reflect ancient kingdoms, being obsessed with ancient symbols and believing in this philosophy that the hand of destiny or the heavens has gifted their race the destiny to conquer. Fascism, ESPECIALLY the Nazis, is kind of like when a genuine political movement able to gain power is crossed over with a bunch of insecure dorky larpers trying to convince themselves and others that they mean serious business. The political equivalent of the "We demand to be taken seriously." meme. Hitler for a case study was known for being a passionate speaker, riling people up for the cause, and successfully gaining political power, but behind the scenes from reports he was an extremely petty, emotionally brittle, and easily angered child who cared way too much about his PR, lashed out at people who knew better at what they were doing than him, and annoyed a lot of people behind closed doors. Downfall from 2004 arguably displays this a lot. And JoJo Rabbit made that a huge part of its own narrative. In fact, while Hitler did read a lot, some of his favorite reading material even throughout his adulthood included pulpy action adventure stories, sci-fi fare, and Tarzan stories that were considered kid's stuff back in the day. Many of those stories presented the image of the righteous, strong, masculine, and buff male hero rescuing his fair vulnerable damsel from the evil enemies that he and his crew wanted to be like in real-life. Many politicians overseas at first didn't take Adolf seriously because they thought his policies, image, and material were so childish that nobody would ever consider him a valid candidate. And of course when he and his crew gained power, while they were able to amass a big army and capture several nations that were either just as weak, or worse off throughout their conquest, they were so convinced of their own self-convictions that they underestimated what other super-powers could do in retaliation and they got their asses handed to them. If the Nazis were as amazing as they convinced themselves they were, they would have won the war. So if you ever find people online looking at current fascism in online circles and making comments like "Wow, what a bunch of incels...", "Larpers need to go home." or "Big boys playing like soldiers then retreating." that's actually may more reflective of old fascist movements than many may think. And through these movies, Spielberg is not just condemning the Nazis, what they believe in, and how they try to rob other cultures of the worth for their own selfish purposes, but they are ALSO trying to show the audience how they actually behaved, what the reason for their entire movement was based in, and how immature and petty they were in real life. "We Nazis are superior and will kick your ass! We will triumph and prevail with our destiny!" Spielberg: "Lol, no you all are twerps and got your asses kicked because you all believed too much in your own shitty fanfiction. Here's my REAL masculine hero, a college professor (ie an intellectual) who embraces diversity in his crew respects other cultures, and is humble before the powers of Judaic and Hindu powers kicking your asses and surviving while all of you grovel and have your faces blown up or melted the second shit hits the fan."
The central theme of the story is actually a character-based one; that Indy goes from a practical, atheistic archeologist to one who is finally exposed to, and believes in, the holy power of the Ark, by the film's end. Indy's adventure happens to coincide with a fictional moment when mankind manages to expose itself to God's wrath in modern history. To have the hero be saved, in a literal Deus Ex Machina ending, by God emerging from the Ark, rather than have the hero act to create the story resolution, is a departure from classical storytelling but it serves to make Indy a nobler, slightly more humble man at the end. A sub-theme to that is that the Nazi's did not worship God, as either atheists or even Satanists. Indy finds religious conviction just in time and tells Marion 'not to look' upon the essence of God's power. The Nazis dared to try to look God in the face, as is forbidden. They are literally cleansed from the earth for their blasphemy. It's actually one of the most religious endings to any modern movie, particularly within commercial filmmaking. But the Nazi Vengeance sub-theme you point out is also compelling. Thanks for a great video.
I think you misread the movie in my opinion, the Nazis actually are hyper religious, believing that their interpretation of religion is the true one, which is specifically why they exclusively hunted for what they viewed as Christian mystical artifacts, when in actuality they were disrespecting Jewish culture
Wonderfully done. My only critique is that in Inglorious Basterds; I do agree that we as the audience are suppose to initially like even admire the character of Hans Landa, but we are awarded with the last few shots of a swastika being engraved into his forehead. He may be charming he may presented nicely but in the end we know exactly where he stood between humanity and evil.
He's not even given the dignity of being the final thing we seem. Instead, we get a smirking Brad Pitt looking down at him with a bloodied knife. What's more, he reduces him to an object, Raine's 'masterpiece'. He's not a person anymore, he's an object, a possession.
If the Ark represents Jewish culture, then does it represent assimilation by the United States when the container disappears into museum archive warehouses? Your analyses are fantastic.
Has Spielberg ever given any interviews that validate your thesis? While I think the argument is compelling it could be overstating it a bit. It is possible to analyze to the point of authoring fan fiction. Did you go to film school?
Yea, it is the symbol of the so many Holocaust museums which do vindicate Jewish identity but give no idea of the humanist Mitteleuropa culture as epitomized by Austrian and German speaking Jews that was lost to the Nazi barbarity.
Well Nazis are great screen villains. Those two movies took place in the 1930s. I noticed that the Soviets got the same treatment in the latest film. After all, the Nazis were the “bad guys” in the years leading up to World War Il just as the Soviets were the “bad guys” during the Cold War.
For sure. Action movies often reflect the geopolitical conflict of the era they were made in. With Spielberg and Indiana Jones though, it feels a bit more intentional.
Soviets in 1920s America had their fanboys and detractors. Our first "Red scare" started in the 1880s or so, vis a vis Anarchists. There may have been a few Marxists, He was a German writer who died in 1885. The 1940s/50s were America's 3d Red Scare. I have Kulaks on the family tree, so little love for Socialism, Fascist or Soviet.
I remember watching Inglorious Basterds and thinking to myself it was Jewish revenge porn. Speilberg, as you say so well, did it much better, in all his war themed films.
The difference between the two is that Indiana Jones was not very in-your-face about it and that is what made Indiana Jones much better in comparison to Inglorious Bastards.
But in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg lays out to the people that the Nazis weren't defeated because they were humiliated, they were defeated after a very long, painful struggle that destroyed millions of lives, and that they did severe damage to the world, and we shouldn't soon forget that.
No it wasn't. When the Hebrews left Egypt they carried a lot of Egyptian culture with them. That's why the ark of the covenant looks so Egyptian. They copied Egyptian art because it was all they knew.
The golden calf was essentially a likeness of Amun the Egyptian creation god who makes the Ba and the Ka for each person on his Potter's wheel. Or not, I've only seen it in a movie.
@@chico305SIGMA actually if Jewish motifs/art are reminiscent of any cultures it would be ancient near eastern (Assyrian/Babylonian) and not Egyptian. They were in the ancient near east long before Egypt to the times of Abraham when he worshiped at the ziggurat of Ur. If you're referencing the movie version of the ark then that's where you've slipped; the only real motif described in detail on the real ark are the two Cherubims on the mercy seat of the ark. These are more similar to Assyrian Lamassu which guarded city gates rather than any of the deities or motifs of Egypt. Hope that helped clarify :)
I know I’m late to the party on this video but from a Jewish cinema lover, thank you. My grandfather and I love Spielberg and he was more important than some people realize. In fact after Schindlers List, a lot of people took a greater interest in the horrors of the holocaust and what actually happened. I know you probably won’t read this but thanks again.
Not quite, since the film is set a few years before the war, though had Belloq lived to see the occupation, it's fair to assume he wouldn't have run out and joined the resistance 😉
@@randypeppercorn1865 : Maybe he would have a change of heart, like Captain Renault (since we're talking about movies here). Although Renault, unlike Belloq, was at least a likable character all along (despite his crimes).
@@randypeppercorn1865True, but to be fair, France and Germany weren’t on friendly terms with each other for decades before this point, so Belloq’s actions in joining the Nazis are still scummy, especially since the Nazis have been committing atrocities for years before the film occurs.
Huh. Now I got more understanding on my favorite movies of all time from one of the best video essays I have ever seen! Enjoy the sub, and I'll enjoy the 5th movie when it is out in theatres next year! :D Also, cool fact: The Nazi uniforms worn during the book burning scene in Crusade are actually legitimate! The costume designer for the movie, Joanna Johnston, found them somewhere in Eastern Europe!
For some reason, I’ve always had respect for the second to last guy on the truck (in the chase scene in ROTLA) who shoots Indy in the arm. It stands out, and causes the scene’s tone to change.
The audience most likely would come to understand that the power of the Ark was from the normal western concept of God. However, Lucas says in the Raider’s story conference transcript that alien influence was the intent, and that the Ark is like a radio transmitter. “Our idea was that there must actually be some kind of super high-powered radio from one of Erick Von Daniken’s flying saucers,” Lucas said. “The fact that it’s electrical charges makes it vaguely believable ... supposedly it’s like a big trunk. It’s like a car generator that you crank and it goes... When they opened it up you had that sense of some kind of kinetic generator which creates a tremendous amount of static electricity. There are all these religious trappings and interesting mysteries and occult stuff.” There are subtle allusions to this theory in the film, although it is unlikely any audience member would interpret the Ark in the way Lucas described it. One of these allusions is when Indy meets with Army Intelligence. Major Eaton, one of the agents, refers to Indy as a “expert on the occult.” Moments later, Eaton again references that word - occult. The word choice suggests the ark may be paranormal or supernatural. When Belloq and Indy share a conversation at a Cairo bar. Belloq directly reference’s Lucas’ idea and tells Indy that the ark is a radio, a transmitter for speaking to god. Sallah, Indy’s friend in Cairo, warns Indy the Ark “is something that man was not meant to disturb. Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this earth.” (Does it have alien origins?) Indy does not necessarily come to believe that the ark’s power is from the Abrahamic god, I would argue, This is evident in what Indy says in the other Indiana Jones films. In the prequel to Raiders - Temple of Doom - Indy sees first-hand the power of the Hindu Sankara stones and these are not associated with the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths. Again, in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indy’s son, Mutt, looks at a drawing of an alien- like creature with a greatly elongated skull. Indy says the drawing was of a god. “God doesn’t look like that,” Mutt protests. “Depends on who your god is,” Indy retorts. Indy is a believer, but his belief is only that some mysterious things defy explanation. Indy has never seen a god. However, he has witnessed alien beings, along with interdimensional alien craft in the fourth film. The Ark may be alien technology, not a deity.
