Whip it Good: The Roots of the Whip at the Brattle

Tonight the Brattle Theater kicks off the intriguing program "Roots of the Whip: Indiana Jones and His Influences." We're tempted to say that the Brattle is doing this as a public service to make up for the fourth film by giving us a chance to watch good Indiana Jones movies on the big screen again, but that would only diminish the significance of the series. Indiana Jones, along with Jaws, that other Spielberg blockbuster, sounded the death knell for the Hollywood renaissance. Hollywood realized that there was more money to be had making big event movies than in making Network or Nashville, to mention only movies that start with the letter N, just one of the big 26! That both Jaws and, especially, the best-picture-nominated Raiders happened to be excellent movies seems to have fallen on deaf ears, and it can be argued that it's not until this year's Dark Knight that Hollywood again coupled monumentality of purpose with monumentality of explosions. Jones was possibly too good of a movie, too influential.

Tonight's screening of Raiders also features a presentation by Harvard's Marc Zender. Only a few months ago, Zender spoke with MTV news about the then-obscure Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Zender explained that crystal skulls, now considered late-nineteenth-century forgeries, had no identifiable purpose, and that true believers project their own meaning onto the skulls. Then he added, "As with most romances, by the end of it, the skull will have to be destroyed and the [ancient] civilization will pass away. But we'll just have to wait and see how."

Zender's interview should probably have been accompanied by a spoiler alert. Though he had no actual knowledge of The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Zender knew what had to take place. Indiana Jones emerged out of continuing love of near eastern legends, a tradition of B-movie serials, pulp magazines, and epic narratives of imperialism like Lawrence of Arabia, animated by just enough popular mythology to give the sense of lasting importance. Though not too much importance; fun and escapism were always their highest aims. There's nothing really unpredictable about the Jones movies, but that's part of what we love about them. When handled well, simply satisfying plot expectations is a virtue all its own.

"The Roots of the Whip" go quiet deep, obviously touching upon archeology and the image of the archeologist. Still, it's surprising that the Brattle chose such a one-sided term rather than the pun-filled "rise," or another word that equally establishes looking beyond rather than just going backward. Influence goes both ways, and at least half of the Brattle series is rightly devoted to movies inspired by Indy. These include the great Hellboy and Serenity, though, sadly, not Stargate.

Nonetheless, "The Roots of the Whip" is sure to be one of the most entertaining programs that the Brattle, or any other repertory theater, has put on this year. The series continues this weekend with Indy flicks The Last Crusade, The Temple of Doom, and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Thursday through Saturday, followed by Zorro Rides Again, Secret of the Incas, and Hellboy on Sunday.