Why Did It Have To Be Snakes

Lois H. Gresh

Description

Could you really use a bullwhip to swing across a chasm? Or rip out a man’s heart without killing him? At last, here is the book that finally answers the Indiana Jones–related questions that have troubled you for years. It tells you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the history, culture, and science behind your favorite Indy scenes and settings. You’ll find out the truth about the Thuggees and their deadly practices, ancient death traps, the Well of Souls, Kali worship in India, and much more.

Sujets

• Social Science
• Popular Culture
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Indiana Jones
• Harrison Ford
• George Lucas
• Amblin Entertainment
• Steven Spielberg

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620458884
• Langue: English

Extrait

WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES?
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WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES?
From SCIENCE to the SUPERNATURAL, the MANY MYSTERIES of INDIANA JONES
Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg
Copyright 2008 by Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the web at www.copyright.com . Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions .
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and the author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Gresh, Lois H.
Why did it have to be snakes? : from science to the supernatural, the many mysteries of Indiana Jones / Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-470-22556-1 (paper)
1. Indiana Jones films-Miscellanea. I. Weinberg, Robert E. II. Title.
PN1995.9.I47G74 2008
791.45 75-dc22 2007039346
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Hovitos Temple and the Golden Idol
Deadly Tarantulas
Gigantic Rolling Boulders
South American Indian Weapons: Poison Darts and Bows and Arrows
Archaeology and Real-Life Archaeologists
Bullwhips
Fedoras
Leather Jackets
The Nazis and the Occult
The Ark of the Covenant
The Staff of Ra
Tanis, the Lost City of Ancient Egypt
The Well of Souls, Temples, and Map Rooms
Deadly Snakes
Pyramid Building
Seaplanes and Luftwaffe Airplanes
Cliff Roads Near Cairo
Nazi U-Boats
Secret German Submarine Bases
Arcane Jewish Ceremonies and Sacred Breastplates
The Ark: A Telephone Link to God
Top-Secret U.S. Archives
2 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Giant Gongs in Club Obi-Wan
Anything Goes
The Nurhachi
Gigantic Diamonds
Poisons and Their Antidotes
The Shanghai Mob
The Route from Shanghai to India
Northern India and the Hindi Language
Delhi, Pankot, and Indian Elephants
The Maharajah
Monsoons
Sivalinga and Shiva
The Three Lines of the Universe
Giant Vampire Bats
Baboons in India
Giant Owls of India
Big Reptiles of India
Snake Charmers
The Mutiny of 1857
Why Did It Have to Be Snake Surprise?
Giant Insects
Thuggees and Kali
Ripping a Heart out of a Live Body
Drinking Blood
Zombies
Voodoo Dolls
Crocodiles
3 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Utah, 1912, and the Boy Scouts
Grave Robbers, Spanish Conquistadors, and the Cross of Coronado
Circus Trains and Wild Animals
The Search for Facts, Not Truth
Walter Donovan, American Nazi
The Holy Grail
The Rising Nazi Menace
The First Crusade
The Catacombs of Venice
Rats
The Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword
Venice
Book Burning
Zeppelins
The Birds in the Skies
Hatay
The Phantom II
The Temple of the Crescent Moon
The Jerusalem Cross and the Third Brother
The Cups of Kings and Carpenters
The Great Seal
The Grail Cross
4 Young Indiana Jones
Indy s First Adventure: Lawrence of Arabia and the Curse of King Tut
Passion for Life: A Party in France, a Safari in Africa, a Romance in Vienna
Travels with Father: Three Writers, a Boy Genius, and a Famous Scientist
Spring Break Adventure: Prelude to War
Trenches of Hell: The Horrors of War
The Phantom Train of Doom: At War in Africa
Attack of the Hawkmen: Working with the French Secret Service
Daredevils of the Desert: On the Edge of Africa
Dracula and the Eye of the Peacock
Winds of Change: Back in the United States
Indy in Hollywood
5 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The Secrets of the Real Crystal Skull Revealed
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Arie Bodek for specifics about the Urim and Thummim, derived directly from his copy of the Torah; and Kevin L. O Brien and Angeline Hawkes for their assistance in researching the Great Seal. Special thanks to Dan Gresh for his patience over the years while his mother wrote books on weekends and at night.
Thanks as always to our agent, Lori Perkins, and to Stephen S. Power, our editor at John Wiley Sons.
INTRODUCTION
Everyone knows that Harrison Ford plays the role of Indiana Jones, an adventurer and an archaeologist whose bravery has no limits. Indiana sports a leather jacket and a fedora, he brandishes a whip, and he can do most anything. His biggest fear in life is snakes. Millions of people all over the world were introduced to the character in 1981, when Paramount Pictures released Raiders of the Lost Ark , later retitled for video Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark . The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, the story was developed by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, and the official screenwriter was Lawrence Kasdan. With a duo like Spielberg and Lucas at the helm, it was no surprise that Indiana Jones became an icon in the public mind.
The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and it won Oscars for Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, and Best Art Direction-Set Decoration. In addition, the film won a Special Achievement Award for Sound Effects Editing.
As the story goes, Henry Indiana Jones Jr. was born in Princeton, New Jersey. His mother was Anna Jones, who died when Indy was a child, and his father was Henry Jones. Indy s original screen name was going to be Indiana Smith, after George Lucas s Alaskan malamute dog, Indiana. Indiana Jones is of average build (that is, not huge), is incredibly strong, is extremely intelligent, and needs a lot of physical and mental stimulation. And he s not exactly a conformist, either.
Indiana s love interest in Raiders of the Lost Ark was Marion Ravenwood, played by the actress Karen Allen. The Nazi-commissioned archaeologist Dr. Rene Belloq was played by Paul Freeman. Other actors in the film included Ronald Lacey as Major Toht and John Rhys-Davies as Sallah. The film dealt with Nazis trying to locate the lost biblical Ark of the Covenant and Indy s attempts to make sure they didn t find it. The adventure took place in the mountains of Tibet, the desert in Egypt, and a secret Nazi submarine base in the Mediterranean Sea. The story was fast-paced and the action nonstop. The film was a huge hit.
Indiana Jones s second adventure was a prequel called Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom . The story was once again conceived by Lucas and directed by Spielberg. The film also included Kate Capshaw as the ever-terrified, ever-screaming Willie Scott and Jonathan Ke Quan as Indiana s young helper, Short Round. The film, released by Paramount in 1984, won an Academy Award for Visual Effects. Although it cost $8 million more to make than Raiders did, a now seemingly paltry $28 million, it received mixed reviews, and the U.S. gross was $65 million less, albeit a still substantial $180 million.
Temple of Doom was so dark that it was supposedly almost called Temple of Death . It included child slavery, torture, and gory scenes such as the one in which a Thuggee high priest yanks a beating, bloody heart from a victim s chest. Because the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) had only PG and R ratings at the time, Spielberg asked the MPAA to make a new rating, which became PG-13.
Temple of Doom is an excellent example of the outdated Western view of Asian society. In the Fu Manchu series, for example, the typical Western view was that Asian people eat weird exotic foods, are members of gangs, and kill with no remorse or feelings. In Temple of Doom , Indians are cast in these stere