I like the ancient astronaut theory that he was going for in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,(it would make sense for anyone who studies ancient cultures to know about)but I thought it wasn't executed well enough to fit in the Indiana Jones universe and instead devided the artifacts as opposed to explaining them all.
Thats is exactly what I tought ever since. The whole ancient alien theory is even more present long before the fourth Film. In the (true part four in my eyes.) game fate of atlantis. From mayan legends, that tikal is built by man, that where no man and spaceport legend of the hyperborea in iceland. And if you Look at all the deformed bones in atlantis. The god machine itself in the core of the city looks alien, and all the carvings and technology in the city centre. With blinking lights. That would have been the darkest indy plot. With alien influence without the nessecerity to actualy show aliens as such.
The French State wasn’t even a puppet state until 1942 or 43 after Operation Case Anton. Petain was elected by the National Assembly of France and given emergency powers after the defeat. The Germans intended to do what the French did to the Germans at the end of World War I. That was to occupy the industrial half of the country until a formal peace treaty was signed at war’s end, Limit the size of their military. But we’re in some way less harsh when it came to letting them keep their navy (until case Anton), letting keep control of their colonies, and so on. The state still used the same anthem as the French Republic, still used the same flag, and just about everything else. The allies even saw Vichy France as a more legitimate state than the De Gaulle led Free France.
Vichy France was a puppet state for Nazi Germany to make it seem to the Allies that France had switched sides. It was also mostly inland because the Nazis wanted the coast to use ports and battleships
As a former (recovering) Catholic and current father of five, I told my children that Indy knows about history, legend, and power. He studies it and has respect for it even if he doesn’t at first believe. The villains (usually Nazis) always want to steal the power and use it, but they don’t have respect for it and it ultimately destroys them.
Great video, very spot on. So, referencing Umberto Eco‘s 14 common features of fascism, Spielberg uses the “fascist“ propaganda technique of the enemy being both weak and strong. 8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
my favourite scene is when Indy tosses the Natzi Gestapo guy out of Zeppelins window and yells everyone " NO TICKET" and then everyone is waiving their tickets.
Your comments about those characters that are on the side of the nazis for personal benefits made me remember of those rich people that during ww2 used to acuse to the nazis possible jew families for money.
Good retaliation against the Nazis, haven't you noticed the resurgence of the movement around the world and haven't you seen Trumps support base, wake the hell up.
This is great analysis. I grew up with these movies and it never occurred to me that this was what Spielberg was doing. Now the question remains as to what was his beef with South Asia to justify his portrayal of them in Temple of Doom.
If I ever create a live action adaptation of the 2001 Disney movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”, I’m setting it in the 1930s, have the Nazis as the antagonists, and use the three points Spielberg did for the Indiana Jones franchise.
I guess my first exposure to "Nazis" was Raiders, and the year before in 1980, Blues Brothers. In Blues Brothers it was American Nazis. And they met with a ridiculous comical death in that too. I never made the connection in my mind until now. Some really good points in your video essay. Thank you.
I'd probably have substituted Chaplin's The Great Dictator for Brooks' The Producers as an antecedent (as well as, of course, the kinds of adventure serials on which this series was based in the first place), but otherwise agree with you and Roger Ebert. I actually think you make a better case here than he did in his Raiders retrospective.
What a shock. The most influential Jewish man in Hollywood has a incredibly negative opinion of Nazis and their allies. This is unheard of. Spoilers, but literally the best thing about Dial of Destiny is watching the Nazis spend the whole movie trying to do a Man in the High Castle, and then watching them getting clowned on by bronze age Italians when their time machine overshoots.
Dial of Destiny was so much better than it had any right to be. Not only was it hella entertaining and treated Indiana's sentimental side wonderfully, but Mangold did a backhanded insult to fascism via having the Roman Empire, aka the civilization Nazi Germany loved and fetishized, be the ones who kill the fascists as the villain tries to create a mythological past that could never happen to begin with. God I love Indy 5.
Good video -- I've heard WWII veterans complain about war movies for always making the Nazis look inept, dumb, and easily defeated as opposed to the incredibly well-organized and smart enemy they were in reality.
That's kinda odd, I thought that they will like trashing on the Nazis since lots of the Allied Powers basically demonized the Nazis from the moment of war and just make them look bad in what they did to cost so many lives to be lost in the war.
Holy shit, you deserve tons more subscribers, man! Thanks very very much for sharing this perspective on the Indiana Jones films x Edit: I also have to add that the script of this video essay wonderfully succinct and eloquent. It was a joy to listen to.
It would’ve been cool if Indy went against the WW2 Tojo ere Japanese for a mythical Asian relic and was reunited with Short Round as a sidekick again in another Indy movie.
Im never one to turn down a good mocking of Nazis be it Indiana Jones, Mel Brooke or the movie Jojo Rabbit. As long as the mockery is aimed at the Nazis and not those they sought to destroy.
I worked at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1980 to 1991. There was a professor there who was said to be the model for Indiana Jones. His name was Walter Fairservis. He died in the late 80s. I imagine he's based on maybe him and maybe others.
11:36 If I may offer a counterpoint on Landa, while yes he wears a Nazi uniform and works for the Nazis, he himself isn't technically one. Nazism is a system of beliefs and those who follow said beliefs are Nazis. And there in lies the difference with Landa, he himself flat out states he doesn't believe in the Nazi dogma, He's more akin to a mercenary. He works for whoever will pay him the most or offer him the most protection, hence why he had no problem abandoning the Reich the second someone made him a better offer. He was never a Nazi, hence the reason why he's so different from the rest of the group. He knows the Nazis are idiots and is playing them for fools.
You make a good point but there were plenty of Nazis who weren’t ideological but pure opportunists. History still judges these people as Nazis however since they willingly went along with everything so long as it meant they benefited from it. The basterds left their mark on him at the end because he was still a Nazi in their eyes regardless of what he had done to end the war. Keep in mind at the beginning of the film he explains his disdain for Jews to the farmer before he ordered his men to shoot the family under the house so idk if mercenary is the right word to describe him.
@@DukeofLorraine Honestly, I think the vast majority of what Landa said was a lie. Really what reason does he have to hate Jews other than because he's playing the part of a Nazi. He's kind of like King Schultz from Django Unchained, playing a character in order to get to his targets or hide in plain sight. Also I don't think the Basterds are really the best people to take at their word, since they are shown to be blood hungry and pretty insane.
Interesting video and a well-argued film analysis, but I don’t know if the central thesis was quite as purposeful on the part of the film-makers as suggested here back when they were making the films. I really think they were just trying to make a fun rollicking adventure in the spirit of the old serials they grew up watching as kids. Let’s not forget it was George Lucas, who isn’t Jewish, who decided against making it himself and brought the idea to Kasdan and Spielberg, selling the latter on the idea by saying this was a way he could make his own version of a James Bond film. There’s nothing really there in the backstory of how this film came to be that suggests there was a conscious effort on the part of Jewish film-makers to avenge the horrors of the Holocaust. Furthermore, Spielberg has even said that after he made Schindler’s List, with the severity of the Holocaust now even more apparent to him, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to go back and portray Nazis in quite the same light and flippant manner as he had done so in the Indiana Jones films. That being said, his newfound and matured outlook on the matter didn’t seem to extend to the Soviet antagonists in the 4th film, as he gave them a similar treatment as the “baddies” in the earlier Indy movies. But despite offering these counterpoints to your main argument, I still want to say well done on providing a good, thought-provoking analysis of this franchise.
Thats exactly correct. Indiana 'Smith', later 'Jones' was Lucas's concept. The idea to include the Arc of the Covenant was Philip Kaufman's idea, way before Spielberg was involved in the project.
Loved the video! I was curious about your thoughts on the depiction of Nazis in The Blues Brothers. In a film where the Nazis only play one incompetent group amongst a slew of the Blues' antagonists, what message would they be trying to portray, other than "look at these idiots amongst all these other idiots?"
Thanks, Emily! Truth be told, I haven't watched The Blues Brothers since I was probably 13 so I don't think I'm really in a place to discuss it intellectually. That said, your reading seems accurate to me. I think it's mockery might be less effective than that in Indiana Jones simply because it isn't as focused, but I do think that a critique is there.
The characters in _Blues Brothers_ weren't Nazis, but neo-Nazis. In fact, they were based on a specific neo-Nazi group that won a free-speech case allowing them to hold rallies in the Chicago park shown in the movie (and more famously in the Chicago suburb of Skokie). Portraying neo-Nazis as simple buffoons is more justifiable, in my humble opinion. It's not something in the past that you can portray accurately from a distance, but something in the present that you want to make look unattractive.
