Stereotypes in Theme and Location

It is interesting to note that the typical stereotypes in archaeological films are not confined only to the portrayal of the archaeologist. The location and thematic elements of the films are often just as stereotypical.

In terms of the locations of these films, it is noteworthy that a large proportion of them are set in similar environments such as Mexico and, especially, Egypt or other sandy locations. This is not something that I, alone, have noticed. In his conclusion, Day sums up what he deems the most important points regarding these films. For his last point, he mentions:

"The abiding magnetism of Egypt as a movie setting. Like embalming fluid itself, or the mineral pitch…used so liberally to preserve ancient Nile bodies, Egypt and its heroic monuments have immense staying power as a backdrop for so many of the films reviewed here, from the earliest to some of the most recent. As locales, the Aegean, Rome, Mexico, and Native America rank a distant second, third, fourth, and fifth choice, respectively." (Day 1997: 43)

In short, they are mostly set in some of the more exotic locations of the world:

"I wanted to go to real locations that were exotic and unusual to the audience" (Simon West-Director of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2001)

It is unlikely that we will ever see Indiana Jones excavating a Roman site in rainy England. Understandably, there needs to be an attraction which draws in an audience and watching two hours of a downpour on an excavation of a section of Roman wall would not do that.

The relatively new film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) seems to have broken the mould in this respect and even refers in part to this stereotype. In one scene the main character Lara Croft is to choose her next "adventure" and remarks at the thought of travelling to Egypt:

"Egypt again? It’s nothing but pyramids and sand" (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 2001)

In an interview regarding the film, its director Simon West describes how he wanted to go against the typical stereotypes in terms of location:

"These archaeological action-adventure films are all about sand" (Simon West: 2001)

Another interesting idea to note concerning archaeological films is that they are often set no later than the early twentieth century perhaps highlighting the fact that the motivations of archaeologists and the goals of archaeology as a whole have changed over time. There are exceptions to this rule with films such as Stargate and, again, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider being set in the present day. However, these films are not so much about plundering but more about deciphering ancient clues using hieroglyphics, for example, to reach a goal.

The thematics of these films can sometimes have much in common. It is interesting that many of these archaeologically-based movies have large themes such as religion and time. Perhaps it is possible that these themes have originated in archaeology itself. Stiebing (1993) describes some ideas concerning archaeology’s origins as:

"renaissance humanism, interest in biblical history, the emergence of a scientific understanding of the world and the universe" (Stiebing 1993: 22)

It is interesting that Stiebing should note an ‘interest in biblical history’ as biblical themes are used in two of the three Indiana Jones films. One of these films is concerned with the main character finding:

"The Ark of the Covenant, the chest the Hebrews used to carry the Ten Commandments" (Raiders of the Lost Ark: 1981)

whilst the other is concerned with the location of:

"The Holy Grail…the chalice used by Christ during the last supper, the cup that caught his blood at the crucifixion and was entrusted to Joseph of Arimathea" (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: 1989)

One of the most common themes of an archaeological film is the finding of something, be this an ancient tomb or a lost city. Day (1997) mentions this preoccupation with finding what he labels ‘McGuffins":

"Reel archaeologists set out to look for an object of great and legendary value or historical significance, around which much of each film’s action is centred…they were significant to the characters in the films and, for better or worse, were deemed so by the viewers as well" (Day 1997: 22)

As mentioned, puzzle solving plays a large part in many archaeology motion pictures. These puzzles are solved mainly through deciphering ancient clues such as riddles and hieroglyphics. This happens in films such as Tomb Raider, The Indiana Jones Trilogy, The Mummy (1999) and Stargate. There is some truth to this in real archaeological work. As Indiana Jones states in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the third film in the trilogy where Indy, arguably, speaks most the archaeological wisdom:

This is a reliable statement and work deciphering Latin and hieroglyphic inscriptions, for example, is done mostly in libraries and university offices.