Monday, May 19, 2008

Why I'm Dreading Indy 4

It's this poster:




It's all over New York, so it's the primary image you're being programmed with when you think of the picture. And the reason it bothers me is because it shows Indy running. Which translates as: "Yes, we know Harrison Ford is long in the tooth, so we're going to prove he's still an action star by showing you he can run."

Look at the posters for the four movies in chronological order. In the first he's just standing there; in the second there's a tiny insert of him fighting. But it's the third and fourth where the subliminals start creeping in.













In the third poster? He's riding a horse. Subliminal message: Harrison needs a little help here. He's also pointing his gun straight ahead, which means he's not riding away from anything (despite all the riders and cars and tanks chasing him) but riding towards something, riding into battle.

In the current poster? He's running away--being chased by natives and running away. No other way to look at it.

I don't know about you, but that combination (See? He can run! And he's running away!) is making me look forward to this movie with what you might call wariness.

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