This subgenre has always had the superiority of white folks at its core. The rage for Egyptian artifacts begun with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in the 1920s was motivated as much by white greed as it was by the desire for historical discovery. Orientalism, as Edward Said has termed it, involved both the exotification of the land and the dehumanization of the people of Asia, something which Hollywood easily picked up on. One might say that setting this film in the 1920s is a sort of means of chasing orientalism back to its original source.
Indian Jone’s entire offscreen career and the first five minutes of the first movie are white greed and acquisition, no doubt. But in the movies (I haven’t seen the latest one), he’s fighting fascists. It’s actual Nazis in #1 and #3. The bad guy in #2 is running a child slavery operation. #4 is a little less clear, but the Russian scientist is certainly not an anti-colonial. Still plenty of white savior in Indiana Jones, but at least bad guys are irredeemable.
"Indian Jone’s entire offscreen career and the first five minutes of the first movie are white greed and acquisition, no doubt. But in the movies (I haven’t seen the latest one), he’s fighting fascists."
You could say the same for Rick and Evie—yes, they're the White Anglo-Saxon (he's Canadian, she's British) heroes we're expected to root for, but in the first movie their activities are counterbalanced by those of the Rootin'-Tootin', Gun-Shootin' U.S. Cowboys with NO respect for anything in Egypt except plunder—who Imhotep tears through like Rambo through tissue paper. Rick and Evie know what they're dealing with, and have enough respect for it to fight Imhotep on his own terms.
I also don't think we're entirely supposed to see Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep as a villain, but as more of a tragic antihero. He's trying to resurrect the woman he loves, and he was done dirty by his own people in the Far Distant Past, so it's hard to completely disagree with why he's doing it even as we disagree with how he's doing it. In the end he and Rick have pretty much the same goal—to save the woman they love, and pursue it with the same determination. The sequel makes this even clearer, as Imhotep's lover turns out to be unworthy of his eternal love, and Rick kills The Scorpion King (as his idiot brother-in-law Jonathan and son Alex resurrect Evie!) to prevent an apocalypse.
I wanted the third MUMMY movie set in North Africa during WWII where Imhotep is resurrected by the Nazis, Rick discovers the Armies of Anubis now obey him, and in the end Rick and Imhotep join forces to kick Nazi ass, whereupon Imhotep takes the Armies of Anubis with Rick's blessing to continue the fight against Hitler and Mussolini.
Brings to mind comedian James Acaster's analysis of why colonial nations don't return looted artifacts on display in museums: "Were not done lookin' at them yet."
I love this movie and its sequel and at least half of that is the fact that Brendan Fraiser and Rachel Weisz are incredibly attractive and have great chemistry. The character played by Oded Fehr is also attractive and I think the fact that he's treated as a protagonist/hero is why I apparently never picked up on just how racist the movies are. The Americans being portrayed as selfish dipshits helps as well, which is why I didn't dislike Beni. Definitely appreciate him more now.
Being a bourbon enthusiast I don't care how the one American ordering a lot of bourbon being part of his character flaw. Bourbon is one of the few things uniquely American that we do really well. Though of course it has a racist history. So I guess it fits with the character.
This subgenre has always had the superiority of white folks at its core. The rage for Egyptian artifacts begun with the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in the 1920s was motivated as much by white greed as it was by the desire for historical discovery. Orientalism, as Edward Said has termed it, involved both the exotification of the land and the dehumanization of the people of Asia, something which Hollywood easily picked up on. One might say that setting this film in the 1920s is a sort of means of chasing orientalism back to its original source.
Welp. There goes my feels for Indiana Jones, international thief.
Indian Jone’s entire offscreen career and the first five minutes of the first movie are white greed and acquisition, no doubt. But in the movies (I haven’t seen the latest one), he’s fighting fascists. It’s actual Nazis in #1 and #3. The bad guy in #2 is running a child slavery operation. #4 is a little less clear, but the Russian scientist is certainly not an anti-colonial. Still plenty of white savior in Indiana Jones, but at least bad guys are irredeemable.
"Indian Jone’s entire offscreen career and the first five minutes of the first movie are white greed and acquisition, no doubt. But in the movies (I haven’t seen the latest one), he’s fighting fascists."
You could say the same for Rick and Evie—yes, they're the White Anglo-Saxon (he's Canadian, she's British) heroes we're expected to root for, but in the first movie their activities are counterbalanced by those of the Rootin'-Tootin', Gun-Shootin' U.S. Cowboys with NO respect for anything in Egypt except plunder—who Imhotep tears through like Rambo through tissue paper. Rick and Evie know what they're dealing with, and have enough respect for it to fight Imhotep on his own terms.
I also don't think we're entirely supposed to see Arnold Vosloo's Imhotep as a villain, but as more of a tragic antihero. He's trying to resurrect the woman he loves, and he was done dirty by his own people in the Far Distant Past, so it's hard to completely disagree with why he's doing it even as we disagree with how he's doing it. In the end he and Rick have pretty much the same goal—to save the woman they love, and pursue it with the same determination. The sequel makes this even clearer, as Imhotep's lover turns out to be unworthy of his eternal love, and Rick kills The Scorpion King (as his idiot brother-in-law Jonathan and son Alex resurrect Evie!) to prevent an apocalypse.
I wanted the third MUMMY movie set in North Africa during WWII where Imhotep is resurrected by the Nazis, Rick discovers the Armies of Anubis now obey him, and in the end Rick and Imhotep join forces to kick Nazi ass, whereupon Imhotep takes the Armies of Anubis with Rick's blessing to continue the fight against Hitler and Mussolini.
Oh. Thank you. I feel better now. [smile]
Brings to mind comedian James Acaster's analysis of why colonial nations don't return looted artifacts on display in museums: "Were not done lookin' at them yet."
I love this movie and its sequel and at least half of that is the fact that Brendan Fraiser and Rachel Weisz are incredibly attractive and have great chemistry. The character played by Oded Fehr is also attractive and I think the fact that he's treated as a protagonist/hero is why I apparently never picked up on just how racist the movies are. The Americans being portrayed as selfish dipshits helps as well, which is why I didn't dislike Beni. Definitely appreciate him more now.
Being a bourbon enthusiast I don't care how the one American ordering a lot of bourbon being part of his character flaw. Bourbon is one of the few things uniquely American that we do really well. Though of course it has a racist history. So I guess it fits with the character.