There is a popular theory surrounding Raiders of the Lost Ark that began with an episode of The Big Bang Theory, an episode called "The Raiders Minimization," which you can watch with an HBO Max subscription. It postulates that Indiana Jones and his actions are completely irrelevant to the final outcome of the movie. Basically, that despite all that Indy does in the movie, none of it matters because in the end, Belloq and the Nazis would have found the Ark, opened it, and had their faces melted off whether Indy was with them or not.
It’s a sound theory, but I disagree with it. In fact, it’s worse. What if Indiana Jones unwittingly helped World War II happen? Here’s why I think he could have.
Indy Pushed The Villains So Hard That They Opened The Ark Too Soon
As is made clear in the movie, there are Nazis all over the world looking for ancient artifacts, most notably the Ark of the Covenant, which Hitler believes will make the Germans unstoppable on the battlefield. Everyone knows the story of the best Indiana Jones movie, so I won’t bore you with a full recap, but the important part is that the Germans (and Belloq) have competition. Belloq is, of course, taking the chase very personally. He has a professional and personal rivalry with Indy and, as Indy points out, the Frenchman is in the chase for glory and power.
The Nazis that Belloq is working with have a very clear mission: to bring the Ark back to their leader. Their goal throughout the movie is to get the artifact and return to Berlin with it. This turns out to be at odds with Belloq, and that comes to a head when Belloq, who I think we can safely say was driven in large part by his rivalry with Indy, opens the Ark in the desert, before getting it back to Germany. The Nazis don’t want to do this, but they go along for the time being, and as a reward, they get their faces melted off.
What If Belloq Wasn’t So Rash After His Back And Forth With Indy?
This brings us back to the original theory from The Big Bang Theory. The rebuttal to the theory is that at multiple points along the way, Indy is crucial in driving the search (and the plot) forward, including actually finding the Ark himself, before Belloq et al. steal it from him while he's stuck in the Well of Souls. Sure, they might have found it without Indy’s discovery of the Staff of Ra and all that, but every time Indy beats Belloq, it makes him angrier. So, what if Indy hadn’t been there and the Nazis had found it, but returned to Berlin before opening it?
There is an argument to make that Indy’s presence was indeed crucial to the plot of the movie, but was also unwittingly pushing Belloq to the brink, forcing his rival to make a rash decision and open the Ark before it could be done in the presence of The Führer. Had things gone differently, maybe Hitler’s face would have been melted off, and World War II would never have happened.
Either way, Indiana Jones was crucial to the plot of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Just use your Disney+ subscription to watch it if you don't believe me.