Great analysis, but you're missing two key points. First of all, Landa's build-up was somehow empowering, but ultimately he is revealed to be an opportunist, just as many real people inside the Nazi party, such as von Braun. He does not care about ideology, all he wants is to be in the spotlight and in the end he gets the worst spotlight he could possibly think of, which IMO is such an excellent payoff it cancels all of the favorizing set-up. His cunning is meant to represent Nazi manipulation, which caught Western Europe in an appeasement stalemate in the 30s. After all, he is build up to be an interesting and realistic villain. Indiana Jones presents a pre-war prespective on Nazis -- always losing, incompetent buffoons -- exactly the same perspectieve that lead to appeasment. Inglorious Basterds show that underestimating Nazis and their allies leads to the sharing the fate of Bridget and at the same time punishes collaboration during the climax. Secondly, Saving Private Ryan does not depict cartoonish Nazi deaths because it is a war movie and not every 'German' soldiers was a Nazi. There is a powerfull scene where two Czech soldiers surrender to the Rangers and are shot immediately because the soldiers 'did not understand'. This showcases the often forgotten aspect in Western cinema, which is the enslavement and holocaust of Eastern Europe. Men from annexed teritorries were drafted into the military with their families basically taken hostage. This was a desperate, temporary solution in the final years of WWII, because previously all the Slavic nations were meant to be anihilated or dehumanized among the Jews and Romani. Getting rid of such subtle moments would change the meaning of the movie, suggesting that war against the Nazis is some kind of a fun family friendly adventure where the good guys always win, not a true horror for both sides. While anti-Nazi power fantasy is always fun to watch, it is not really a pinnacle of creative writing and is not appropriate for some generes, especially ones that rely heavily on good characters and interesting plot.
I don't think Toht is burned by a Jewish artifact, as you suggest. It is an Egyptian artifact that points out where the Egyptians buried the arc, right?
Fascinating insights and an excellent video. Spielberg was clearly inspired by the story and character, which he helped outline with Lucas. There are two important contributors who should also be mentioned, as they brought a Jewish perspective as well. Writer-Director Philip Kaufman suggested the Ark of the Covenant to Lucas in the first place and Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the screenplay based on Spielberg's and Lucas' treatment. From Wikipedia: In 1981, Kaufman became involved with the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he received story credit. The character of Indiana Jones was created by George Lucas and Kaufman came up with the story about the pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant.[3].
Great video, so well-edited. Some channels throw together clips that don't match the narration, others pause the narration to allow the on screen dialogue to run and prove the point. This one just shows the scenes with the situations and lines that we all know by heart, and it matches the video essay perfectly. I also love that someone finally pointed out the fundamental problem with Inglorious Basterds which I always felt was so overrated and unwatchable but never could explain why.
My man, not to dog you out but you got two very big things wrong. 1. The Ark was not built while the Hebrews were in exile. They were instructed to build it at Mt. Sinai shortly after their captivity. They were 100% free and going to Canaan. They weren’t even punished to wander for 40 years yet. 2. It’s well established that the Ark isn’t powerful in and of itself in both the Bible and Raiders. In the context of Raiders, “good God!” “Yes that’s what the Hebrews said” “power of God” are all quotes said in the military intelligence meeting. While one could interpret that as being hyperbolic it’s clear the authors want you to believe the Ark is the biblical ark and holds the same properties.
@L0l C0Wz Sure, but there is a theory that God exists outside of time, seeing the timeline in its entirety. If that is true, He knew already what was coming and exacted judgement for their acts, both then and future.
Facts I was literally today years old when it occurred to me how arrogant the Nazis in Raiders were in thinking a Jewish historical artifact would give them power or an advantage in the battlefield Just barmy!
The German soldiers were smote down by the wrath of God at the end of Raiders, and in Crusade, Elsa falls down a chasm, whereas Donovan chose the wrong cup. These deaths are among the most satisfying in cinema.
Fascinating. Correct that colluding with such an evil force for your own ends but insisting you're not really one of them does not absolve you of guilt.
4:10 I have some notes about this part which might be interesting. My thoughts behind why Indy says "Shield your eyes" I think, pulls from traditions mentioned in scripture. Exodus 25 outlines The LORD's instructions to Moses about how to craft the ark of the covenant and how it is to be handled. An important point is to note that he instructed them to put the handles on, and told them that they were not to be removed. The sub-context here is that the ark was only to be handled by using the inserted handles, rather than to touch the ark itself. As far as handling the ark, in 2 Samuel 6 we see an example of a mis-handling of the ark, resulting in God's judgement, which cost the life of a person. God has instructed them to carry the ark by hand, with rods threaded through rings mounted on the ark itself. He had called Israel to be holy, set apart from the nations around them. They come in, then, handling the ark as if it's a load of bricks, on a donkey cart, rather than taking the ark (representative of God's presence with them) by hand as instructed. Because of their mishandling of this, God judged them and one of the men died. Under the old covenant God set up a system by which the Israelites could atone for wrongdoing. But then Jesus came and made atonement for us, perfecting the system of atonement, paying the price so that we can live in heaven with him one day. We just have to accept him and repent, asking for forgiveness for our sins and we will be made new.
This is fantastically done. Great description and contextualising but also useful as a reference work for teachers when focusing on political symbolism. Congrats.
Good analysis. Though, the headpiece of the staff of Ra is actually an Egyptian artifact. According to the movie, the ancient Egyptians stole the ark and brought it back to Egypt.
Ebert expanded on this theme in his Great Movies essay on "Raiders of the Lost Ark", adding that this more serious underlying theme is what makes the Indiana Jones films more than just a damn good adventure yarn.
I see your point on this although in the case of the end of raiders of the lost ark the ghostly figures are a depiction of god and you cannot look in the face of god and live
I am not in any way a violent or aggressive person. Argumentative, sure, but I have never felt like resorting to laying hands on someone. I don't even like watching boxing or other martial sports. But Nazis getting punched in the face by Harrison Ford? Yeah, I dig it.
Important to note that Hans Landa was not an ardent Nazi, and he would've been classified as a Walter Donovan or Belloq type. He just used the rank and file of the regime to achieve his own ends. Evil characters do need to display some sort of competence and that adds to their menace.
Fun fact: My dad was one of the Nazi’s that was marching during the book burning scene because he was in the airforce and they needed people who could march. So most of those Nazi’s are US airmen
Lol I thought you meant your dad was literally one of the Nazis and I was like why are you saying this proudly
talk about irony xD
@@Empyrean55 I was gonna say that too XD
Jace Face I'd be proud of that.
Using soldiers to depict Nazis seems to have been quite common. In this soviet film ruclips.net/video/pBojdyXr9E8/видео.html one of the crew members wanted to bring his family to play Nazi guards, but the director looked at it and said "Why do we have Jews guarding gestapo" and Spetsnaz guys were chosen instead.
Indiana Jones is not a meathead muscled action hero. I always thought this was part of his appeal. The way he wins at the end of Raiders is not his brawn, but his brains. In fact most of his iconic victories are due to his knowledge and his quick wits rather than his strength (sword vs gun anyone?).
I think that may be an appeal of Fate of Atlantis. Sure, you can take a path that requires A LOT of fighting (Fists Path), but even then the game encourages you to take more thought-out and well-calculated plans to deal with the Nazis. Instead of just going up and fighting some, hide behind a stone slab and get their attention. And when they're in front of the slab, push it on them. Or use a broken stalagtite to impale a soldier below you, and use a boulder to take out the macho man. Putting Indiana Jones in a Secret of Money Island Point and Click adventure MAY have seen absolutely ridiculous, but when you take a closer look at Indy, it's no reason why it ended up being one of the best adventure games ever made.
Interestingly, that sword vs gun scene was not written that way. Harrison Ford came down with food poisoning, and didn't have the stamina to shoot the intended whip vs sword scene. Spielberg mockingly suggested "just shooting him" which evoked giggles around the crew, which made him decide to actually shoot it.
The importance of his brains is probably one reason he was written as a professor.
Indiana really didn’t do anything in that movie tho, the Nazis still would’ve died even without Indiana jones. The only thing he did was save the chick by telling her to not look.
"The pen is mightier than the sword"
Indie:"I don't believe in magic hocus pocus"
Indie a year earlier: *Witnessed someones heart pulled out with fingertips and was put under multiple curses causing him pain and putting him in a slave-like cultist trance*
Brain damage from all the blows to the head, perhaps
That quote was from the first move about the Arc of the Covenant.
That said, "Temple of Doom" was supposed to have taken place a year before "Raiders of the Lost Ark".
@@nvbproductions6881 Yes, but Temple of Doom is chronologically set before Raiders of the Lost Ark
He learned the hard way.
It's even deeper. In the Torah, the high priest Eli's sons also tried to weaponize the ark, and they both died in battle.
The Philistines then capture the ark and also try to weaponize, but not only do they fail, the statue of Dagon the ark was placed in front of collapses.
Basically, according to Jewish tradition, the ark has been kicking ass for thousands of years
THIS!
the ark couldnt even be toutched by people not levites, priest were the only one who could crarry it
It's been a while since I read that part, but didn't it cause so many problems for the philistines that they gave it back to Israel?
Just to clarify the biblical story, it can be found in early chapters of 1 Samuel. Eli's sons dying in battle was God's judgement on them cos they slept around with women who weren't their wives and took advantage of people trying to worship God properly in the tabernacle, also having contempt on God's offerings by essentially stealing God's portions and threatening to take them by force if someone called them out on it. God also had Eli himself die for not doing anything about this.
People who touched the ark died not because the ark killed them, but because the ark was holy and was not to be touched. God killed anyone who defiled it by touching it. I believe the reason the Israelites lost the ark at that time is because they treated it like some kind of relic to go before them in battle, saying 'the ark will save us' rather than 'our God, whose throne this ark is, will save us'. And yes, because the Philisines had taken it, God put plagues on them until they realised not to mess with it. So they sent it back.
