Writer Biography

Hunter Klein is from Centerville, Utah. In his spare time, he enjoys visiting national parks, fishing, hunting, and camping. When indoors, he spends time watching movies and playing music. Both listening to and playing Jazz music has been a lifelong favorite for him as well. He performed as a drummer for the USU Jazz Ensemble in the 2016-2017 school year. Klein is an Electrical Engineering major with dreams of working in research.

This essay was first published in the 2017 edition of Voices and uses MLA documentation.

MOVIES HAVE BEEN A PRIMARY MEDIUM of legends and history to American society since their inception. Frequently, after recommending a book to a friend, or being asked to read a book for school, the phrase “I’ll watch the movie instead” comes to mind. As a major source of information to our culture, we need to understand and remember that being “based on a true story” and being a true story can be two greatly different things. As awareness of overtones and underlying messages in film is increased, misinformation and misperception will be reduced.

From the beginning, films were interpreted and used to communicate the perspectives of the presenters of the film. With the advent of a single camera that could take motion pictures, silent films opened up a whole new medium for which stories to be communicated. The Great Train Robbery (1903) marked the first film for which a whole story could be told in a continuous fashion. From the beginning, films were interpreted and used to communicate the perspectives of the presenters of the film. When released to the public, silent films would be played with the accompaniment of a pianist, organist, or orchestra. While sheet music was sometimes provided, the majority of accompaniment was improvised with percussive pounding for intense action and lofty serenades of love, all created on the spot by the performer. This impromptu music was the beginning of film interpretation and message communication (Sklar and Cook).

Today, films are often more complicated and laced with multiple meanings and interpretations. Sometimes, these overtones are unintentional and meant to entertain. Other times, these messages are much more deliberate with a specific message in place. The Indiana Jones franchise (1981-2008) and The Imitation Game (2014) fall into each of these categories respectively. Three questions are left for the viewer to decide. First, “What messages are being communicated to me?” Second, “Is it a message that I agree with?” Lastly, “Do the ends justify the means?” As each of these messages is considered more actively by the viewer, the impacts of negative or harmful messages can be avoided.

The Indiana Jones film franchise depicts a swashbuckling American hero in the defense of archaeology and freedom. In four separate films, Jones is often depicted in pursuit of ancient artifacts ranging from the Ark of the Covenant to the Holy Grail, usually in tow with Nazi or Communist competition. While Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) is commonly viewed as one of the best movies ever made, with a ranking of #39 on IMDB’s top movies list, the motives of the protagonist are revealed to be more morally gray than we might think. In an interview written for The Telegraph, Nick Squire quoted Professor Claire Smith of Australia’s Newcastle University: “In pursuit of ‘fortune and glory’ Jones ignores international treaties, treats human remains as weapons, and destroys archaeological sites in a bid to escape from potential entombment and other worrisome possibilities” (qtd. in Squires). In another article, Peter Hiscock argues, “Such alternative archaeological views, also termed pseudo-, cult-, or fantastic archaeology, are extremely popular. A hidden history advocated by alternative archaeology is accepted by more people than accept the inferences of scientific archaeology” (Hiscock 157).

When observed with a skeptical eye, the theme of American imperialism and personal gain is quickly apparent. When observed with a skeptical eye, the theme of American imperialism and personal gain is quickly apparent. Take the famous opening scene of Raiders of the Lost Ark, for example. At the beginning of the film, Jones, along with a guide, gallivant through the jungle to find an ancient South American temple. The purpose of this trip, as you’ve probably seen or can imagine, is to discover a native idol and to bring it into an American museum to preserve it. At first glance, this seems like nothing more than what could be expected of an archaeological expedition until it is revealed that the indigenous people are still around and don’t want Indy taking their idol. Jones, of course, does not let this deter him and goes on to retrieve the idol. This opening provides an interesting message of American imperialism that seems to say, “America: we know how to take care of your stuff better than you do.” Indiana Jones is also guilty of misrepresenting the archeology and anthropology professions in the form of mass media, therefore leading to the misperception of the majority of viewers.

The disingenuous archeology and advocacy of American imperialism were not the only “social crimes” observed in the Indiana Jones franchise. During the pre-production of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), the production team was actually denied filming rights in India due to the racist nature of the plot. Later, the Indian government conceded to allow filming to take place. Once the officials saw the film and the depiction of a detestable diet, lack of table manners, and overall social inferiority to Western culture, the movie was quickly banned in the country. Ethnocentrism, or the judgment of another culture solely on the values and standards of one’s own culture, is the major cause for alarm in having these skewed portrayals present in film. As movies represent foreign cultures in a negative way, people who have never had exposure to these cultures will have only films to judge them by. This influence is one that viewers should be wary and attentive to because it could influence how interactions take place with new cultures and people.

