Indiana Jonesis set to return to theaters with his fifth film installment,Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, set for release on July 13, 2025. Harrison Ford is confirmed to be reprising the titular role, andFord v. Ferrari’s James Mangold is assuming the coveted directorial hot seat from the legendary Steven Spielberg, who became so synonymous with the franchise. Following Indy’s first outing in 1981, forRaiders of the Lost Ark,the revered trio of Spielberg, George Lucas, and Harrison Ford would go on to make a further two more entries in the 1980s and a fourth film with 2008’sIndiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
Update July 04, 2025: With the upcoming release ofIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, this article has been updated with more information regardingIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
The second film in the franchise,Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, is actually a prequel toRaiders of the Lost Arkand is one of the most polarizing in the franchise. While some, like Quentin Tarantino, consider it the best in the series, others think it the weakest film in the series, even more so thanKingdom of the Crystal Skull.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomhad a great deal of controversy surrounding its release and has received a great deal of backlash today.
The Script Prevented Spielberg From Shooting In the South Asian Country
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomarrived in theaters in 1984 and grossed more than $333 million worldwide. But that didn’t come without backlash from the masses. The graphic violence, for example, created an uproar for a film that was released with a mere PG rating and ultimately led to the creation of the MPAA’s PG-13 rating.
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India, meanwhile, had a much more specific grievance with the film - namely, the illustration of its own culture. Although Spielberg had hoped to film in a South Asian country, the movie’s script which leans into negative stereotypes of India and its people. Purportedly, a key stumbling block was government officials’ being strongly opposed to the employment of the word “maharaja.” In response, the Indian government prevented Spielberg and co. from shootingTemple of Doomin Indian territory. Instead, filming took place in neighboring Sri Lanka.
Depiction of the Indian People
During several stomach-turning scenes, the locals in the northern Indian village of Mayapore that Doctor Jones and hisTemple of Doomcompanions visit are depicted enjoying a number of delicacies that mortified those who actually lived there. The scale of misrepresentation was flagrant at best and signified a level of disrespect the people of India were unable to overlook. From gorging on monkey brains and snakes to devouring beetles and eyeball soup, the portrayal understandably caused outrage among the community.
The film made use of an antiquated stereotype of foreign people engaging in philistine-like acts, more akin to our primitive ancestors. Pictured as uncivilized savages, it’s rather unsurprising that the majority of Indians, as it turns out, didn’t support such depictions. Following its world premiere, India’s authorities banned Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom from being screened in the country, citing the profanity on display and the gross negligence in the film’s representation of the Indian people.
The Misrepresentation of Religion
Another form of such inaccurate delineation displayed the village people worshipping a demonic, almost godly spirit,Kali,despite the entireIndiana Jonesfranchise being marketed as a family-friendly, child-safe tale of exploration, includingIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,the graphic natureof one particular scene brought that claim into disrepute. In the said scene, those of this sinister god-worshipping Indian cult conduct a ritualistic ceremony where human sacrifice is offered and carried out, resulting in a gruesome death and the extraction of vital organs. Hardly soft-play.
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Rather than serving as a destructive symbol of the underworld and evil, as shown inTemple of Doom, the Kali entity, in reality, is typically devoted more to change and empowerment and has even been championed over the years by feminists, with many believing that Kali is very much a feminist icon, with her being synonymous with non-conformity, and unbinding the ties of cultural constrictions placed on women.
Temple Doom Came At A Dark Point For Many
Both Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have cited thatIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doomcame from a dark place in their lives, resulting in the film’s darker, more upsetting tone. George Lucas had recently divorced his wife, Marcia Lucas. Meanwhile, Spielberg was in a rocky relationship with actress Amy Irving, who had broken up in 1979 and got back together in 1984 and married the following year. Spielberg and Irving would later divorce, and Spielberg would marry Kate Capshaw, who he met filmingIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doomhas a complicated legacy. One of its biggest supporters is Short Round actor Ke Huy Quan, who recently won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor inEverything Everywhere All At Once.Quan says it is unfair to label the movie racist. Meanwhile, Speilberg has said thatTemple of Doomis his least favoriteIndiana Jonesmovie. WithIndiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyso close to release, it is likely that there will be even further discussion on the entire franchise and specificallyTemple of Doom,as audiences go back and revisit the other entries in the franchise.
