Raiders of the Lost Ark story

movie: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) · 1981-06-12

Raiders of the Lost Ark (later marketed as Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark) is a 1981 American action adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Lawrence Kasdan from a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It was produced by Frank Marshall for Lucasfilm Ltd., with Lucas and Howard Kazanjian as executive producers.

11 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 2 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
ancient puzzle choice Indiana Jones raided a tomb with elaborate traps, and then solved an ancient riddle to find the Ark of the Covenant.
good vs. evil choice Jones and Marion were clearly on the side of the good Allies, fighting stereotypically wicked and brutish Nazis
archaeology occupation major Jones was an archaeologist, as was one of the antagonists and some the professors we met in an archaeology department.
becoming a nicer person major Jones mends some of his rapscallious ways and makes amends with Marion
charting unknown territory major Jones likes to explorer ancient forgotten temples and raid closed off tombs
Christianity major the Ark of the Covenant is a Christian icon and in the end, God smote the wicked Nazis
infatuation major Jones and Marion
the Nazi stereotype major some of the Nazis were caricatures
World War II major we saw Nazi soldiers dominating in parts of the world
academic occupation minor Indiana Jones was an archaeology professor who, in between adventures, interacted with the academic world and his peers.