Although this perspective throws Indiana Jones in a negative light, some scholars argue that this cultural overreach could have positive effects. Peter Hiscock cites another archeologist who shares a contradictory opinion: “Holtorf (2008), for instance, claims that any unreality in the Jones adventures is merely a ‘little license’ taken by filmmakers who constructed a character that expresses the spirit of archaeological research and discovery” (Hiscock 160). This leads to the question that Holtorf freely answers, is it ethical to take this kind of artistic freedom with the archeology profession if it inspires a new generation of archeologists?

The Imitation Game (2014) is another film that decides to take artistic liberties in order to communicate an underlying message. The Imitation Game follows the life of mathematician and computer science founding father, Alan Turing. Hired by the British government during World War II, Turing played a crucial role in cracking the German encryption machine, Enigma. Turing worked in collaboration with other mathematicians and logicians to crack the “unbreakable” code that changed daily. In the end, Turing developed what is considered the first computer and successfully cracked the Enigma Code. A paramount tragedy in the life of Alan Turing was his eventual conviction of Indecency, or homosexual activity, by the British police. This tragedy was made ever more poignant to the friends of Turing as his name was slandered throughout the trial. Because his crucial work for the government was still classified, not even the judge knew of the great civil service performed by Turing on behalf of the British people. Turing was given the option of jail time or estrogen hormonal therapy. After several months of enduring this forced chemical castration, Turing tragically died by suicide.

A general message of acceptance was ubiquitously present throughout the film, with severe condemnation of the British government’s prosecution of Alan Turing. Although this movie is based on the true story of Alan Turing, some artistic liberties are taken to tell the story. Many seemingly minor details were changed in the story of The Imitation Game to more strikingly underline the already tragic victimization of Alan Turing. One of these changes was the presentation of Turing’s personality. Throughout the film, Turing is presented as an arrogant, socially inept, pompous man who, although initially despised by all of his co-workers, eventually proves to them all that he wasn’t just bragging and could actually perform as advertised. One reviewer from The Washington Post, Michael Gerson, skeptically criticizes the movie’s descent into the creative genius stereotype stating that “[t]he honor roll of creative genius — Beethoven, Byron, Tolstoy, Van Gogh, Schrödinger, Godel, Turing — is often a story of obsession, compulsion, melancholy, and mania. There are, no doubt, happy, well-adjusted geniuses, pottering around their gardens and playing bridge with their neighbors. And manic or depressive illness is less romantic outside the movies” (Gerson). As it turns out, Turing was not nearly as socially detached as presented in the movie. Jonathan Lighter reports in his review of the film, “According to the meticulous biography on which the film is based, Alan Hodges’s Alan Turing: Enigma (1983), the real Turing resembled his screen counterpart only slightly in code breaking achievements and almost not at all in personality” (Lighter 16).

Another fictitious element introduced into the life of Alan Turing by The Imitation Game was having him investigated for espionage. In the film, the team of Bletchley Park, the research base at which Turing worked, discovers that a mole in their facility is divulging information to the Axis powers. Turing is made a prime suspect in this process and has his work turned upside down and inside out looking for a spy. In the end, this inspection leads to the revelation that Turing is homosexual. Turing discovers that his co-worker, John Cairncross, is the actual spy. Upon being discovered, Cairncross threatens to tell others of Turing’s homosexuality if he reveals that he is a spy. Reviewer Chris Christensen writes that this fiction is “one of the most serious liberties” taken by the filmmakers (Christensen 178). In reality, John Cairncross didn’t know Turing and was kept in a separate part of the compound. Christensen references Cairncross’s book in which Cairncross attempts to justify his espionage: “The rigid separation of the different units [at Bletchley Park] made contact with other staff members almost impossible, so I never got to know anyone apart from my direct operational colleagues” (Christensen 178). In actuality, Turing’s homosexuality was discovered due to a break-in at his apartment and subsequent police investigation.