@@wrenchinator9715Yes then there was some Israelites who thought it was a good idea to open the Ark. I assume since we are all Indiana Jones fans that we know what happened. Maybe not face melting though.
Even if I love inglorious basterds, I would say the actions against the nazis feels more like revenge fantasy than anything else. In indiana jones tales, the vengeance is better integrated in the history in a more meaningful way.
Gret video.
I should say that I also love Basterds. In fact I think that film does a brilliant job exploring cinema's role in regards to German history. But in terms of dismantling Nazi authority, Indy is still king.
Thanks for your support, as always.
That's actually the point of that movie sort of...remember in the beginning he said what the difference between a rat and a squirrel?
@@EyebrowCinema agreed, I saw a film review stating that one of the messages in Inglourious Basterds is "Cinema is what killed the Nazis." In the aspect, that yes soldiers historically fought and defeated the Nazis, but what prolonged the belief that Nazis were evil were the countless movies portraying them as villains during the post-WWII era. It's the reason Lt. Archie Hicox is chosen for Operation Kino b/c he was a film critic, Bridget Von Hammersmark was an actor, Shoshanna owns a movie theater, and both Goebbels and Hitler are villains for their racist propaganda.
I remember hearing somewhere that Inglourious basterds is laughing at your face because in the beginning of the movie the nazi's were watching a propaganda film where they were all brutally killed and the theater all laughed but then, you watch the same exact thing and turn a blind eye. So in a way it's saying you're just as bad as them
@@jellyjub1690 hmm, i have to rewatch that movie.
Spielberg later publicly expressed regret at the caricature of the Nazis in the Indiana Jones movies. I remember him talking about it in an interview back in the day. Here is a quote from a New York Times piece from 1993: "Mr. Spielberg recalled that "when we were making 'Schindler,' Liam came up to me one day and asked me if I could ever make another Indiana Jones movie where the Nazis are cartoon villains. I said, 'Never, never.'"
I do understand how he might feel guilty over time with how much he made the Nazi's look like baffoons in Indiana Jones. But at the same time, tonally I think it works considering the series is a homage to serial action films where that tone fits, as oppose to Schindler's List which displays the Nazis in a much, much more horrible and inhumane light.
There's a time to portrait nazis as a monstrous threat and a time to portrait them as bumbling buffoons; it doesn't have to be one or the other. And the Soviets defiinitely didn't work as well as cartoon villains in Crystal Skull.
@@r1g0r_m0rt1s It didn't work as well. All throughout that film, I kept thinking "This would have been so much better with nazis".
@@ArkadiBolschek Yeah nazis just make for better villains every time. They got that evil vibe to them nobody else does
@@ArkadiBolschek I think the Russians could've worked. I think the issue is Russians were the villains for most of the late 20th century, and it was just getting boring.
For some reason, Nazis are more fun.
Wait, the scene where the Ark kills the Nazis ruins the film to some?! OK...
If anything, this scene can be seen as showing of how resourceful Indie is. Maybe these Nazis didn’t die by his hands, but he still played them. Indie knew how to act in that situation and got off unscathed. That scene was a dynamical equivalent of stepping away from the railtrack and not telling your enemy about the incoming train.
And it really works quite well as a scathing critique and mockery of the Nazi's. Here is the thing about Nazi's, they weren't just evil and cruel on a biblical proportion, they were also incompetent morons. They built large mega tanks bigger than that of any of their opponents! That crumbled under their own weight the moment they entered the battlefield... The making of the V2 rocket killed way more people than the V2 rocket ever did in the war.
So it is only fitting that the ark kills the Nazi's in the end, because it is only appropriate that the nazi's would have destroyed themselves with or without Indiana Jones. Which is why the Indiana Jones movies will always have the best nazi's, because they are as dumb as they are vile.
yes I've also viewed it as such
Even more than that- its a thematic restatement of the Airplane Fight which foreshadows the ending. Indie can't defeat his enemy with his fists or strength, but hes cunning and knows his weaknesses.. and when to stand out of the way of a propeller/opened Ark of the Covenant!
People sometimes say that it's a plot hole that the nazis finding and opening the ark would have happened without Indy's involvement.
In fact, I now see that it's symbolic of how the nazis had sealed their own fate and were doomed from the start.
Like the above comment says, kind of like how the Nazis pretty much sealed their own fate in WW2 in real life - through their own arrogance and sense of invincibility. They started a huge war with three major world powers - USA, USSR and the British Empire - which they could never possibly win, most especially after invading the second of those three, and massively pissing off so much of the rest of the world with their acts of warmongering and genocide, thus creating a desire for vengeance against them.
A good definition of a Nazi is someone who embraces death and destruction, and is thus the architect of their own death and destruction.
A detail I never noticed until I was older, was that in the Last Crusade, when Donavan is negotiating with the shah, he offers gold "donated from some of the finest families in Germany".
Only later did I know that it was meant to be gold seized from Jewish people.
Could’ve been both.
I always loved that line. Subtle reference to the white-washing of dictatorships like the Nazis.
It was actually supposed to be the a line about treasures being stolen from the finest Jewish families in Germany. My guess is they changed it, because they thought it was too on the nose. I like that the opening of Dial of Destiny references this.
The ark can’t be punishing the nazis for the holocaust. It’s 1936, the holocaust hasn’t happened yet
RIP Sean Connery, amazing actor whom will always be remembered.
@subliminal juggernaut played Henry Jones.
Right?! He'll always be THE James Bond. Also loved his work in A Bridge Too Far.
an open handed shlap ish jushtified.
@@obiwankenobi9141 yeahhhhhh, don't know if I can ever like him after I found that out...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was one of series of awesome movies Sean Connery did in the 80ies, including The Untouchables and The Name of the Rose.
Steven Spielberg - The face of Jewish vengeance
*laughs in Mel Brooks*
This needs *a lot more* likes.
Fair enough, though he is referenced explicitly in the video.
@Nature and Physics Your Schwartz is almost as big as mine!
Owning hollywood
I don't know if Mel Brooks ever killed any Nazis himself, but he helped make sure the Nazis didn't kill more Americans by defusing landmines. :)
"As a man I've always felt Irish, as an actor I've always felt Jewish." - Harrison Ford
He says so much, with so few words.
Yes, an interesting comment. Paul Newman said he preferred Judism because it was more challenging.....
He plays the stubborn rebel well. Id consider him honorary by even our orthodox standards
@@velnz5475 What do you mean by Othodox standards? Does Orthodox Judaism have anything against gentiles?
Harrison Ford is 1/4 Jewish. Not too shabby.
Harrison Ford is half Jewish
Damn I already knew Raiders and Crusades were masterpieces, but this is such an interesting analysis into them. Never thought about the reason why the main antagonists were collaborators rather than simple Nazis. Superb work
A big factor motivating me to make this video was love for Raiders and Crusade, and a desire to demonstrate a hidden aspect that helps make them great.
I'm Jewish. I love the Indiana Jones movies and I have always viewed the Indy films as Spielberg's revenge fantasy. It was never lost on me that Harrison Ford was part Jewish, and I always interpreted the ending as God himself punishing the Nazis. I'm also a film aficionado but never noticed how the films use their cinematic language to mock the Nazis and rob them of their power. You lay out a wonderful case here, Eyebrow Cinema.
@@EyebrowCinema Maybe Spielberg could maybe do more of that in the new Indiana Jones coming out next year.
@@fredthegnome489sadly Spielberg won’t be directing the new one instead it’s the director of Logan
“They’re losers for the hero to dunk on” God I wish there was a history textbook that had that phrase in it
It took 3 global empires to take down one country smaller than Texas
Perfect description of the Nazis in the Indiana Jones franchise
Persian Gulf War in a nutshell
@@nathan3710 Germany was not smaller than Texas during WWII.
@@nathan3710 A country that was rapidly militarising and mobilising the an era where the world had just cooled off from what more believed at the time would be the last war humanity would ever fight.
Given that, it should be clearer why the populace of most countries chose appeasement or temporary pacts instead of flinging themselves into. Another war.
Excellent video. To put it in even more perspective, Raiders was filmed just 35 years after WWII, so it was something that Spielberg’s own parents had lived through and I’m sure he heard a lot of stories from his family growing up. It’s kind of weird that Raiders is now closer in time to WWII than to present day!
Oh, and this video earned you a sub.
Thanks for your insight and your subscription! Cheers.
Random fun fact: Steven's father actually lived to be 103 years old.
Yes he has stated he heard a lot about both WWII and the Holocaust from his parents while he was growing up
true. Wait I just realized that most of the actors for that film were older then him. Literally even the main star Harrison Ford was older then him by like 6 years.
I suppose we should also mention that the person who wrote the screenplay was also Jewish(Laurence Kasdan). He must also had an influence.
And the director, produced and main actor
@@charlesdavison57 Don't forget about the President and CEO of the films distributor Paramount pictures, Michael Eisner.
@@americanstruggler587 there are dozens of us
@@charlesdavison57 yes, not many people know Harrison Ford is half Jewish
@Thorne Harrison Ford. He's Jewish. Well half anyway.
Elsa describes herself as Austrian, rather than German, and the film is set in 1938, the year of the Anschluss, after which the Nazi government very deliberately removed the name "Austria" from the map, renaming the region as "Ostmark", and the provinces of Lower and Upper Austria as Lower and Upper Danube. I don't know if that's intended to be significant or not, but until relatively recently (and I think probably at the time "Crusade" was released, the narrative of Austria having been Hitler's first victim, rather than a willing participatn, was strong. Perhaps Spielberg is critiquing that, suggesting that Elsa sees herself as a victim of Nazism rather than a participant - hence her continued use of "Austrian" rather than embracing a "greater German" identity.
