Dr. Jones Greatest Lesson During Difficult Times
“If adventure has a name… it must be Indiana Jones.” However, Henry Jones Junior’s middle name might just be “Perseverance.”
So, I am not sure how I missed the article the first time around.
But — straight up — it’s been a tough year.
However, believe it or not, blogging makes my day. And if I can get an evening where I post about Disney, Star Wars, and Indiana Jones; well, it just doesn’t get any better – avocationally.
Anyway, I digress.
Tonight I ran into Entertainment Weekly writer James Hibberd’s, “What Indiana Jones can teach us during hard times…“
I stopped dead in my browsing, ready to read “A brief parable inspired by Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
Now, many Indiana Jones fans have heard the theory, “Indy is completely ineffectual during Raiders. He doesn’t affect the story at all.”
As a guy who wears an Indiana Jones jacket year-round, I disagree (and so would Marion Ravenwood). But it doesn’t seem like Hibberd disagrees with the sentiment. Instead, explains that characterizing Indy as a “failure” misses the point.
He wrote:
[Jones’ consistent failures in Raiders is an] element that, once spotted, is difficult to forget, and is perhaps inspiring for times like the one in which we currently live, when there are so many challenges to get through.
Why is that, Jimmy?
Indiana Jones spends Raiders failing, getting beat up, and losing every artifact that he risks his life to acquire… And yet, Indiana Jones is considered a great hero.
In fact, Hibberd goes through all the scenes, pointing out that Jones fails in South America, Cairo, the desert, and ends up tied to a pole with his eyes shut.
“So what?” is Hibberd’s metaphorical question. And he concludes:
The reason Indiana Jones is a hero isn’t because he wins. It’s because he never stops trying.
Mic drop.
Thanks James and Henry. On this Hump Day, I needed that.
And don’t miss Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark. The film has a return engagement at AMC Theaters.
BTW: Read the essay here. The piece is like a secular prayer. Print it out. Put it on your wall. Reference it whenever you need a reminder that “winning” isn’t always the goal.