[Trivia] Take 5: Indiana Jones

Harrison Ford’s back as Dr. Henry Jones, Jr. in the fourth movie of the Indiana Jones franchise. The film will hit Philippines cinemas on the 22nd of this month (that’s on Thursday!) But before you watch Indy’s fourth widescreen adventure, I’ve listed down several tidbits about our favorite archaeologist.

Indy’s real name is Col. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., PhD. When not in an adventure seeking lost relics, he’s an archaeologist at Marshall College. His parents are Henry Jones, Sr. and Anna Jones. The nickname Indiana was taken from the name of his childhood dog, Indiana, often shortened to Indy. In reality, George Lucas, the franchise creator, owned a dog named "Indiana".

Much like James Bond, a number of costumes and equipment are associated with Indiana. They are: (1) the fedora (2) the leather jacket (3) the bag (4) the whip (5) the pistol and (6) the shoes. (More details on these can be found on the wikipedia page)

Several origins of Indiana’s character were explained in the third movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). This movie showed his preference for the whip, where he got the scar in his chin, and why he had a fear on snakes. This movie also explained how he got his trademark fedora.
In the Indiana Jones Trilogy, it is important to note that the events of the second movie, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), happened first before the events of the first movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), and that of the third movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), came after the first one.

In the previous three films, Indy’s adventures involved three great religions:

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Judaism: Indy has to prevent the Nazis from getting the Ark of Covenant, which will make their army so powerful and turn the tides of war;

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) – Hinduism: Indy has been asked by an Indian village to retrieve a sacred stone, the Sankara Stone or Shiva lingam stone, as well as the community's kidnapped children, from the Thuggee evil cult;

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) – Christianity: Indy has to find the mythical Holy Grail in exchange for his father’s life, who was captured by the Nazis. In this movie, Indy has to overcome three tests before he can get the Holy Grail. The three tests were The Breath of God, The Word of God and The Path of God. Special note: The plots of the first and third movie are based on Hitler’s interests and obsession in the occult during Germany’s Nazi regime.


Sources:

http://indianajones.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_aliases_and_nicknames_of_Indiana_Jones

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_jones

http://www.imdb.com

http://www.theraider.net/

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