Or perhaps I'm just talking bollocks.
I had forgotten that she calls herself Austrian but that's a really good point. I kind of hope it was the intention cause that is completely scathing
The myth that Austria was a "victim" of Nazism is a myth. Austria greatly profited from the Third Reich and lots of prominent nazis ringleaders were austrians
"The first country the Nazis invaded was their own." - Dr. Abraham Erskine, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
There's a semi-obscure film theory I'm fond of, which is interesting in this context: What if Belloq was a Jew? It's not impossible, and there are some interesting hints towards it. Like, in the bar scene, he appears to be a sincere believer in God, and sees the Ark as a means of contacting God. Why would someone like Belloq, who knows he is iniquitous, want to talk to God? Also, it sure was easy for him to find that Rabbinical outfit and everything else for the Ark opening ritual, not to mention reading and speaking fluent Hebrew.
The full argument for Belloq being a Jew is pretty long (and with way too much discussion of a liquor bottle), but skipping ahead, this makes Belloq so much more interesting as an antagonist by giving him a clear and very relateable motivation. In the film, he never spells out his motivations, although in the bar scene he seems to be dancing around the idea of opening up to Indy. What if his plan all along was to steal the Ark - a favorite tactic - and use it as a weapon to save his people? What *wouldn't* a person do, to prevent the oppression and murder of millions? Even the deaths of Indy and Marion, which he does seem a bit upset about, would be arguably justified from that perspective.
And then basically, the ritual actually happened exactly as Belloq had hoped... except for the part where God judges him unworthy and smites him along with everyone else. Whoops.
If he was truly Jewish then he would know only the high priest can open the ark, and only for an hour during a specific prayer once a year. Also, he would've known that to wear that version of the high priest garb is not even worn on the one day he can open the ark, so...
Also, there's a whole section of the mishnah that he's apparently just ignoring, which I doubt, cause if he were truly Jewish, then having gone through all that trouble he probably would've been well versed, cause non religious Jews wouldn't have bothered doing stuff like that in the first place
Very late to the party, but I don't think Belloq was. If he was Jewish, he'd be truly vile as a traitor to his people, as it were. As it is, he's vile in that he's a quisling, a traitor-collaborator with the Nazis. re: the second paragraph, he's very open about why he wants the Ark. (Paraphrasing?) "It's a transmitter for talking to God." That's what Belloq wants. He wants not only to talk to God, but to be God, in a sense. And he's willing to do whatever it takes in order to achieve his goal.
As for putting on the Jewish priest's garb, he's simply following the standard of the religion, which I'm sure he studied and knew about. He wanted everything to go right in summoning the power of the Ark, not because he believed in the religion, but because he wanted the power that it held.
And, of course, he got blown up real good at the end, and his allies got melted. Bottom line: never mess with an angry God.
Ever.
Nice job, Jason. Belloq's List. A kind of shitty guy decided the only way to stop the coming Nazi purge of Jews was to get a hold of the Ark. That means he would be ok with it destroying Toht and the other Nazis. And he always spared Indy, perhaps realizing he is a good man and didn't want God's judgement against him. He may have thought the robes would protect him, while his collaborators were immediately destroyed. Leaving him. Indy and Marion in charge. He probably would have still been a dick , but the first time able to speak openly, would admit his plan of Jewish vengeance. I like it. Not a complete bad guy like Magneto. Has a plan.
@@NickNuiGames at the end of the day... Belloq was a damn scumbag and he's a brilliant character. The way him and Indy standoff with the Panzerfaust is such a great exchange for him. He was until this day and likely until the end of time, the greatest Indy villain.
@@jessfrankel5212 First Testament God is just pissed man. You really don't want to mess up his day, because he'll mess up you life!
He saved some hate for the Soviets too.
A true American hero.
Yeah, but it was in that crappy movie everyone's trying to forget
Alex Fernández it’s definitely the least of the four, but it’s still a good installment imo
@@alexfernandez882 no
@@Luka2000_ yes
My first favorite action hero as a kid was Indy. Now, over 20 years later, I'm still finding more and more to love about the movies.
If I remember correctly, Elsa was Austrian, so maybe she also represents how willingly Austria joined with Nazi Germany during the Anschluss.
And that SOMEONE was indeed an Austrian.
This is legitimately one of the best video essays I've ever seen, keep it up my guy
Thanks, Shitpost Wizard Xtraordinaire. I appreciate the support.
Taika Waititi: Write that down! Write that down!
Good point. I would enjoy an analysis of JoJo Rabbit by this RUclipsr!
I think he did an excellent job of combining comedy with the very real horrors. I wish he had leaned into the latter a bit more.
The knights Templars are the ones who hid the ark of the covenant. Ironically it is probably somewhere in Germany.
Raiders took place in 1936
The last crusade. 1937 (Hindenburg zepplin is a giveaway. ) temple of doom. 1935. Kingdom of the Crystal skull..1957. However, lost Ark is the true CLASSIC !!!.
It's a myth, as was moses, as was the exodus.
che knecht I thought the ark of the covenant is currently in some church in Ethiopia
Jewish legend says the prophet Jeremiah hid it just before the Babylonian conquest.
But the old Ark of the Covenant appears in heaven, right at the end if Revelation chapter 11, IMMEADIATELY followed (chapter division badly inserted 12th century) by what the Early Church Fathers all agreed was the New Ark of the New Covenant is the Woman crowned with 12 stars, feet upon the moon, and who (personally) gives birth to "he who shall rule the Nations with a rod of iron", i.e., the Messiah, Jesus the Lamb of God.
And who is this woman in heaven? Not the cleaning lady....
David Jones look up the archeological finds with Ron Wyatt. Red Sea crossing, ark of the covenant, Sodom and Gomora etc, and even the true mount Sinai. All the sites are still there :)
I think one thing you talked a bit here but REALLY needs to be talked about a lot when discussing the subtext of Spielberg's politics in the Indiana Jones trilogy is the part about how the Nazis WANTED people to think they were a uniform, unstoppable force that could squash anybody who got in their way. IE something that is more false than what some may think. The Nazis were DORKS. With a capital D.
See, a common thing about fascism that may seem a bit odd to some, is that it's actually not something that tends to come from the ubermensch people picking up tools and starting this glorious rebirth of triumph that their propaganda would want you to believe. It's usually from a good chunk of the population (men in this case) that feel emasculated by society and seek a common purpose to regain the manhood they think they are either owed or should have. So they put on the bravado of being the rightful heirs to this glorious kingdom and put large emphasis on the other (ie the invasive pests, thin skinny weaklings, or stupid inferiors) in order make themselves feel superior. But the reality of course is that they're incredibly insecure childish bullies. Just look at their overall aesthetic. Wearing these overblown military uniforms, hanging out in castles and wanting their architecture to reflect ancient kingdoms, being obsessed with ancient symbols and believing in this philosophy that the hand of destiny or the heavens has gifted their race the destiny to conquer. Fascism, ESPECIALLY the Nazis, is kind of like when a genuine political movement able to gain power is crossed over with a bunch of insecure dorky larpers trying to convince themselves and others that they mean serious business. The political equivalent of the "We demand to be taken seriously." meme.
Hitler for a case study was known for being a passionate speaker, riling people up for the cause, and successfully gaining political power, but behind the scenes from reports he was an extremely petty, emotionally brittle, and easily angered child who cared way too much about his PR, lashed out at people who knew better at what they were doing than him, and annoyed a lot of people behind closed doors. Downfall from 2004 arguably displays this a lot. And JoJo Rabbit made that a huge part of its own narrative. In fact, while Hitler did read a lot, some of his favorite reading material even throughout his adulthood included pulpy action adventure stories, sci-fi fare, and Tarzan stories that were considered kid's stuff back in the day. Many of those stories presented the image of the righteous, strong, masculine, and buff male hero rescuing his fair vulnerable damsel from the evil enemies that he and his crew wanted to be like in real-life. Many politicians overseas at first didn't take Adolf seriously because they thought his policies, image, and material were so childish that nobody would ever consider him a valid candidate. And of course when he and his crew gained power, while they were able to amass a big army and capture several nations that were either just as weak, or worse off throughout their conquest, they were so convinced of their own self-convictions that they underestimated what other super-powers could do in retaliation and they got their asses handed to them. If the Nazis were as amazing as they convinced themselves they were, they would have won the war.
So if you ever find people online looking at current fascism in online circles and making comments like "Wow, what a bunch of incels...", "Larpers need to go home." or "Big boys playing like soldiers then retreating." that's actually may more reflective of old fascist movements than many may think.
And through these movies, Spielberg is not just condemning the Nazis, what they believe in, and how they try to rob other cultures of the worth for their own selfish purposes, but they are ALSO trying to show the audience how they actually behaved, what the reason for their entire movement was based in, and how immature and petty they were in real life.
"We Nazis are superior and will kick your ass! We will triumph and prevail with our destiny!"
Spielberg: "Lol, no you all are twerps and got your asses kicked because you all believed too much in your own shitty fanfiction. Here's my REAL masculine hero, a college professor (ie an intellectual) who embraces diversity in his crew respects other cultures, and is humble before the powers of Judaic and Hindu powers kicking your asses and surviving while all of you grovel and have your faces blown up or melted the second shit hits the fan."
Excellent points here.
This is such a great way of looking at it.
A bit late but I absolutely love this (as well as the video).
