It's awfully hard not to look at the characters in this film as the embodiment of their respective governments during this period. Indy's an American, but he's acting out of mercenary motivations rather than patriotic ones (he gots to get paid). The Germans are, um, well, they're Nazis: treating other people like garbage and pulling a lot of "master race" nonsense to cover for it. Belloq acts like nothing so much as Vichy France: feigning neutrality while happily doing the Nazis' will. Through them, we see the goals of their respective governments and the means by which they go about accomplishing them.
Questions about Politics
- How do Belloq and Dietrich engage in political jockeying? Who has the most power between the two of them? How and when does that power dynamic shift?
- How does Indy represent American ideals and American principles? How do the Nazi characters embody the ideals of Fascist Germany?
- How do we see the dynamics between First World and Third World countries unfold in the film? Does the film have anything to say about those differences?
Chew on This
The characters can be seen as a microcosm of the battling political powers during World War II.
The characters don't reflect geopolitical politics, but rather affect more general politics related to class and gender.