Indiana Jones and The Raiders of The Lost Ark

AS Media Studies - Art of the Title
Indiana Jones and The Raiders of The Lost Ark

1. Indiana jones and the raiders of the lost ark Annie partridge – Burford school media studies

2. Throughout the opening scene of ‘Indiana Jones and The Raiders of T he Lost Ark’, we need to consider the aspects of media such as camera work, editing, sound, and mise-en-scene. These aspects may include effects like camera angles, lighting, music, specific types or editing, and so on.

3. The scene opens with a defocused dissolve from an image of the Paramount logo, with a rugged mountain surrounded by stars, to a low-angle shot of a mountain. The mountain creates the impression of a tough and natural world, with mountains as the ultimate symbol of natural supremacy; Paramount using this as their logo suggests their belief in their standing in the film industry. Moreover, the stars surrounding the mountain imply that Paramount films are superior even to nature. The stars also link to the American flag, portraying this company as an all-American industry, the epitome of America. This image dissolves into the establishing shot of the mountain, suggesting the expectations and high standards implied by the company will be seen in this film. The low angle shot/extreme long shot signifies the imposing character of Indiana Jones; the image of him blocking the mountain suggests that he is more powerful and important than the mountain.

4. However, the image of the mountain also contrasts this image as it quickly becomes apparent that this location is not America, challenging the initial ideology. The diegetic sounds of the jungle animals immediately create a feeling of threat and the exotic, with the animals issuing calls which sound like warnings to the audience. This creates a sense of confusion in the audience as it’s not clear if IJ is a protagonist or antagonist, as the sounds of the jungle animals develop a feeling of discomfort, and we are unsure as an audience if the animals are afraid of Indiana or not. The overlapping diegetic sounds are reverberant, therefore mirroring the uncertainty of emotions and the fear both for and of IJ. This shows the audience that he is dominant over everything, including the diegetic sounds to suggest his power – he walks over everyone, which further suggests that his actions overlay like the sounds. Also, the additional music is discordant, meaning that it is minor and creates an unsettling atmosphere.

5. Moreover, a refocus is used when Indiana walks into the shot of the mountain, therefore the focus goes off of the mountain and onto IJ (Indiana Jones). This shows the audience that he is eclipsing the mountain which furthermore suggests his authority and that he is well-respected.

6. Furthermore, the scene cuts to a point of view shot from behind the vines/trees as the men are walking through the forest. This gives us a good view of what is happening around the men as they walk through behind one another, telling the audience whether they are in danger or not. However, this can also give the audience the impression that someone may be spying on the men, therefore making us question whether we are watching from a protagonist’s or antagonist’s view. Alongside this, a tracking shot is used as they are walking through the forest. This creates a strong feeling of enigma along with the diegetic sounds of the jungle animals in the background.

7. In addition, invisible editing is used from the low angle shot of the mountain to the tracking of the men in the forest. This portrays an ellipsis in time, and shows the audience that Indiana has dominance in being a confident explorer. It also suggests that he is dominant over everything, including nature. This shows American viewers that America is a powerful and dominant country which is very patriarchal. The low angle/point of view shot when one of the men speaks in the direction of the camera in the first several seconds of the opening scene suggests to a modern audience a sense of arrogance in the men, furthermore stressing status and power.

8. A tracking shot is used that brings a sense that things will either be good or bad, as the tracking shot from behind the trees suggests someone is spying on them. The sunlight from behind the trees creating shadows implies that the men and IJ can be moving into lightness or darkness – the shot as the sequence progresses gets lighter, especially with IJ, which portrays that they are the ‘good guys’ of the film, showing positivity. However, it creates a sense of being uncovered and claustrophobic as they are surrounded by trees and have nowhere else to go but onwards .

9. Asynchronous sound is used in this scene. The sounds of the monkeys signify humanity and how we evolved from them. Although, the sound is somewhat worrisome and tells the audience that they are scared. The fact that the monkeys signify humanity suggests that the men and IJ should too be worried and frightened as they are so similar to humans. On the other hand, IJ ignores the warning calls of the monkeys as he is beyond fright and being scared, which can show heroic connotations; IJ has a distance of fear. This can be seen as a negative thing because it suggests possible arrogance in his character .

10. The statue that is discovered by one of the South American men later on in the sequence harks back to the uncivilised nature, which is a negative stereotype. The statue was also hidden from view, behind leaves. This is confusing for the audience because we don’t know if IJ is seeking something already or not. The lack of editing in this section of the opening scene shows calmness when he walks in after the South American man runs away, and also stresses the differences between the different parts of America which can make North American viewers feel more authoritative and respected, suggesting patriotism. Additionally, the music played when the SA discovers the statue, he screams. This implies that the South American’s are cowardly and scared of many things, and maybe the statue has an evil meaning to it that the South American’s have ben brought up to be afraid of.

11. In terms of mise-en-scene, IJ’s wearing a hat and a jacket, while the South American men wear tribal clothing. IJ’s tanned jacket separates him from the South American men, therefore he stands out as a protagonist. The difference of colours of IJ’s and the SAs’ clothing also signifies race and the idea that North Americans are very different from South Americans. The South Americans are wearing dark colours to camouflage into the jungle, however IJ’s light colours don’t camouflage into the jungle at all, given us the impression that he is a very brave character and the SA’s are more cowardly. Also, IJ’s job/business foreshadows later on in the film. The old fashioned values that are stressed in the opening scene contrasts with the camera shots; he blocks them, which creates a sinister effect .

12. Furthermore, the difference in clothing shows the North American viewers a difference in status over the SA’s – NA’s are wealthy and have a high status, whereas SA’s have less money and a lower status. The differences signify civilisation, culture, and history in terms of expanding the North American wealth and territory.

13. To conclude, the opening scene of Indiana Jones and The Raiders of The Lost Ark has many aspects of media to comment on that make the audience more interested in the movie. The main audience is mostly targeted towards North Americans, as they see America as an image of power, authority, civilisation, wealth, and much more. Therefore, this scene is very successful in terms of attracting viewers within media.