Family in the Temple of Doom

Slide 1: Cover Page

Slide 2: The Heroism Archetype in the Temple of Doom

Heroism attracts people. Humans want to associate with heroes since they are reliable for survival. Accordingly, people can form a family based on a shared trust stemming from perceiving each other as heroes. People can adopt those they perceive as heroes to form a family, where trust and loyalty are the foundation of their relationship. The characters of focus in the present study are Indiana Jones, Willie Scott and Short Round, from the film dubbed Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. They help each other against a common enemy, developing significant trust to form a nuclear family consisting of the figures of a father, mother and child.

Slide 3: What is a Family

In humanism, a family is a group of persons with a specific relationship. The relationship is derivative of commonness through birth, marriage, or adoption. Marriage and birth relations are, amongst most, understandable via either blood relations or legal contracts. The mystery of family largely stems from the angle of adoption.

Slide 4: Thesis Statement

Adoption family is a mysterious process of developing a family because its definition considers emotional and social associations associated with heroism. In Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the most significant depiction of a family is from the angle of heroism. The filmmakers focus on three characters who form a family without marriage or birth/blood relations. The set precedent infers that family can be a psychological contract arising from heroism since blood or legal relations do not necessarily determine the construct of a nuclear pedigree. Indiana Jones, Willie Scott, and Short Round have a psychological contract that unites them as a nuclear family with a father, mother, and son. They create a family by trusting each other to overcome all that threatens their wellbeing through loyalty. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom reinforces the theme of family as a psychological contract stemming from a need for survival within a small circle of people who trust and are loyal to each other.

Slide 5: Heroism through Loyalty and Trust (Scott)

In Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom, heroism is a construct of loyalty unattainable without trust. The first depiction of loyalty is when Scott hints to Jones that the drink he is about to drink has adverse health effects. She had the option to help Jones or Lao Che to recover the Nurhaci remains. Therefore, Scott had to pledge her loyalty to the person she deemed most potential to guarantee her survival. She hits Jones with her elbow to warn him that he should not drink from the presented glass. She also hides an antidote against the poison and gives Jones later. Scott’s decision was a derivative of earlier experiences that made her realize that Che did not have her interest at heart and would do anything for personal wealth associated with possessing Nurhaci’s remains. Scott’s goodwill to save Jones depicts her as trustworthy and a heroine.

Slide 6: Heroism through Loyalty and Trust (Jones)

Jones fell in love with her, and they became a family through a psychological contract that involved neither genetic nor legal/marital associations. Throughout the film, Jones and Scott do not have sexual relations but remain loyal to each other because they know they have each other’s interests at heart. The basis of their union is trust. Jones ensured as he escaped from the restaurant, he rescued Scott from the legion of Che’s guards, as shown in the figure below. Thus, they are heroes because they formed a family and safeguarded it even when they could ignore each other for personal interests.

Slide 7: Heroism through Loyalty and Trust (Round)

Round is a hero because he shows loyalty to Jones and Scott throughout the film, qualifying him as part of a developing nuclear family. Shroud helps Jones and Scott escape from the restaurant by escorting them in an executive cab to the airport. Shroud joins Jones and Scott and finds parachutes when the aeroplane is about to crash. Resultantly, Jones became so sensitive to Round’s actions that he noticed the child’s plea to help the newly found non-biological relatives while hypnotized and about to sacrifice Scott. When Jones gains the motivation and power to overcome the hypnosis, he does not hesitate to help Round and Scott escape from the cave where they would have been sacrificed for god Shiva. The figure below shows the triune formed through trust and loyalty between Round, Scott, and Indian Jones. They form a family because they work together for their advantage against a world/society working against them.

Slide 8: Conclusion

Indeed, Jones, Scott, and Round form a family because they trust each other. They adopt each other as they fight against the oppressive and over-exploitative Che’s machination. The three defend each other because they know that they need each other, and through the developed trust, they will triumph over their foes. They are heroes because they put each other’s interests before their individual endeavors. Conclusively, adoption is a psychological contract formidable enough to form a reliable family among the involved participants. The participants’ reliability depicts them as heroes or heroines.

Slide 7: Works Cited

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Directed by Steven Spielberg, Online Distributor, Paramount Pictures, 1984.