You don’t generally think about the laws that movie heroes are breaking when watching a movie, do you? Of course not, since the point of the movie is to just have fun and roll with whatever happens as much as possible. But when we look at things objectively and really dig into the legality of the movies it’s usually a disappointing trip down reality lane since we get to figure out just how many laws our favorite characters are breaking and why these actions are so illegal. Without going into all the legal jargon that only lawyers can understand at times, let’s just say that Indiana Jones is not the most innocent of people in the movies. This is something that a lot of fans should know of course, but the fact that some of the simply idolize Jones for his looks, his adventures, and for the gruff way he goes about his business makes it difficult to see anyone really taking this seriously. Well, there’s also the fact that its fiction, which when taken into account tends to matter quite a bit since some of the crimes that Jones is guilty of are pretty serious. One might want to make the argument that it was a different time period and some laws weren’t looked at as seriously, especially when they happened abroad and the lawmakers weren’t always ready to crack down on a lot of people for stuff that went under the radar, but that’s still a fairly weak argument since some of the laws he broke are still pretty serious.
One, in particular, that is among the worst crimes that anyone could possibly commit has to do with the relationship between Jones and Marion, who was only 15 when they first met. She was a minor when they engaged in a romantic relationship, which is known as statutory rape by a lot of people but has other designations under the law. If anyone is willing to say that this law wasn’t fully enacted back in the 30s they’ve got a lot of reading to do since this is a law that has been around since the 13th century in England and did make its way over to America well before the 70s when it was adjusted a bit. The fact that Jones knew it was wrong, that he admits it, and that Marion hated him for it throughout the past decade, makes it clear that jilting her not only left Marion wanting the relationship to continue but that the act was anything but legal. A lot of people have brought this up in recent years thanks to the MeToo movement, and Indiana Jones isn’t the only movie character that’s been called out for this kind of behavior. The fact that this tidbit made it into the movie is troubling enough to a lot of people since it means that the director and producer were condoning the idea even if they’d sat around and considered what could happen. That’s a bit hard to fathom on a few levels.
The point is also made that Indy’s desire to see things kept in a museum has always been a little troubling since it speaks of a great deal of arrogance that he’s operating with since it would indicate that these priceless artifacts aren’t fine just where they’re at, being kept safe by the locals and their legends, and a few traps here and there. Even noted archaeologists have gone on record stating that Indiana Jones isn’t the best archeologist since he does more plundering and more damage to the places he visits than any self-respecting researcher would think about. Plus, taking something that doesn’t belong to you and has more worth and value to the people that have been guarding it is simply rude in a very profound way and is about as disrespectful as one could get. A good hypothetical situation would be if a person had a priceless artifact in their home that had been legally handed down from generation to generation, and a person decided to ‘liberate’ the item from their home, breaking in and disarming any traps or security measures that might be put into place. Just because a person believes that something belongs in a museum for everyone to see doesn’t make them right. In fact, the only saving grace that Indiana has had in any of his movies is the fact that in Temple of Doom he lost two of the sacred stones in the river, and returned the other stone to the village it had come from.
Then of course there was the holy grail, which fell down into the chasm that was opened when it was taken across the Great Seal the knight had warned about. It’s fair to say that had it not fallen, Indiana might have taken it with him, perhaps to even greater ruin. So really, despite being seen as a hero, Indiana Jones is a criminal with a lot of fans, which isn’t too hard to believe.
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