Trope Raiders Of The Lost Ark

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” Trope Analysis

The use of tropes is prevalent in film, literature, poetry, and other art forms, and is commonly used to provide a familiar theme that would attract the audience. A trope is a common theme or device found in multiple works of art that are familiar to the audience and easily understood. Steven Spielberg employs several tropes as the director of “Raiders of the Lost Ark” such as The Evil Empire, The Search for the Lost City, and The Stereotypically-Primitive Natives, though the question remains on the historical accuracy of these plot devices. This paper will discuss the factual-basis of these tropes and the way these tropes were used in the film.

The antagonistic force found most prominently in the

film is that of the Nazis, who embody the Evil Empire trope. The Nazis often directly or indirectly frustrate the plans of Indiana Jones, and are the driving force for the plot as the film captures their race towards the Ark of the Covenant. The Nazis are similar to most Evil Empires in that they have vast resources, are ruthless, and actively battle against the protagonist. Jones becomes the “underdog” who has better morals but often has to defeat the Evil Empire with inadequate resources, overcoming it with bravery and skill, something highly valued in American Society. Spielberg uses the Evil Empire trope to set a clear antagonist that the vast majority of audience members would be able to despise without question, as well as set up a large entity that the “underdog” protagonist would be able to fight against. The Nazis in the film were based on the actual Nazis, but the historical accuracy of this comparison is subject to discussion.
Though the Nazis in the film were mostly based on the historical Nazis and their obsession with the occult, Spielberg also drew upon his own artistic creativity to sensationalize the film. The Nazis were certainly fascinated by pseudoscience, as shown in their pursuit of and interest in several supernatural artifacts and ideas. Commentary by Tim Martin from Entertainment Book Reviews reveals that, “Belief in pseudoscience extended across the Nazi high command… In 1934, the year after [Hitler] was appointed chancellor of Germany, he hired a dowser to go over the Reich Chancellery in search of “death rays” that might damage staff in the building…” The Nazis (and especially Hitler’s) obsession with the occult is portrayed in the film through their search for the Ark of the Covenant, a supernatural artifact they believe they could use as a deadly weapon of war. Though no evidence exists to suggest that Hitler searched for the Ark itself, he did believe in or at least suspect the existence of other supernatural weapons, such as “death rays,” and would likely have employed a weapon such as this for his own use in the war if given the opportunity. Spielberg used the Nazis’ obsession with pseudoscience to set up the antagonistic force in his film. He also dramaticized their search for occult artifacts (the Nazis did not seem to actively search for these artifacts using violence) in order to force the protagonist to set out on a quest to find the artifact before the powerful Nazis could. Though the use of Nazis to fulfill the Evil Empire trope was mostly historically accurate through the Nazi’s obsession with the occult, the Nazis were never known to search for the Ark of the Covenant, and so the film does not completely reflect reality.
The central plot of the film focuses on The Search for the Lost City. This trope is commonly used in several films, and in Raiders of the Lost Ark, is used as the protagonist’s adventure and is the incentive for both the antagonist and protagonist to embark on their quest to obtain the lost treasure hidden in the lost city. The lost city, like most other hidden civilizations in cinematography, was lost in ages past through a catastrophic disaster, in this case a sandstorm. Indiana Jones and the Nazis race to find the lost city in Egypt, an ancient city named Tanis. They search for this city in order to find the lost treasure hidden inside of it, and both use historical documents and archaeological skills in their search. Jones finds the city first, deciphering ancient passages and puzzles in order to find it. Through this trope, Tanis is portrayed as mysterious and interesting. This trope is used to set a familiar adventure as the main plot, adding a layer of mystery and excitement to the film.
The city of Tanis in the film was loosely based on the actual city of Tanis found in Egypt, but it’s already interesting history was clearly dramaticized in order to provide the fascinating, mysterious city the film needed.

