The Love of Adventure

I was watching the first 3 indiana jones movies over the weekend, and I think they fit quite well into the subject matter we are working on now. The movies can arouse a variety of emotions such as excitement, fright, sadness and suspense among others. I wondered why I felt these emotions while watching the movie even though I knew it was everything would turn out in Dr. Jones' favor. This movie keep true to the ideology that "the good guys always win". Why do the bad guys (the nazi's mainly...) try to kill him constantly, but then take him prisoner later so he can escape again? Why don't they just kill him when they capture him like they were trying to do earlier? This is because deep inside, we all want the good guy to win, always. I don't know anyone who will root for the villain when watching a movie. Society tells us that if you're a good person, good things will generally happen to you. Idiana definitely isn't a completely good person but when compared to the evil of his opponents, he seems like one. The nazi's are the main opposing force in the movies, and all the history as well as hatred built up against them through the years makes them the perfect enemy. If it were the soviet army wanting to collect powerful artifacts to spread communism, they wouldn't evoke as much emotion in the watcher as the nazi's. In most people's minds, when they think of the nazi's they envision hitler, concentration camps, and the biggest genocide of a people in history. These emotions of good vs evil can be evoked in everyone because it appeals to their humanity.

This movie also appeals to everyone's sense of adventure. There isn't anybody in the world who wouldn't like to go on exotic adventures and live out their fantasies of grandeur. Indiana Jones' represents this with his predictable yet exciting adventures based off of myths we are all familiar with. Most people are familiar with the fables the movie explores, because those stories have been romanticized themselves. Speaking of lost treasures that grant abilities any human would want. All these things combine together to give the movie an appeal that can enthrall any watcher. We all want excitement in our lives, so why not watch Indy do what we cannot?