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<\/a><\/p>\nTo continue this week of celebrating the 30th anniversary of my favorite adventure movie, here\u2019s an excerpt from my memoir of dangerous moviegoing\u2026 the book called\u00a0Through a Screen Darkly<\/a><\/em>: The Paramount Studios logo \u2014 a crooked, rocky peak \u2014 fades out, replaced by a real-world equivalent, a stone pinnacle jutting into an ivory sky. We\u2019re looking at it through a gap in the trees that edge the screen. A silhouette steps into the frame, classic and unmistakable: a bullwhip slung from his belt, a leather jacket, a fedora. Hands on his hips, he regards the peak he has eclipsed. Then he continues into the jungle, followed by his watchful, nervous companions. We do not see his face. He\u2019s a mystery.<\/p>\n He makes his way nonchalantly through the jungle, headed into peril. The brim of his hat conceals his visage until that memorable, shocking moment when he senses a betrayal, turns, and knocks the pistol from a murderous Spaniard\u2019s hand with a lash of his bullwhip. That rankled brow, those flaring eyes, that unshaven jaw \u2014 this is a man on a mission, fully aware of the dangers ahead and behind.<\/p>\n We watch him proceeding into secret passageways, pushing through thick curtains of spider webs into forbidding tunnels. Brushing off tarantulas, ignoring Satipo\u2019s warning that no one has come out of there alive, he expertly dodges deadly darts and traps, including the one that skewered a famous competitor.<\/p>\n At last he kneels before a fabulous idol, the treasure he wants to preserve and display in a museum, where it \u201cbelongs.\u201d With the skill of a surgeon, he replaces that glistening golden god with an equivalent bag of sand. Has he thought of everything?<\/p>\n No, alas, he has not! And moments later, Indy is outrunning the most dangerous big screen boulder since the asteroids that his intergalactic look-alike dodged in The Empire Strikes Back<\/em> a year earlier. In an artful dive, Indiana launches himself out of the tunnel\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026 and lands almost in the lap of his waiting nemesis \u2014 Rene Belloq \u2014 who, smiling wolfishly down on the dusty Indy, wastes no time in demonstrating his villainy.<\/p>\n Immediately, the world is divided into hero and villain. Indiana Jones is the kind of man who can cheat death. But Belloq is the sort of man who will steal the prize and the glory right out from under Indy\u2019s nose.<\/p>\n Jones just can\u2019t get a break.<\/p>\n When he enters Marion\u2019s bar \u2014 it\u2019s the same thing that happened in the jungle temple at the beginning. He treads carefully, shows respect, gets jarred around, and then he leaves disappointed, empty-handed. The prize has been snatched from his hands\u2026 again.<\/p>\n Later, after his long pursuit of the Lost Ark and its secrets, he loses that contest as well. It is Belloq who gets to lift the holy lid on its secrets.<\/p>\n What makes him an appealing hero if he\u2019s prone to constant failure?<\/p>\n Well, there\u2019s the issue of a costume. Like all superheroes, he has his public disguise: the tweedy suit-and-tie routine of a New England archaeology professor, complete with oversized Clark Kent glasses.<\/p>\n Further, he has the concerns of an adventurous kid. When he\u2019s summoned by visiting authorities, Indiana reflexively asks, \u201cAm I in trouble?\u201d Any man who\u2019s ever been a boy has asked this question. And Indy just doesn\u2019t have time for girls. Too much fun to be had. When Marion starts kissing him, it\u2019s his cue to promptly fall asleep \u2014 a reversal that secretly delights those boys who were annoyed that fairy tales all came down to kissing. Like the boy tells his grandfather in The Princess Bride<\/em>, we want to get on to the good stuff.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also in his corner because he\u2019s interesting \u2014 the toughest thing for a hero to be. Bad guys get to be outrageous, while good guys must remain dutiful. But Indy, he\u2019s Odysseus, venturing into the unknown and overcoming various threats. He\u2019s Orpheus, the troubled champion descending into the underworld to perform a rescue. He\u2019s Batman, the haunted crime-fighter who casts a shadow everyone can recognize. But we\u2019re also rooting for Indy because he\u2019s always being treated unfairly, always coming up short. He\u2019s the ultimate underdog. He even has a weakness \u2014 he\u2019s scared to death of snakes.<\/p>\n But for me, the most interesting and enduring appeal of Indiana Jones is his temperamental relationship with a higher power.<\/p>\n At the beginning of his quest, Indy\u2019s colleague, Marcus Brody, Curator of the National Museum in Washington D.C., has a premonition that they may be about to trespass on sacred ground. Indiana makes it clear that he has faith in the pistol he\u2019s packing in his luggage. But God? You half expect him to repeat his lines from Star Wars<\/em>, \u201cHokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side. \u2026 I\u2019ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I\u2019ve never seen anything to make me believe there\u2019s one all-powerful force controlling everything.\u201d<\/p>\n Later, drowning his woes and mourning the loss of Marion, Indy is confronted by Belloq, who boasts that the ark is \u201ca transmitter, a radio for speaking to God.\u201d Indy sneers a smile. \u201cYou want to talk to God? Let\u2019s go see him together. I\u2019ve got nothing better to do.\u201d Is that faith, or just a smart remark?<\/p>\n The issue of Indy\u2019s faith won\u2019t be resolved until he is pressed to the point of death. For all of his skill navigating practical threats, he has yet to encounter the great mystery that will leave him as helpless and vulnerable as a child: the power of an angry God.<\/p>\n In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade<\/em>, we learn where his experience with Christianity began. Indy grew up in a religious household, and his father\u2019s faith was unshakeable. But the boy was a skeptic. He needed proof.<\/p>\n In the end, Indy fails so utterly that he can only hope for the help of someone a whole lot stronger than his sidekick Sallah. And even then, he doesn\u2019t ask for it. He quietly awaits his doom.<\/p>\n But God is gracious. In his final failure, Jones is given a thorough education in the power of the Almighty. The best he can muster is a simple show of respect \u2014 he turns his eyes away from God\u2019s holy secrets. Belloq is the one who, in his vanity, defies God. When God intervenes, Belloq is engulfed in the wrath of God, while Indiana Jones receives grace. While all of those seeking to apprehend God\u2019s power for their own purposes are punished for their pride, Indiana and Marion are left standing unscathed, their bonds broken. It is left to Indy to carry the ark now, with responsibility and reverence.<\/p>\n Most action heroes are cocky, self-reliant fellows who soldier on against all odds and somehow come out on top without ever looking around to see if their steps might be protected, if they might need guidance or salvation. Indiana Jones\u2019 adventures lead him to further steps of faith, where he will learn again to reject the temptation of power and accept his humble place in God\u2019s service.<\/p>\n Indy ultimately learns that humility and faith matter more than whips, pistols, and sarcasm. The fear of God is the beginning of his wisdom. He\u2019s my kind of loser.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/p>\n
\n\u2022<\/p>\nThrough a Screen Darkly<\/a><\/em>, by Jeffrey Overstreet<\/a>, pp. 152-156. Copyright 2007, Gospel Light\/Regal Books, Ventura, CA 93003. Used by permission.<\/h5>\n