# "Raiders of the Lost Ark". What was happening when it opened? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748 "2012-05-13T02:32:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/61 "2012-05-15T01:53:23Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As Indy, in a bit of foreshadowing, learned to his regret not to put his faith in a bag of sand to prevent the Mayan tomb from attacking him. ::sigh:: . . . if only he spoke Hovito. :smack: Tripler And if only Alfred Molino weren’t such a backstabber. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/62 "2012-05-15T03:04:32Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Huh. Never looked at it that way. Never had I until seconds before I typed it. I wasn’t a _good_ English major, but sometimes I could sling the BS on cue. If, say, you were staring at a blank sheet of paper after being asked to discuss a leitmotif in _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, sand is a good choice. It’s all over the place, though it helps that most of the movie was set in the Egyptian desert and we know how sand can get into everything. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/63 "2012-05-15T03:22:59Z")
Upthread comment about the tablets was the only correct (or close to correct) one among all the speculation. Tablets were carved by God, and therefore holy. They would not have been left in the desert. The sand, though, was not the original commandments that Moses had his freakout over during the Golden Calf scene. No, it was from earlier. It’s not in the Torah, but from the apocrypha: **Brooks: HoTW:1** \*Moses: The Lord, the Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen… [drops A tablet] Moses: Ten! Ten commandments for all to obey! \* ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/64 "2012-05-15T11:43:53Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > There was a picture-book at the time that had some stuff not in the movie. I’ll try to get it later (it’s unreachable at moment) but it had something on the back of amulet about not looking. That’s how Indy knew to close his eyes. Sorry for the delay. From _Raiders of The Lost Ark: The Storybook Based on the Movie_ (Random House, NY, 1981, Storybook adaptation by Les Martin): the guy who’s translating the front side of the headpiece says, > [@](#): > > “This is a warning. A very strong warning. ‘Do not distrub the Ark of the Covenant. Do not touch it. Do not open it. God Himself will show no pity to the one who gazes into it.’” > “That warning won’t stop Belloq,” said Indy. “It won’t stop the Nazis either.” He turned to Imam. “Please, go on. What else do the markings say?” > “Measure a staff six cadem high to show the way…” I think the movie cut the first bit, and just translated beginning with “Measure a staff six cadem high…” The original warning must have been in the script but then chopped, but made it into the storybook. That’s how Indy knew that he and Marion had to shut their eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/65 "2012-05-15T11:51:16Z")
If intentional, it was a smart cut. As is it adds to the mystique of Indy, someone who … \*knows \*things. Someone who you actually trust when they say “trust me.” Whether it came back to him from some obscure book-knowledge years ago or his intuition, the lack of direct explanation was part of his character. That he overheard it x scenes ago makes it seem pedestrian. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/66 "2012-05-15T12:49:18Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As Indy, in a bit of foreshadowing, learned to his regret not to put his faith in a bag of sand to prevent the Mayan tomb from attacking him. Shouldn’t that be Inca? The film opens in Peru. I’m honestly asking here… I wouldn’t put it past RotLA to mess that up. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/67 "2012-05-15T13:46:11Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Never had I until seconds before I typed it. _ **Neither** _ had I. Told you I was a lousy English major. > [@Jophiel](#): > > Shouldn’t that be Inca? The film opens in Peru. > > I’m honestly asking here… I wouldn’t put it past RotLA to mess that up. Wasn’t much of an Anthropology major, either. ☹ In my defense, I missed the first minute or two when I first saw it. OTOH, I saw it several times since. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/68 "2012-05-15T15:24:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Moses smashed the first set of tablets. "I have these fifteen…, " _one of three tablets falls and shatters_ “… no, ten! Ten commandments!” ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/69 "2012-05-15T15:30:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Not to be sacrilegious or anything, but that bit of Exodus makes it sound like God doesn’t want you to look at his face, but he doesn’t mind if you look at his ass (“back parts”). I have it on good authority that he has a butt like two clenched fists. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/70 "2012-05-15T15:35:02Z")
Pokes at JohnT with post #63. You know, if– Wait. We’ve been reading the question wrong. This should be in GQ, not Cafe; there is a definite answer to the thread title: [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_1981#June_12.2C_1981_.28Friday.29). ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/71 "2012-05-15T15:37:34Z")
Dammit! :mad: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/72 "2012-05-15T17:58:23Z")