Though Tanis was an actual city discovered in Egypt, many of the details in the film were not entirely accurate. Tanis was an ancient city in northeast Egypt, rediscovered during World War II, as revealed in “Tanis,” an article by National Geographic, similarly to when it was found in the film (also during the World War II). Commentary from National Geographic also reveals that, “In reality, the Ark was never hidden in Tanis, the sandstorm didn’t happen, and the Nazis never battled Indiana Jones in the site’s ruins.” The sandstorm and the battle were both dramatic touches added in order to sensationalize the film’s story and adventure, and add a certain sense of fascination and mystery to the city (in the case of the sandstorm). Though the existence, discovery, and approximate location of the city of Tanis were historically accurate, Spielberg certainly took artistic liberty in dramatizing Tanis to fit the Lost City

trope.
To introduce Indiana Jones and his adventurous-ways, the film begins with the climax of his quest to find a gold artifact in the South American jungle, when he is suddenly confronted by a man and his primitive allies.

The film chooses to introduce both the main protagonist and one of his rivals quickly in this way, and in order for the audience to understand instinctively who was in charge (who would be the long-term threat) and to provide a familiar and logical opponent, Stereotypically-Primitive Natives are used. The portrayal of the natives in this fashion also follows the common belief of the public in how people from this region appear, and so they would also be able to infer the location of this scene with this as well. Indiana Jones’ primitive foes need little to no explanation, as the trope for their existence and their protection of valuable artifacts already exists. These foes would not make the common viewer consider their intentions, and are easily portrayed as submissive to Indiana Jones’ actual rival, a fellow archaeologist. The natives in this case is shown by the Hovitos, alleged descendants of the Chachapoyas in the film. The historical accuracy of the portrayal of these natives, however, is up for

debate.
Though the Hovitos were not historically accurate, their ancestors were truly an ancient group of people who lived in the approximate area the film is said to take place. The Hovitos were shown as natives that lived in the South American jungle, similarly to the real Chachapoyas, their ancestors in the film. According to commentary from The Wrap News Inc, “While the Hovitos and their language are fictional, the Chachapoyas are real… Known as the ‘Warriors of the Clouds, they lived high in the Andes Mountains.” The Chachapoyas, unlike the Hovitos in the film, however, no longer exist, at least not as they once did, with their descendents not seeming to continue with the way they had lived. The fictional Hovitos were portrayed as primitive and easily controlled, but this may not be the case for the actual Chachapoyas’ descendents of today. No evidence exists to suggest that the descendants of the Chachapoyas protect a golden idol, nor that they exist as a warrior group that violently protects this valuable artifact, in fact, they mostly disappeared at the time of the destruction of a large portion of Central and South American indigenous groups. Vague similarities exist between the original Chachapoya and the Hovito, such as their location and their ancestry, but the majority of what was portrayed in the film was not historically accurate as the Hovitos did not exist, and many of the rest of the details shared in the film about them were also fictional.
To restate, Spielberg uses the tropes of The Evil Empire, The Search for the Lost City, and The Stereotypically-Primitive Natives in order to make the film easy to understand with familiar elements, but the historical accuracy of these tropes is up to discussion. The Evil Empire trope is used to effectively create an antagonistic force that drives the plot, and is mostly historically accurate as the Nazis and Hitler were truly obsessed with the occult, though no evidence exists to suggest that they ever looked for the Ark of the Covenant in particular. The Search for the Lost City trope is also used effectively to provide a familiar but exciting plot, and is somewhat historically accurate as the city of Tanis was in fact real, discovered during World War II, and was found in the approximate area of the film. The Stereotypically-Primitive Natives was another trope employed by Spielberg to quickly introduce the protagonist’s adventures, as well as the film’s antagonist. Though this trope was an effective introduction, it is largely inaccurate, as the Hovitos did not exist, nor do they (or their real counterparts) seem to be guarding a valuable gold idol, though their ancestors, the Chachapoyas, did in fact exist. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a masterful film filled with a familiar touch of exciting adventures, lovable characters, and an interesting plot.