As it turns out, Turing was a significantly different person than portrayed in the movie. This mixed portrayal led to many different responses. Some groups lauded the film for its progressive message while others condemned it for the exploitation of Turing’s life. Chris Christensen complains of this inaccuracy saying, “If you know the history of Alan Turing’s work at Bletchley Park, you will find The Imitation Game troubling. It is better to read the book that inspired the movie… A certain amount of liberty with the truth seems to be allowable to add a bit of drama to a historical movie, but the plot of The Imitation Game pushes this liberty too far. Very wrong impressions of history are created” (Christensen 181). This conflict between accuracy and artistic freedom to communicate something that is important to the producer is a heated one in cases such as this. On one hand, establishing positive messages of acceptance and other values is a good thing. On the other, misrepresenting the character of a real person to establish that message lies in a far grayer area. The nuances of these opposing sides are too specific for each individual film to declare an absolute right or wrong. This is why it is important that consumers educate themselves regarding the messages portrayed in film.

Movies have been shown to have a significant effect on a consumer’s understanding of historical events. In an article written for the Journal of Modern Italian Studies, Danielle Pipitone addresses the widespread misunderstanding of World War II history in the rising generation of Italians. Pipitone hypothesizes that minute inaccuracies and biases in American World War II films lead to a national misunderstanding of the events and motives present in the war. Pipitone cites Jay Winter’s book, The Performance of the Past: Memory, History, Identity, to illustrate how a mass misunderstanding of historical events can lead to a “collective remembrance” of an amorphous alternate version of history—one which a community will agree upon and relive together, regardless of accuracy. Pipitone writes, “…any act of collective remembrance is ‘both a mnemonic device and a way in which individual memories are relived, revived, and refashioned’ (Winter 2010). As in Austin’s theory, truth and falsity are not important in this context; what is relevant is that the act of collective remembrance always has an impact on the society that performs it” (Pipitone 629). Squires quotes a similar concern in his paper regarding Indiana Jones, saying, “The film is low-quality and would raise a smile if there wasn’t a danger of drawing into its orbit teenagers who know nothing about the 1950s” (Squire). As consumers take historical fiction as a nearly accurate depiction of past events, community understanding can become warped. While films depicting historical events contain enough accuracy to make them believable, the true depth and character of these histories will be lost on all those who refuse to take a more critical look at the films and study the actual history.

Whether a film is positive and altruistic or fun but inaccurate, we cannot mandate what producers and directors put in or take out of their films. Therefore, my proposal is that we as consumers pay attention to messages and historical inaccuracies laced in these films so that we may not be caught on the side of ignorance. As greater attentiveness is given to the meaning of these films, greater criticism and understanding can be made to the cultural and ethical overtones that the creators desire to teach us. With this eye of understanding and skepticism, more educated decisions can be made as to what media we watch and misinformation can be avoided.

Works Cited

Christensen, Chris. “Review of the Imitation Game.” Cryptologia, vol. 41, no. 2, Mar. 2017, pp. 178-181. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/0161119 4.2016.1236639.

Gerson, Michael. “‘The Imitation Game’s’ Lesson for Society.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 22 Dec. 2014, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-gerson-the-imitation-games-lesson-for-society/2014/12/22/c89f4bcc-8a19-11e4-a085-34e9b9f09a58_story.html. Accessed 13 Apr. 2017.

The Great Train Robbery. Directed by Edwin S. Porter, Edison Manufacturing Company, 1903.

Hiscock, Peter. “Cinema, Supernatural Archaeology, and the Hidden Human past.” Numen: International Review for the History of Religions, vol. 59, no. 2/3, Feb. 2012, pp. 156-177. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/156852712X630761.

The Imitation Game. Directed by Morten Tyldum, produced by Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, and Teddy Schwarzman, Black Bear Pictures, 2014.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, Paramount Pictures, 1984.

Sklar, Robert and David A. Cook. “History of Film.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/art/history-of-the-motion-picture. Accessed 12 Apr. 2017.

Lighter, Jonathan. “The Imitation Game.” War, Literature & the Arts: An International Journal of the Humanities, vol. 26, Jan. 2014, pp. 16-18. EBSCOhost, dist.lib.usu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=102372744&site=ehost-live.

Pipitone, Daniele. “Imported Memories: The Italian Audience and the Reception of American Movies about the Second World War.” Journal of Modern Italian Studies, vol. 21, no. 4, Sept. 2016, pp. 627-648. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/1354571X.2016.1207322.

Raiders of the Lost Ark. Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, Paramount Pictures, 1981.

Squires, Nick. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: A Bad Role Model for Archaeologists.” The Telegraph, Telegraph Media Group, 23 May 2008, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/2014627/Indiana-Jones-and-the-Kingdom-of-the-Crystal-Skull-A-bad-role-model-for-archaeologists.html. Accessed 04 Apr. 2017.