While certainly not the last word on indisputable cinematic fact, IMDB does have this item in the trivia section for _Raiders_: > [@](#): > > According to the novelization, the writing on the headpiece of the Staff of Ra included a specific warning not to look into the Ark. This is why Indy and Marion survive the conflagration at the end simply by closing their eyes. It may be an allusion to 1 Samuel 6:19, where God “smote” the men of Beth Shemesh for looking into the Ark. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2012, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/73 "2012-05-15T18:16:19Z")
There was also a bit of a minor reference at the beginning of the movie. When the Feds were interviewing Indy and looked at the picture in the book, they asked about the rays coming off the Ark and why all the people carrying it had blindfolds on. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/74 "2012-05-17T00:48:34Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By averting their eyes and not looking at the Ark, Indy and Marian were demonstrating humility. Like in so many stories, what did the Nazis in was hubris, and since the heroes avoided the hubris, they avoided the gristly fate that went with it. If Indy and Marian had avoided hubris, what would be wrong with seeing God? What if they were curious? Or suppose someone just happened to come upon the scene as the ark opened? Would God distinguish that from Nazi hubris and spare them? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Q](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/898d66/32.png) [@Johnny\_Q](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Q)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/75 "2012-05-17T00:58:15Z")
Keep in mind this is an artifact of the Old Testament Smite the firstborn Flood the world God. It didn’t get the whole Kinder, Gentler software upgrade. If God noticed at all, he’d just consider them collateral damage unless they found some way to call themselves to It’s attention. And no matter how well disposed it may be towards them, the attention of a God or something that might as well be a God is not always a good thing to have. ---
**Author:** ![Esox\_Lucius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Esox\_Lucius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esox_Lucius)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2012, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/76 "2012-05-17T02:36:34Z")
Yeah, those were basically rhetorical questions I was asking. I liked the semi-self-mocking tone of the movie, so the ending was a letdown when it took laughable archaic notions seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Alabama\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@Alabama\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alabama_Smith)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/77 "2013-04-05T09:01:49Z")
I always thought that the “Ark” was actually some sort of holy booby trap and the real ark was never going. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/78 "2013-04-05T13:11:01Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > **Martini Enfield** does make a good point though. How exactly would one “weaponize” the Ark of the Covenent? Well, I think the movie makes two things clear: First, as Brody puts it, “The army that carries the Ark before it is invincible.” I don’t think the Nazis have a specific plan at all; there seems to be the idea that merely being the army that bears the Ark invoked the power of God to smite your enemies. Their plan amounts to 1. Find Ark 2. ? 3. Win war! Secondly, this lack of a specific plan is rather plainly exhibited by the fact that the bad guys themselves aren’t even on the same page. Belloq doesn’t give a tin shit about Nazis or Hitler, he just wants to glory of finding the greatest archaeological relic of all times. Toht is basically the Darth Vader of the peice, the agent who follows orders without question and so his entire life is “find Ark, bring to Berlin.” Dietrich is more the Grand Moff Tarkin to Toht’s Vader; his view of things is far broader. He’s willing to devote his efforts to finding the Ark but it’s clearly not his obsession; he’s a Nazi who’s eager for the war to start and sees this Ark thing as a bothersome task “…this… JEWISH ritual…” to be gotten out of the way. Nobody in the enterprise really has a fucking clue what they’re going to do with the damn thing. The Nazis and Belloq are all working at cross purposes and, in fact, I always get the sense Belloq had a long con planned out where he’d screw the Nazis out of the Ark entirely. But the funny thing is that we end up finding out the good guys really don’t have a plan, either. It’s not just Indy saying “I’m making this up as I go…” at the end, once they have the Ark, it just ends up in a warehouse. The Americans had no plan beyond “gimme so the Nazis can’t have it.” It’s a wonderful story, really. The Ark is like the Maltese Falcon, only better. It’s the stuff dreams are made of, but it packs a way more horrifying way of explaining why you shouldn’t chase material things. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/79 "2013-04-05T17:03:49Z")
Just a reminder, this is almost a year-old thread. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748/80 "2013-04-05T20:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > “This is a warning. A very strong warning. ‘Do not distrub the Ark of the Covenant. Do not touch it. Do not open it. God Himself will show no pity to the one who gazes into it.’” > “That warning won’t stop Belloq,” said Indy. “It won’t stop the Nazis either.” He turned to Imam. “Please, go on. What else do the markings say?” > “Measure a staff six cadem high to show the way…” Do not anger Happy Fun Ark! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/raiders-of-the-lost-ark-what-was-happening-when-it-opened/621748.md?page=5)