# The Creation of Iconic Images for the Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [April 5, 2021, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443 "2021-04-05T12:52:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443/41 "2021-05-09T08:50:26Z")
I was going to suggest Indiana Jones’s hat, but instead I’ll propose the Indiana Jones typography as the film’s most enduring legacy - the bold sans-serif caps in a tapering curve with colour grading from white to yellow to red. It even identifies itself as [Indiana Jones font](https://fontmeme.com/indiana-jones-font/). The Indiana Jones font has become shorthand to convey that you are about to see some sort of pre-modern action-adventure-archaeology thing. Its use ranges from [Duck Tales](https://ringostrack.com/pt/movie/ducktales/1622), [B movies](https://moviesanywhere.com/movie/romancing-the-stone), [C or D movies](https://www.imdb.com/list/ls079883524/) and [heritage education](https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/440). Given the popularity of the franchise you’d have to say its got global recognition. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443/42 "2021-05-09T13:15:14Z")
Aren’t those all an homage to the pulp mags, particularly _Amazing Stories_? ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2021, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443/43 "2021-05-09T21:46:51Z")
Yes, but the franchise’s popularity and the font’s distinctiveness made it well-known to people who otherwise never saw a pulp mag, and the lettering communicates a specific set of meanings and expectations regardless of content. That’s why it is iconic. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2021, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443/44 "2021-05-16T13:12:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Another is representing the cyberworld and, especially, Virtual Reality with columns of vertical characters in glowing green on a black background. The green characters are an almost inevitable consequence of the green phosphor screens in almost universal use in CRTs. You can see the motif of green-on-black in the VR movie _Tron_, for instance. But the vertical lines of incomprehensible characters (many inspired by Japanese characters) was a creation of the Wachowskis for **The Matrix** , and it’s been very heavily copied ever since (of course, they used it in the _Matrix_ sequels and spinoffs, which helped cement the image). But it’s shown up in the posters and sometimes the actual films for many other VR films and books ( **The 13th Floor** ) Actually, the scrolling green characters and other cyberpunk imagery was heavily influenced by the anime Ghost in the Shell. The Matrix made it work in live action. > **[A Matrix and Ghost in the Shell Comparison - video Dailymotion](https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x42atdh)** > > A visual comparison between "The Matrix" and "Ghost in the Shell". Clips were taken from "The Matrix", "Animatrix", and "Ghost in the Shell". The comparison section is an original edit by Alpha Omega Productions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-creation-of-iconic-images-for-the-movies/939443.md?page=2)