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Indiana Jones: The Men Behind the Myth

Sales for this series have closed.
Registrations may still be available for the individual sessions within this series.

Indiana Jones: The Men Behind the Myth

3-Session Evening Series

3 sessions, from May 9 to 23, 2022
Code: 1J0176
Select your Registration
$60
Member
$70
Nonmember

The 3 programs included in this series are:

May 9, 2022 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. ET

The Indiana Jones series is one of the most popular and iconic film franchises in the history of Hollywood. But just how accurate is it? In a 3-session series, historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the centuries of key figures and perspectives that influenced the creation of this cinematic hero, revealing how the films diverge or converge with historical realities. This session focuses on the history behind Indiana Jones.

The Indiana Jones series is one of the most popular and iconic film franchises in the history of Hollywood. But just how accurate is it? In a 3-session series, historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the centuries of key figures and perspectives that influenced the creation of this cinematic hero, revealing how the films diverge or converge with historical realities. This session focuses on the antiquities trade in China.

The Indiana Jones series is one of the most popular and iconic film franchises in the history of Hollywood. But just how accurate is it? In a 3-session series, historian Justin M. Jacobs explores the centuries of key figures and perspectives that influenced the creation of this cinematic hero, revealing how the films diverge or converge with historical realities. This session focuses on the Indiana Jones film francise compared to historical realities.

The Indiana Jones series is one of the most popular and iconic film franchises in the history of Hollywood. But just how accurate is it? Justin M. Jacobs, associate professor of history at American University, explores the history behind the cinematic legend, drawing on events from Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 to the controversy over in the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1923. He also examines the antiquities trade in China. By the end of the saga, understand not only how major museums acquired their collections, but where and when the film franchise diverges or converges with historical realities.

Jacobs is the author of several books, including Indiana Jones in History and The Compensations of Plunder: How China Lost Its Treasures. He is also the instructor for “World Heritage Sites: Exploring the World’s Greatest Places,” a 24-episode series for The Great Courses.

Please Note: Individual sessions are available for individual purchase.

May 9  Who Was Indiana Jones?

On the silver screen, Indiana Jones shoots, punches, and whips his way through the archaeological hot spots of the world to acquire priceless treasures for Western museums. But his real-life archaeological counterparts depended much more on the voluntary support of native elites and laborers to help them get what they wanted. Jacobs analyzes the dynamics of excavations and expeditions in the field, the role of museums in legitimizing the activities of archaeologists, the imperialist ideologies that animated the international antiquities trade, and the end of the archaeological free-for-all in the decades after World War I.

May 16  How Did China Lose its Treasures?

In stark contrast to the rest of the world, in China Indiana Jones came face to face with a domestic educated elite that had been preserving, studying, and cherishing its own antiquities for thousands of years. And yet the result was much the same as elsewhere: By the middle of the 20th century, tens of thousands of priceless works of art and antiquities had been taken out of the country and placed into foreign museums around the world. Jacobs unravels the unique dynamic of the antiquities trade in China, from the sale of oracle bones to desert expeditions along the Silk Road.

May 23  Indiana Jones: Hollywood vs. History

The Indiana Jones films are great fun, but are they good history? Jacobs applies a rigorous historical analysis to all four films, carefully noting where they diverge or converge with the popular Hollywood icon. With the aid of a leaked brainstorming transcript for the first film he explores the hidden inspiration for the main characters, plot lines, and geographic backdrops—and determines whether they bear any resemblance to the actual careers of real-life archaeologists in history. He concludes with an attempt to devise a more historically accurate and politically sensitive plot line for future films in the franchise.

3 sessions

Photo caption (upper right): Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show at Disney's Hollywood Studios (Photo: Josh Hallett)

Patron Information

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