David Crane’s Pitfall & Colonial Imagery - A critical analysis

pixelatedharmony said:
Okay but we’re just talking about how he’s coded not the values of a fictional character, the medium is the message.
Click to expand...
And yet the character breaks the coding by having characteristics which aren't in lockstep with their perceived associated values as dictated by you. he defies your rubric even as you hold him up as an example of your meaning. So who are you to say Pitfall! guy is any different? You dont know he's a viscious bloodthirsty tyrant colonizer just because you associate his likeness with such.
 
  • Agree
  • Informative
  • Thunk-Provoking
Reactions: SiccDicc, albert chan, PumpkinSpiceBitchMeringue and 1 other person
The best and greatest said:
And yet the character breaks the coding by having characteristics which aren't in lockstep with their perceived associated values as dictated by you. he defies your rubric even as you hold him up as an example of your meaning. So who are you to say Pitfall! guy is any different? You dont know he's a viscious bloodthirsty tyrant colonizer just because you associate his likeness with such.
Click to expand...
Yes, so not the values of the character but where how he was coded came from. It’s not about Indy, it’s about why the costume designers Steven Spielberg’s production company hired chose to dress Han Solo like that

Not Vordrak said:
Why haven't you done a flip yet, faggot?
Click to expand...
I live in Florida, everything is flat and there are no tall buildings near me 😭
 
pixelatedharmony said:
Yes, so not the values of the character but where how he was coded came from. It’s not about Indy, it’s about why the costume designers Steven Spielberg’s production company hired chose to dress Han Solo like that
Click to expand...
You mean dressed like a well traveled adventurer-gentleman? Just because you associate these things thematically doesnt make them actually present. people see meaning in otherwise meaningless things all the time.
 
  • Agree
Reactions: SiccDicc and PumpkinSpiceBitchMeringue
Indy himself isn't the archetype though. He's based on serials from the 1930s or whatever. And those in turn are based on an older media fad for actual explorers of a particular kind. You know how the Great Pyramid has a giant crack down the side? That's thanks to this guy named Vyse who had a thing for dynamite.
 
The best and greatest said:
You mean dressed like a well traveled adventurer-gentleman? Just because you associate these things thematically doesnt make them actually present. people see meaning in otherwise meaningless things all the time.
Click to expand...
Man, it’s almost like... we put meaning into everything we do regardless of our intent and nothing is innocent and pure because humans are fundamentally flawed and that’s what makes us beautiful and inspiring? Indy would not be interesting if he was actually a paragon of virtue. He’d be a Mary Sue.
 
  • Lunacy
Reactions: albert chan
Gimmick Account said:
Indy himself isn't the archetype though. He's based on serials from the 1930s or whatever. And those in turn are based on an older media fad for actual explorers of a particular kind. You know how the Great Pyramid has a giant crack down the side? That's thanks to this guy named Vyse who had a thing for dynamite.
Click to expand...
I understand this. But by the time you get to Indy we're pretty far removed from the guy who stepped through a floor of mummies crushing them just to get at Treasure.

Indy's sensibilities reflect the sensibilities of the people who wrote/directed/acted him out. You can even see these on-going change in sensibilities with the latest film Crystal Skull.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PumpkinSpiceBitchMeringue
The best and greatest said:
I understand this. But by the time you get to Indy we're pretty far removed from the guy who stepped through a floor of mummies crushing them just to get at Treasure.

Indy's sensibilities reflect the sensibilities of the people who wrote/directed/acted him out. You can even see these on-going change in sensibilities with the latest film Crystal Skull.
Click to expand...
Okay but do you see the line of the hippo-hide whip being made to whip slaves -> Indy owning a hippo hide whip which is made by the same process? It’s not a bad reflection on Indy, it’s the same moral weight as wearing shoes made in China. The point is continuity of imagery permeating different mediums and genres to sneak up on us via media we love.

the medium is the message.
 
  • Autistic
Reactions: moocow
The best and greatest said:
Indy's sensibilities reflect the sensibilities of the people who wrote/directed/acted him out. You can even see these on-going change in sensibilities with the latest film Crystal Skull.
Click to expand...
Yeah and we're aware of this in the same way people going to the cinema in the 80s were aware that Indy didn't himself emerge fully-formed from the earth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Punished “Venom” pH
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back