Based
In summary ruclips.net/video/I1583adUqSg/видео.html
The central theme of the story is actually a character-based one; that Indy goes from a practical, atheistic archeologist to one who is finally exposed to, and believes in, the holy power of the Ark, by the film's end. Indy's adventure happens to coincide with a fictional moment when mankind manages to expose itself to God's wrath in modern history. To have the hero be saved, in a literal Deus Ex Machina ending, by God emerging from the Ark, rather than have the hero act to create the story resolution, is a departure from classical storytelling but it serves to make Indy a nobler, slightly more humble man at the end. A sub-theme to that is that the Nazi's did not worship God, as either atheists or even Satanists. Indy finds religious conviction just in time and tells Marion 'not to look' upon the essence of God's power. The Nazis dared to try to look God in the face, as is forbidden. They are literally cleansed from the earth for their blasphemy. It's actually one of the most religious endings to any modern movie, particularly within commercial filmmaking. But the Nazi Vengeance sub-theme you point out is also compelling. Thanks for a great video.
I think you misread the movie in my opinion, the Nazis actually are hyper religious, believing that their interpretation of religion is the true one, which is specifically why they exclusively hunted for what they viewed as Christian mystical artifacts, when in actuality they were disrespecting Jewish culture
Wonderfully done. My only critique is that in Inglorious Basterds; I do agree that we as the audience are suppose to initially like even admire the character of Hans Landa, but we are awarded with the last few shots of a swastika being engraved into his forehead. He may be charming he may presented nicely but in the end we know exactly where he stood between humanity and evil.
more than just being marked as a nazi, he is also shown screaming like a child, and totally breaks any cool factor he might have had
He's not even given the dignity of being the final thing we seem. Instead, we get a smirking Brad Pitt looking down at him with a bloodied knife. What's more, he reduces him to an object, Raine's 'masterpiece'. He's not a person anymore, he's an object, a possession.
3:40 This one line burned itself into my mind when I first watched this movie, even as a kid it's deeper meaning was not lost on me
If the Ark represents Jewish culture, then does it represent assimilation by the United States when the container disappears into museum archive warehouses? Your analyses are fantastic.
Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that, but I think that's an excellent reading.
Has Spielberg ever given any interviews that validate your thesis? While I think the argument is compelling it could be overstating it a bit. It is possible to analyze to the point of authoring fan fiction. Did you go to film school?
Yea, it is the symbol of the so many Holocaust museums which do vindicate Jewish identity but give no idea of the humanist Mitteleuropa culture as epitomized by Austrian and German speaking Jews that was lost to the Nazi barbarity.
fun fact: for indiana jones and the temple of doom my uncle was one of the kids at the end who was running on the table.
Well Nazis are great screen villains. Those two movies took place in the 1930s. I noticed that the Soviets got the same treatment in the latest film. After all, the Nazis were the “bad guys” in the years leading up to World War Il just as the Soviets were the “bad guys” during the Cold War.
For sure. Action movies often reflect the geopolitical conflict of the era they were made in. With Spielberg and Indiana Jones though, it feels a bit more intentional.
Honestly it's easier to dehumanize nazis in retrospect than bolsheviks.
Soviets in 1920s America had their fanboys and detractors. Our first "Red scare" started in the 1880s or so, vis a vis Anarchists. There may have been a few Marxists, He was a German writer who died in 1885. The 1940s/50s were America's 3d Red Scare. I have Kulaks on the family tree, so little love for Socialism, Fascist or Soviet.
@@blairbuskirk5460 despite killing vastly more people it's because the Bolsheviks won World War II. Nazis are most demonize bad guys in history
@@tomfrazier1103 you say it as if fearing communism is a phobia.
Of course a Society based on individual liberty and Christian values will be repulsed
I remember watching Inglorious Basterds and thinking to myself it was Jewish revenge porn. Speilberg, as you say so well, did it much better, in all his war themed films.
The difference between the two is that Indiana Jones was not very in-your-face about it and that is what made Indiana Jones much better in comparison to Inglorious Bastards.
@@imgvillasrc1608 * Inglourious Basterds. It's misspelled on purpose.
That movie is as close to Raiders as a movie can get.
Inglorious Basterds is partly revenge porn but primarily its just a black comedy set in WW2.
But in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg lays out to the people that the Nazis weren't defeated because they were humiliated, they were defeated after a very long, painful struggle that destroyed millions of lives, and that they did severe damage to the world, and we shouldn't soon forget that.
The headpiece of the staff of Ra was an Egyptian artifact.
No it wasn't. When the Hebrews left Egypt they carried a lot of Egyptian culture with them. That's why the ark of the covenant looks so Egyptian. They copied Egyptian art because it was all they knew.
@@chico305SIGMA so it was Egyptian...
The golden calf was essentially a likeness of Amun the Egyptian creation god who makes the Ba and the Ka for each person on his Potter's wheel. Or not, I've only seen it in a movie.
@@husbandsonfollowerleader9133
It shared Egyptian art style, but it was made by the Jewish people thus making it a Jewish artifact.
@@chico305SIGMA actually if Jewish motifs/art are reminiscent of any cultures it would be ancient near eastern (Assyrian/Babylonian) and not Egyptian. They were in the ancient near east long before Egypt to the times of Abraham when he worshiped at the ziggurat of Ur. If you're referencing the movie version of the ark then that's where you've slipped; the only real motif described in detail on the real ark are the two Cherubims on the mercy seat of the ark. These are more similar to Assyrian Lamassu which guarded city gates rather than any of the deities or motifs of Egypt. Hope that helped clarify :)
I know I’m late to the party on this video but from a Jewish cinema lover, thank you. My grandfather and I love Spielberg and he was more important than some people realize. In fact after Schindlers List, a lot of people took a greater interest in the horrors of the holocaust and what actually happened. I know you probably won’t read this but thanks again.
Thanks for sharing, Noah. I'm glad this video still resonates with people :)
4:40 : Especially considering that he's French, the word for that is ‘collaborator’.
Not quite, since the film is set a few years before the war, though had Belloq lived to see the occupation, it's fair to assume he wouldn't have run out and joined the resistance 😉
@@randypeppercorn1865 : Maybe he would have a change of heart, like Captain Renault (since we're talking about movies here). Although Renault, unlike Belloq, was at least a likable character all along (despite his crimes).
I like it. Finding his homeland devastated, Belloq resolves to reform his mercenary ways and put his cunning to good use😊
We surrender!
@@randypeppercorn1865True, but to be fair, France and Germany weren’t on friendly terms with each other for decades before this point, so Belloq’s actions in joining the Nazis are still scummy, especially since the Nazis have been committing atrocities for years before the film occurs.
Huh. Now I got more understanding on my favorite movies of all time from one of the best video essays I have ever seen! Enjoy the sub, and I'll enjoy the 5th movie when it is out in theatres next year! :D
Also, cool fact: The Nazi uniforms worn during the book burning scene in Crusade are actually legitimate! The costume designer for the movie, Joanna Johnston, found them somewhere in Eastern Europe!
“And murdering Sir Sean Connery” XD
He got better.
;)
007.
For some reason, I’ve always had respect for the second to last guy on the truck (in the chase scene in ROTLA) who shoots Indy in the arm. It stands out, and causes the scene’s tone to change.
The audience most likely would come to understand that the power of the Ark was from the normal western concept of God. However, Lucas says in the Raider’s story conference transcript that alien influence was the intent, and that the Ark is like a radio transmitter.
“Our idea was that there must actually be some kind of super high-powered radio from one of Erick Von Daniken’s flying saucers,” Lucas said. “The fact that it’s electrical charges makes it vaguely believable ... supposedly it’s like a big trunk. It’s like a car generator that you crank and it goes... When they opened it up you had that sense of some kind of kinetic generator which creates a tremendous amount of static electricity. There are all these religious trappings and interesting mysteries and occult stuff.”
There are subtle allusions to this theory in the film, although it is unlikely any audience member would interpret the Ark in the way Lucas described it.
One of these allusions is when Indy meets with Army Intelligence. Major Eaton, one of the agents, refers to Indy as a “expert on the occult.” Moments later, Eaton again references that word - occult. The word choice suggests the ark may be paranormal or supernatural.
When Belloq and Indy share a conversation at a Cairo bar. Belloq directly reference’s Lucas’ idea and tells Indy that the ark is a radio, a transmitter for speaking to god.
Sallah, Indy’s friend in Cairo, warns Indy the Ark “is something that man was not meant to disturb. Death has always surrounded it. It is not of this earth.” (Does it have alien origins?)
Indy does not necessarily come to believe that the ark’s power is from the Abrahamic god, I would argue, This is evident in what Indy says in the other Indiana Jones films. In the prequel to Raiders - Temple of Doom - Indy sees first-hand the power of the Hindu Sankara stones and these are not associated with the Judeo-Christian-Islamic faiths.
Again, in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Indy’s son, Mutt, looks at a drawing of an alien- like creature with a greatly elongated skull. Indy says the drawing was of a god.
“God doesn’t look like that,” Mutt protests.
“Depends on who your god is,” Indy retorts. Indy is a believer, but his belief is only that some mysterious things defy explanation.
Indy has never seen a god. However, he has witnessed alien beings, along with interdimensional alien craft in the fourth film. The Ark may be alien technology, not a deity.
Chris Tucker I’m not a Kingdom of the Crystal Skull denier, and amazing very impressed with your analysis on the Ark. Makes the circle complete
I like the ancient astronaut theory that he was going for in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,(it would make sense for anyone who studies ancient cultures to know about)but I thought it wasn't executed well enough to fit in the Indiana Jones universe and instead devided the artifacts as opposed to explaining them all.
