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before i get into this, i'd just like to clarify that i'm fully aware that the indiana jones franchise has little to do with the horror movie genre--but i'm going to write about it anyway, ok? ok. besides, there are some parts of those movies that can be awfully scary, right? right.




indiana jones and the temple of doom is BY FAR my favorite of the series. now, i know everyone is going to be like, what, are you kidding, that one sucks--no, i'm not kidding, it doesn't suck, you suck, and so does that last (original) one about the holy grail. it sucks so bad i don't even remember the title!

but in all seriousness, ToD is so charming in its brazen goofiness, along with its weirdly strict adherence to this idea of a civilized/uncivilized india. the eurocentricity is so off the charts, i can't even handle it--especially since the other films in the franchise, at least to me, shy away from complicated political/ideological issues, by picking a enemy we can all hate equally: nazis.

to me, this movie is a not-so-secret promotion of the grand ol' days of imperial india, complete with sparkling jewel-in-the-crown. i caught something in this most recent viewing which i'll probably spend the rest of this entry on, even though i'd really like to write about willie scott and short round, but i'll save that for later.

SO, you remember that thing that happened in india, oh, say, around 1857? sort of? well, the indian rebellion (or sepoy mutiny, or india's first war of independence etc) was basically a really big fucking shit storm for the british in india. now, the whole thing is too multifaceted for me to actually clearly write about, and really, all i want to bring up is the so-called final spark that caused the whole shebang: new ammunition that the soldiers had to bite open, however/unfortunately, since the men were a mix of muslim and hindu, and the paper they had to bite was greased with pig lard or beef fat, well, you can maybe see why there was a mucho problemo.

alright, now that we've established that crucial info, let's get back to ToD: one of the most memorable scenes is the dinner scene at pangkot (spelling? idk idk) palace, with, like, live baby snakes, eyeball soup and bugs. juxtaposing willie and short round's entertaining disgust towards the food, we cut back to indiana conversing with the british colonel (or whatever) who's "inspecting" the palace to make some report back to the crown, and the minister (or something) who seems like he's doing a good job is promoting civilization, but who is actually hanging out super hard with the secret thugee cult. in this exchange, the minister brings up the rebellion of 1857, like it was a big deal (it was), and the colonel shoots back something like, oh, haha, why does that always come up? then there's some pregnant gazes and they start making out. i wish! no, basically, it's established that they're both suspicious of each other, and that the colonel represents "good" india, and the minister is a nasty front for "bad" india.

so maybe this just seems like run-of-the-mill eurocentricity, but i think there's this weird motivation behind the little things in this scene--mentioning the 1857 rebellion has a purpose--yes, it establishes the historical context, but it also secretly justifies the british in a bizzaro way: remember the issue of consumption? the muslims and hindus revolted at the idea of consuming pigs or cows in any way? then, think of the dinner scene--the consumption of pretty much anything and everything that is revolting to the western palate. i'm sure willie and short round would've much preferred some bacon double cheeseburgers, but because we're in the space of the secretly uncivilized minister and the thugee cult, the space of "bad" india, we're served these disgusting dishes.

i just feel like it's a pretty clear instance of ~you are what you eat~, but it's this creepy promotion of imperial britain that really caught my eye. it runs through the entire movie, but a little more innocently, if you get my drift--like, there was some brutal thought behind mentioning the 1857 rebellion during dinner gag scene, you know?

or maybe not. i don't know. i just like the idea of "consuming" india in the movie in general, and i think it's something that a smarter person with more motivation and polish (this is a blog, guys!! not a real essay! i don't edit this!) could write a whole lot on. that smarter person might be me one day--i'll go for a PhD in indiana jones studies and write my dissertation on the temple of doom. sound good? good.

xxoo

eugenia