When Belloq opens the Ark it is filled of sand. I guess I’ve always assumed that the stone was weathered but that makes no sense so why was there sand in it? We also know the Ark hates Nazis (it burns the swaztika on the crate) so would Indy and Marion have been harmed too if they looked at the Ark and the spirits? And what were the spirits? Seraphim? Angels of Death? God’s Wrath?
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I had also thought, as had silenus the sand was the tablets crumbled with age. The spirits were, I assumed, the sins of each commandment - they look lovely at first (sin is enticing) but in reality are horrid. Since neither Marion nor Indy are commanded to be there – ie have had God or an angel appear and tell them to go to the island – they do not have any more protection than anyone else about looking into holy things. So no they cannot look, or they also would be killed.
I was under the impression that the “charring” scene represented the contents of the Ark being cremated so they could not be used for evil purposes. At the same time the Ark was “cocked” for the unauthorized schlump who opened it next (and I like Reepicheep’s concept that the spirits were the released sins of the tablets).
As for Indy and Marion, I agree that since they were neither anointed nor commanded to be there, looking would have swept them up in the maelstrom. While they were not in the same class as Belloq or the Nazis, it would not have been good for their health.
I always assumed the “Don’t look at it!” was a direct reference to Exodus, the second book in both the Bible and the Torah, and the one in which God gives the Israelites the Ten Commandments. Specifically, Exodus 33:19 and 20
Because it was a big ol’ “fuck you!” to the Nazis. Didn’t seem to be based on anything but the Rule of Cool. Oh, wanna open the magic box that you’ve been questing after and achieve ultimate power? Hah hah, Nazi motherfucker, all you get is sand. Then we melt your face.
Absolutely. There’s a reason one averts their eyes when the Most High is off on a rampage
Something that looked cool on film. You can believe pretty much whatever you want, as it’s not exactly based in theology and the film had no real explanation. Angels, ghosts, God’s wrath? Sure. The important part was that they were beasties that were gonna fuck up some Nazis.
The sand in the Ark was from when Moses “smashed the tablets” ‘cause he came down from Mount Sinai, and caught everyone a-worshippin’ a cow idol. Marcus Brody even mentioned it when the Army Intelligence guys were talking to Indy and Marcus in the auditorium.
Apparently, Moses was so pissed off that the camp was barbecuing while he was carving stone tablets, that he went all MOSES SMASH! on the tablets.
Tripler
I have that movie memorized six ways from Sunday.
I don’t think the tablets crumbled instantly, if for no other reason than it would be much cooler for them to crumble on-screen.
Dramatically, the arc is full of sand because it sets up a series of quick reversals that ratchet up the tension by keeping the audience off balance - first the arc is full of sand: the whole thing is a fake! Then, pretty lights: it really is magical! Suddenly, face melting: it’s magical, and magic is horrifying!
Realistically, the tablets were probably pounded to sand by being shaken around in that big metal box. Maybe over the course of centuries (Egypt is seismically active), maybe just during that truck ride. Nobody seems to be taking care to treat that incredibly priceless relic very carefully.
Thematically, the sand represents the folly of the Nazis efforts. They viewed the ark as a tool they could use to bend god to their will. They expected the box to be filled with riches, but wealth, like all things mortal, is transitory. Only faith is eternal. The Nazis put their faith in the things of this world, and in the end, all they had was dust.
Moses smashed the first set of tablets. After the isrealites repented, Moses went back up the mountain and came back with a new set. It was the second set that went in the ark.
Pretty much my interpretation too, although I will again point out that as much as I love the Indiana Jones series, the best thing he and Marian could have done was let the Flying Wing head to Berlin with the Ark on it.
Why?
Because Hitler (and/or other Senior Nazi Bigwigs) would have been at the Ark’s opening and copped a faceful of Smiting instead of some random underlings. Which might have had implications for the previously scheduled WWII…
If Marian and Indy missed God’s wrath by averting their eyes and not any particular merit on their part would one of the random Nazi underlings also have been spared if he closed his eyes after the opening of the Ark?
Assuredly yes. Jehovah was always much more into “Do As I Say And You Will Not Be Smited” than any of our new-fangled ideas about personal worth or purity of soul.
The home-base Nazis might have been more capable than the Ark-theft Nazis. If the bad guys poison themselves stealing plutonium, you don’t regret that they didn’t make it back the bad-guy Manhattan Project.