@@SuperSmackdown2010 It's from an essay I wrote at film school :D
Thats is exactly what I tought ever since.
The whole ancient alien theory is even more present long before the fourth Film. In the (true part four in my eyes.) game fate of atlantis. From mayan legends, that tikal is built by man, that where no man and spaceport legend of the hyperborea in iceland. And if you Look at all the deformed bones in atlantis. The god machine itself in the core of the city looks alien, and all the carvings and technology in the city centre. With blinking lights. That would have been the darkest indy plot. With alien influence without the nessecerity to actualy show aliens as such.
I liked it better when it was magic..
Pretty sure Vichy (or occupied) France wasn’t a thing yet in the movies.
The French State wasn’t even a puppet state until 1942 or 43 after Operation Case Anton. Petain was elected by the National Assembly of France and given emergency powers after the defeat. The Germans intended to do what the French did to the Germans at the end of World War I. That was to occupy the industrial half of the country until a formal peace treaty was signed at war’s end, Limit the size of their military. But we’re in some way less harsh when it came to letting them keep their navy (until case Anton), letting keep control of their colonies, and so on. The state still used the same anthem as the French Republic, still used the same flag, and just about everything else. The allies even saw Vichy France as a more legitimate state than the De Gaulle led Free France.
Vichy was present in that Allied 2016 film with Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard.
@@rnrailproductions5049 People often forget that and just say that "Vichy" France was traitors, when "Vichy" France was France
Vichy France was a puppet state for Nazi Germany to make it seem to the Allies that France had switched sides. It was also mostly inland because the Nazis wanted the coast to use ports and battleships
@@rnrailproductions5049 i thought case anton was the annexation of vichy france?
That ending tho with the theme tune is a big win
Yeah I was very happy with how that turned out.
@@EyebrowCinema this isn't the face of Jewish vengeance, this is BOOM
Also the red coat is a reference to Eli wiesel's Night
His sister was wearing a red coat the last time he saw her
As a former (recovering) Catholic and current father of five, I told my children that Indy knows about history, legend, and power. He studies it and has respect for it even if he doesn’t at first believe. The villains (usually Nazis) always want to steal the power and use it, but they don’t have respect for it and it ultimately destroys them.
Tomb Raider and The Cradle of Life comes to mind.
Great video, very spot on.
So, referencing Umberto Eco‘s 14 common features of fascism, Spielberg uses the “fascist“ propaganda technique of the enemy being both weak and strong.
8. The enemy is both strong and weak. “By a continuous shifting of rhetorical focus, the enemies are at the same time too strong and too weak.”
my favourite scene is when Indy tosses the Natzi Gestapo guy out of Zeppelins window and yells everyone " NO TICKET" and then everyone is waiving their tickets.
Your comments about those characters that are on the side of the nazis for personal benefits made me remember of those rich people that during ww2 used to acuse to the nazis possible jew families for money.
0:43 I thought the allied victory in WW2 was a pretty good retaliation against the nazis
Unfortunately their legacy lives on and ironically, their quest to make themselves "superior" was the thing that put them in the "Other" category.
@Amuro Ray why would anyone admire a failed ideology?
@@nickname8619 For the same reason people thing Socialism and Communism can still work
Good retaliation against the Nazis, haven't you noticed the resurgence of the movement around the world and haven't you
seen Trumps support base, wake the hell up.
@@tss77 Good.
This is great analysis. I grew up with these movies and it never occurred to me that this was what Spielberg was doing. Now the question remains as to what was his beef with South Asia to justify his portrayal of them in Temple of Doom.
If I ever create a live action adaptation of the 2001 Disney movie “Atlantis: The Lost Empire”, I’m setting it in the 1930s, have the Nazis as the antagonists, and use the three points Spielberg did for the Indiana Jones franchise.
eyebrow cinema: shows swastikas
youtube: d-d-d-d-d-d-demonitised!
Spielberg: WTF YT?!
I guess my first exposure to "Nazis" was Raiders, and the year before in 1980, Blues Brothers. In Blues Brothers it was American Nazis. And they met with a ridiculous comical death in that too. I never made the connection in my mind until now. Some really good points in your video essay. Thank you.
4:45 Donovan has a Swastika pin, it's the only bit of him left when he rots after picking the wrong grail
Well done, man! Loved this video. Gave me much more to think about and enjoy in some of my favorite movies of all time.
"You sound like my mother" - Harrison Ford's mother was Jewish 😋
The Ark's ghosts being the spirits of Jewish Holocaust victims is truly a brilliant interpretation. Bravo.
I'd probably have substituted Chaplin's The Great Dictator for Brooks' The Producers as an antecedent (as well as, of course, the kinds of adventure serials on which this series was based in the first place), but otherwise agree with you and Roger Ebert. I actually think you make a better case here than he did in his Raiders retrospective.
What a shock. The most influential Jewish man in Hollywood has a incredibly negative opinion of Nazis and their allies. This is unheard of.
Spoilers, but literally the best thing about Dial of Destiny is watching the Nazis spend the whole movie trying to do a Man in the High Castle, and then watching them getting clowned on by bronze age Italians when their time machine overshoots.
Dial of Destiny was so much better than it had any right to be. Not only was it hella entertaining and treated Indiana's sentimental side wonderfully, but Mangold did a backhanded insult to fascism via having the Roman Empire, aka the civilization Nazi Germany loved and fetishized, be the ones who kill the fascists as the villain tries to create a mythological past that could never happen to begin with. God I love Indy 5.
Good video -- I've heard WWII veterans complain about war movies for always making the Nazis look inept, dumb, and easily defeated as opposed to the incredibly well-organized and smart enemy they were in reality.
That's kinda odd, I thought that they will like trashing on the Nazis since lots of the Allied Powers basically demonized the Nazis from the moment of war and just make them look bad in what they did to cost so many lives to be lost in the war.
Oh boy. I've found a brand new awesome video essay channel. Time to binge watch and subscribe. Excellent work.
Holy shit, you deserve tons more subscribers, man! Thanks very very much for sharing this perspective on the Indiana Jones films x
Edit: I also have to add that the script of this video essay wonderfully succinct and eloquent. It was a joy to listen to.
Mockery is much more effective than demonizing.
Here comes Jojo Rabbit :D
@@DarkMargenal I gotta watch that movie, I have heard good things about it.
@@calo-kg2cy you can mock anything
3:55 not the first time ive seen that man scoff at “ Hokey religions and ancient weapons “
Hahah
It would’ve been cool if Indy went against the WW2 Tojo ere Japanese for a mythical Asian relic and was reunited with Short Round as a sidekick again in another Indy movie.
Im never one to turn down a good mocking of Nazis be it Indiana Jones, Mel Brooke or the movie Jojo Rabbit. As long as the mockery is aimed at the Nazis and not those they sought to destroy.
Well said
I worked at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York from 1980 to 1991. There was a professor there who was said to be the model for Indiana Jones. His name was Walter Fairservis. He died in the late 80s. I imagine he's based on maybe him and maybe others.
I think it’s unfair to say Indy’s skepticism of the supernatural is a “dismissal of Jewish culture”.
In the same terms then Django might be considered the face of black vengeance
I agree with you on that.
11:36 If I may offer a counterpoint on Landa, while yes he wears a Nazi uniform and works for the Nazis, he himself isn't technically one. Nazism is a system of beliefs and those who follow said beliefs are Nazis. And there in lies the difference with Landa, he himself flat out states he doesn't believe in the Nazi dogma, He's more akin to a mercenary.
He works for whoever will pay him the most or offer him the most protection, hence why he had no problem abandoning the Reich the second someone made him a better offer. He was never a Nazi, hence the reason why he's so different from the rest of the group. He knows the Nazis are idiots and is playing them for fools.
You make a good point but there were plenty of Nazis who weren’t ideological but pure opportunists. History still judges these people as Nazis however since they willingly went along with everything so long as it meant they benefited from it. The basterds left their mark on him at the end because he was still a Nazi in their eyes regardless of what he had done to end the war. Keep in mind at the beginning of the film he explains his disdain for Jews to the farmer before he ordered his men to shoot the family under the house so idk if mercenary is the right word to describe him.
@@DukeofLorraine Honestly, I think the vast majority of what Landa said was a lie. Really what reason does he have to hate Jews other than because he's playing the part of a Nazi. He's kind of like King Schultz from Django Unchained, playing a character in order to get to his targets or hide in plain sight.
Also I don't think the Basterds are really the best people to take at their word, since they are shown to be blood hungry and pretty insane.
Ah, Yes! I was a huge Indie fan when I was a child and I would love to see more analysis of these movies.
Man, just imagine if they had brought the ark to Berlin and opened it there...
Well made video. This is why cinema exists as a medium to put forward such important messages, all the while having fun in the process. Subbed.
Fantastic essay. Honestly the best film RUclips essay I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch
Thank you, Garrett. Much appreciated.
Interesting video and a well-argued film analysis, but I don’t know if the central thesis was quite as purposeful on the part of the film-makers as suggested here back when they were making the films. I really think they were just trying to make a fun rollicking adventure in the spirit of the old serials they grew up watching as kids. Let’s not forget it was George Lucas, who isn’t Jewish, who decided against making it himself and brought the idea to Kasdan and Spielberg, selling the latter on the idea by saying this was a way he could make his own version of a James Bond film. There’s nothing really there in the backstory of how this film came to be that suggests there was a conscious effort on the part of Jewish film-makers to avenge the horrors of the Holocaust. Furthermore, Spielberg has even said that after he made Schindler’s List, with the severity of the Holocaust now even more apparent to him, he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to go back and portray Nazis in quite the same light and flippant manner as he had done so in the Indiana Jones films.
