uncertain
I read what looked like pretty official confirmation the other day, that they’ve started filming another Indiana Jones movie.
On the one hand: yay! More Indiana Jones is generally a good thing. (I say “generally” because of Temple of Doom.) They’ve been talking about doing this for literally over a decade, and it’s kind of impressive to see it finally become reality.
On the other hand: they’ve made changes.
I had heard a rumour some time ago that they were going to deal with Harrison Ford being older by moving the series forward a decade or two. According to what I read, this is true; the movie will take place in the 1950s. And I’m not sure what I think of that.
Maybe my knowledge of pulp is limited, but to my mind, the 1950s is not the classic pulp adventure era. Also, no more Nazis; will it be communists instead? How will that change the flavor of the movie? (Especially since these days we tend to look on communists with pity rather than fear.) And then a more nit-picky detail, but one that will bug me: while archaeology in the 1930s was not like it is in the movies, archaeology in the 1950s is even less like that. I mean, Christ, by then you’ve got Binford on the horizon. The “grab the gold statue and run” era is more nineteenth century than twentieth, anyway, but by the 50’s you’re about to hit the era of “archaeology is a science, dammit,” complete with charts and graphs and equations to prove it.
In other words, there are issues of logic and colonialism and politics and so on to consider that I can generally let go of in the pulp genre — but moving the setting to the 1950’s may make that harder for me to do.
It may be great. I’d be thrilled if it is. But I am a little leery. Anybody have more information on the production?
