Kevin's Watch

Amy Farrah Fowler - “Indiana Jones plays no role in the outcome of the story. If he weren’t in the film, it would turn out exactly the same… If he weren’t in the movie, the Nazis would still have found the Ark, taken it to the island, opened it up, and all died, just like they did.”

Okay. I watched this episode of Big Bang Theory and couldn't help but disagree with the above statement in the context it was delivered. The idea is that Raiders is now ruined because of the supposed revelation that events would have turned out similarly even if Indy hadn't been involved at all.

My response is that I don't care and it makes no difference at all.

I understand about a film being about its plot however I really didn't watch Raiders of the Lost Ark to see what the Nazis might do with the artifact if they got their hands on it. I watch the film because I'm interested in the protagonist and his adventures the details come in a very distant second in terms of entertainment with regard to this first film of the series.
I'll admit that the plot means a great deal more to me when referencing Kingdom of the Crystal Skull since it detracts so much from my experience however Indiana Jones could have been racing against time to stop Adolph Hitler from sneezing and I would have felt the same way about Raiders. It means nothing to me that Indy ultimately didn't have much influence over the eventual outcome of the film. Without him the film is probably a waste of time not the other way around.

My two cents.

I'd certainly agree, the protagonists don't necessarily have to win or be the direct cause of the outcome for it to be an enjoyable film.

How Indiana Jones affected the outcome of Raiders:

• More dead Nazi's.
• More dead monkeys.
• More wrecked trucks, planes, Tibetan bars, etc.
• Fewer surviving ancient Tanisian artifacts.
• When it was all over, he called the US and told them where the Arc was.

It's a film that I can take or leave - it's never held the same interest for me that the Star Wars or Star Trek films have.

The man rode a submarine -- a submarine! -- for hundreds of miles and you say he didn't affect the plot?

Actually, the Nazis probably wouldn't have found the Ark if not for him. Weren't they digging in the wrong place? He had the right place and the Nazis found him and the Ark.

They could have still found it, but it might have taken years.

Then again, I guess the reason they were digging in the wrong place was because they only went by the burned impression from Twat's hand instead of having the staff topper, so...yeah, I guess the point is valid.

Cagliostro wrote:Then again, I guess the reason they were digging in the wrong place was because they only went by the burned impression from Twat's hand instead of having the staff topper, so...yeah, I guess the point is valid.

yep. covered that. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCeu49Jgx-A

Mongnihilo wrote:The man rode a submarine -- a submarine! -- for hundreds of miles and you say he didn't affect the plot?

This remains the great unanswered question of the movie. How did he survive that trip? It is possible that he could have made it to an exterior hatch, opened it, climbed in, then closed it and stayed hidden there, hoping that the seal doesn't leak too much until they arrived at the island. Why did they need to go to a remote island, anyway? They were in Egypt--if they want to avoid being seen or damaging some military installation they need only drive it a couple of hours out into the desert and set up a location for the opening.

I loved that episode of BBT.

As much as I love Raiders, the effect her revelation had on the guys was priceless.

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:This remains the great unanswered question of the movie. How did he survive that trip?

I presume the submarine didn't submerge. In those days, they didn't unless they had to ... you couldn't really get around that way.

Actually, Indiana Jones had to be there at the end or the next group that came along might have opened the Ark and, whoops, another set of vanished government operatives.

And I agree with TOM. The movie was about the adventure not the result.