That being said, his newfound and matured outlook on the matter didn’t seem to extend to the Soviet antagonists in the 4th film, as he gave them a similar treatment as the “baddies” in the earlier Indy movies.
But despite offering these counterpoints to your main argument, I still want to say well done on providing a good, thought-provoking analysis of this franchise.
Thats exactly correct. Indiana 'Smith', later 'Jones' was Lucas's concept. The idea to include the Arc of the Covenant was Philip Kaufman's idea, way before Spielberg was involved in the project.
Loved the video! I was curious about your thoughts on the depiction of Nazis in The Blues Brothers. In a film where the Nazis only play one incompetent group amongst a slew of the Blues' antagonists, what message would they be trying to portray, other than "look at these idiots amongst all these other idiots?"
Thanks, Emily! Truth be told, I haven't watched The Blues Brothers since I was probably 13 so I don't think I'm really in a place to discuss it intellectually. That said, your reading seems accurate to me. I think it's mockery might be less effective than that in Indiana Jones simply because it isn't as focused, but I do think that a critique is there.
The characters in _Blues Brothers_ weren't Nazis, but neo-Nazis. In fact, they were based on a specific neo-Nazi group that won a free-speech case allowing them to hold rallies in the Chicago park shown in the movie (and more famously in the Chicago suburb of Skokie). Portraying neo-Nazis as simple buffoons is more justifiable, in my humble opinion. It's not something in the past that you can portray accurately from a distance, but something in the present that you want to make look unattractive.
They were in the way and blocked traffic
Great analysis, but you're missing two key points. First of all, Landa's build-up was somehow empowering, but ultimately he is revealed to be an opportunist, just as many real people inside the Nazi party, such as von Braun. He does not care about ideology, all he wants is to be in the spotlight and in the end he gets the worst spotlight he could possibly think of, which IMO is such an excellent payoff it cancels all of the favorizing set-up. His cunning is meant to represent Nazi manipulation, which caught Western Europe in an appeasement stalemate in the 30s. After all, he is build up to be an interesting and realistic villain. Indiana Jones presents a pre-war prespective on Nazis -- always losing, incompetent buffoons -- exactly the same perspectieve that lead to appeasment. Inglorious Basterds show that underestimating Nazis and their allies leads to the sharing the fate of Bridget and at the same time punishes collaboration during the climax. Secondly, Saving Private Ryan does not depict cartoonish Nazi deaths because it is a war movie and not every 'German' soldiers was a Nazi. There is a powerfull scene where two Czech soldiers surrender to the Rangers and are shot immediately because the soldiers 'did not understand'. This showcases the often forgotten aspect in Western cinema, which is the enslavement and holocaust of Eastern Europe. Men from annexed teritorries were drafted into the military with their families basically taken hostage. This was a desperate, temporary solution in the final years of WWII, because previously all the Slavic nations were meant to be anihilated or dehumanized among the Jews and Romani. Getting rid of such subtle moments would change the meaning of the movie, suggesting that war against the Nazis is some kind of a fun family friendly adventure where the good guys always win, not a true horror for both sides. While anti-Nazi power fantasy is always fun to watch, it is not really a pinnacle of creative writing and is not appropriate for some generes, especially ones that rely heavily on good characters and interesting plot.
I don't think Toht is burned by a Jewish artifact, as you suggest. It is an Egyptian artifact that points out where the Egyptians buried the arc, right?
Fascinating insights and an excellent video. Spielberg was clearly inspired by the story and character, which he helped outline with Lucas. There are two important contributors who should also be mentioned, as they brought a Jewish perspective as well. Writer-Director Philip Kaufman suggested the Ark of the Covenant to Lucas in the first place and Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the screenplay based on Spielberg's and Lucas' treatment. From Wikipedia: In 1981, Kaufman became involved with the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, for which he received story credit. The character of Indiana Jones was created by George Lucas and Kaufman came up with the story about the pursuit of the Ark of the Covenant.[3].
Great video, so well-edited. Some channels throw together clips that don't match the narration, others pause the narration to allow the on screen dialogue to run and prove the point. This one just shows the scenes with the situations and lines that we all know by heart, and it matches the video essay perfectly.
I also love that someone finally pointed out the fundamental problem with Inglorious Basterds which I always felt was so overrated and unwatchable but never could explain why.
My man, not to dog you out but you got two very big things wrong.
1. The Ark was not built while the Hebrews were in exile. They were instructed to build it at Mt. Sinai shortly after their captivity. They were 100% free and going to Canaan. They weren’t even punished to wander for 40 years yet.
2. It’s well established that the Ark isn’t powerful in and of itself in both the Bible and Raiders. In the context of Raiders, “good God!” “Yes that’s what the Hebrews said” “power of God” are all quotes said in the military intelligence meeting. While one could interpret that as being hyperbolic it’s clear the authors want you to believe the Ark is the biblical ark and holds the same properties.
Spielberg's Nazis were inspired by Mel Brooks. I totally see it and love these films all the more!
Great video. Keep up the good work!
Imagine committing the Holocaust, then thinking that the Ark of the Covenant (literally the most important artefact in Judaism) wouldn’t kill you.
@L0l C0Wz That's blatantly false. The Holocaust started in 1933. Dachau, the very first concentration camp, was opened in March 1933.
@L0l C0Wz Sure, but there is a theory that God exists outside of time, seeing the timeline in its entirety. If that is true, He knew already what was coming and exacted judgement for their acts, both then and future.
Facts
I was literally today years old when it occurred to me how arrogant the Nazis in Raiders were in thinking a Jewish historical artifact would give them power or an advantage in the battlefield
Just barmy!
WOW...
Best discourse on the Indy movies ever!!
Instantly subbed and gonna be binge watching now during the lockdown...👍🏼 👍🏼
I appreciate that. Enjoy!
Implying that Spielberg consciously did this as "vengeance" , like some sort of Motion Picture Mossad, is a stretch.
Absolutely not... he knows well the power of film symbolism. "The pen is mightier than the sword,."
Far from it. Bot
Great essay. Looking foward for more.
Thanks, Gabriel. New content is in the works as we speak!
The German soldiers were smote down by the wrath of God at the end of Raiders, and in Crusade, Elsa falls down a chasm, whereas Donovan chose the wrong cup. These deaths are among the most satisfying in cinema.
It's glorious stuff.
"He chose... poorly." describes Donovan in three words.
Fascinating. Correct that colluding with such an evil force for your own ends but insisting you're not really one of them does not absolve you of guilt.
4:10 I have some notes about this part which might be interesting. My thoughts behind why Indy says "Shield your eyes" I think, pulls from traditions mentioned in scripture.
Exodus 25 outlines The LORD's instructions to Moses about how to craft the ark of the covenant and how it is to be handled. An important point is to note that he instructed them to put the handles on, and told them that they were not to be removed. The sub-context here is that the ark was only to be handled by using the inserted handles, rather than to touch the ark itself.
As far as handling the ark, in 2 Samuel 6 we see an example of a mis-handling of the ark, resulting in God's judgement, which cost the life of a person. God has instructed them to carry the ark by hand, with rods threaded through rings mounted on the ark itself. He had called Israel to be holy, set apart from the nations around them. They come in, then, handling the ark as if it's a load of bricks, on a donkey cart, rather than taking the ark (representative of God's presence with them) by hand as instructed.
Because of their mishandling of this, God judged them and one of the men died. Under the old covenant God set up a system by which the Israelites could atone for wrongdoing. But then Jesus came and made atonement for us, perfecting the system of atonement, paying the price so that we can live in heaven with him one day. We just have to accept him and repent, asking for forgiveness for our sins and we will be made new.
This is fantastically done. Great description and contextualising but also useful as a reference work for teachers when focusing on political symbolism. Congrats.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the first three movies all take place in the years prior to the unset of WW2?
Yes. The Third Reich ended in WW2.
Yeah, it was set in the years (in order of where movies takes place from earliest release) 1936, 1938, 1935.
GREAT VIDEO LAD, you really took the time on this one and nailed it.
Good analysis.
Though, the headpiece of the staff of Ra is actually an Egyptian artifact. According to the movie, the ancient Egyptians stole the ark and brought it back to Egypt.
Ebert expanded on this theme in his Great Movies essay on "Raiders of the Lost Ark", adding that this more serious underlying theme is what makes the Indiana Jones films more than just a damn good adventure yarn.
I see your point on this although in the case of the end of raiders of the lost ark the ghostly figures are a depiction of god and you cannot look in the face of god and live
This was a good commentary on the Indiana Jones films and Spielberg's other work.
Inglorious Basterds and Raiders of the Lost Ark would make for a great double feature
"Jewish vengeance"... make a fictional film character who kills Nazis 40 years after the fact
You know the movie took place during WW2 right?
Really awesome analysis! Really puts the whole series in a new perspective.
I am not in any way a violent or aggressive person. Argumentative, sure, but I have never felt like resorting to laying hands on someone. I don't even like watching boxing or other martial sports.
But Nazis getting punched in the face by Harrison Ford? Yeah, I dig it.
Important to note that Hans Landa was not an ardent Nazi, and he would've been classified as a Walter Donovan or Belloq type. He just used the rank and file of the regime to achieve his own ends. Evil characters do need to display some sort of competence and that adds to their menace.
Great video, very informative! I now see Spielberg in a very different light.
Glad you enjoyed it :)