After reading the course documents on Hindu mythology, I decided to pop my favorite movie into my DVD player, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I thought, "Hey, it takes place in India, it counts". While watching the film, I noticed it had all the elements of a myth (in this case maybe an epic): There was a hero (Indy, of course), a enemy or villain, a side kick, and an a god (in the movie, Kali, who is portrayed as a more masculine figure as I could see. I don't think they ever said god or goddess though). The film
subtly referenced the Heroic Code, albeit slightly, through the character of Indy.
However, I saw a link in the character of Indiana to the words Mythos and Logos. As I interpret the words themselves, Mythos=spiritualism and faith and Logos = Rationalism and knowledge. Indiana, being an archeology professor, is a mix of both mythos and logos. He understands the importance of the pursuit of knowledge and is logical himself. However, he has faith. Through his understanding of other cultures and belief systems, he is able to connect with spirituality in a small way, like in the movie how his main objective is to get the river stone to save the village as they belief it was their protection. Also, he becomes one (I think he was possessed or brainwashed) with goddess Kali through a kind of ritual, which in a sense makes him more in touch with the goddess of mayhem and death. That scene was a bit weird, to be honest.
These are just my thoughts after watching the movie. I thought it would be something interesting to post about something in pop culture relating back to mythology.
