Crystal Skulls

9/13/07 7:27 AM Indiana Jones , movies , No Disintegrations , opinions 1 Comments

For once, I am syndicating back from PCP instead of to it:



After my brief sabbatical following the blog-a-thon (even with my "hit and miss" posts), I decided it was time to help post over here at PCP by talking about annoucement on every Lucas-fan's mind: the naming of the 4th installment in the Indiana Jones saga. Leave it to Lucas to try to grab a new fanbase by letting Shia annouce this at the MTV Awards Sunday night (it wasn't a slip either since Lucasfilm sent out a press release earlier that day). The next movie will be titled Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.





Already rumors about what this entails for the plot have started circulating. Previously, a casting call went out for extras to play football players and cheerleaders. Due to the outfits and haircuts glimpsed at some of the filming locations, the plot is rumored to be set during the 1950's (which makes Ford's 20 years of aging more beliveable in the saga). The news of the Crystal Skulls mentioned in the title has led to speculation that the archaeology piece of this movie will be set in Mexico or Central America where the majority of these skulls have been uncovered in real life. Unfortunately, a rumor has also stated that Indy will find the Crystal Skulls at the base of a Mayan pyramid which will then blast off and prove to be a mothership of the alien race that is responsible for the rise of civilization in this area and Egypt.



This guy does not appear to be buying this plot point.

I have to say that I don't either. The previous installments have focused on religious mythos: Christianity and Hinduism. Paganisam isn't much of a strectch, but aliens are.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was perhaps the strangest of the trilogy, yet it held true to Hindu stories of Kali (or Kali Ma, AKA the Dark Mother). In fact, the mantra chanted by the first guy to get his heart ripped out is actually a very popular mantra "om na shivaya" or "I bow to Shiva", and is considered by many to be the first mantra uttered by the Creative Source (which you may know as some sort of "Creator"), and thus the oldest. Shiva, often referred to as a consort of Kali, is said to eventually destroy the universe, but also to represent the inner self. It stands to reason that if anyone could calm Kali's fury, it would be Shiva (and it is mentioned in Hindu scripture that he has performed this task on several occasions). Also, Kali is often referred to as being "drunk on the blood of the slain" in battles, which could explain why when Indy drank the blood, he became her devotee.

Anyway, my point is, as weird as Temple of Doom may have seemed to some, those familiar with Hindu scripture stories (like myself) found it to be very well thought out and reasonable (as tales of fantasy archaeology go).

A popular theory is that the Crystal Skulls are alien in origin due to the Mithcell-Hedges Skull receiving a field hardness rating of 9 (a dimaond is a 10) and its being hard to fashion due to its 3 or 4 growth stages which each have their own axis, which means a false hit could shatter the entrie crystal. However, here are other origins myths surrounding these finds. One turns to the lost Altantis for its answer, and another turns to the "Creator" (who coincidentally had a hand in the Ark, the magic stones, and via his/her offsrping, the Grail). So should we bet on seeing extraterrestrials or more religious mythos? Knowing George and his penchant for consistency, I gotta go for something to do with religion. Or, maybe I just can't buy into a bunch of skull rocks lifting a Mayan pyramid.

Either way, we'll find out May 22, 2008.