Archaeology and Popular Media

Archaeology and Popular Media

Popular media has an increasingly amount of control and influence on society as a whole. With increases in technology the availability and total amount of people exposed to popular media increasing. Popular media is not primarily concerned with the proper depictions of the “real world.” One subject that popular media has consistently exaggerated has been the field of archeology including archaeologist and archaeological remains. It is hard to agree or disagree with the way in which popular media depicts archaeology because popular media in and of its self does not necessarily claim that its depictions are the truth. It is the people who are exposed to the popular media that ultimately decide whether or not they wish to believe these stories. When forced to determine whether I approve or disapprove of these depictions ultimately I must decide to approve of the ways that popular media depicts archaeology. Popular media aims to please and entertain, and lets face it if a movie were made that accurately portrays the field it would be a flop in comparison with movies like Indiana Jones. If it were not for these films many who are now experts in the field may have never wished to pursue archaeology.

Indiana Jones is an excellent example of how popular media depicts archaeologist. Indiana Jones is a thrilling tale of an archaeologist and his wild pursuits of treasure and adventure. The Indiana Jones series is full of excitement as the archeologist seeks his treasures while at the same time thwarting his enemies, usually Nazis, who always seem determined to destroy the world, as we know it. Indiana Jones always seems to find himself in situations of gunfire, plane crashes, and of coarse the occasional ancient curse. Indiana Jones always seems to overcome adversity and beat all of the odds to save the world. We would all be so lucky to live such exciting lives, however most if not all archaeologists do not experience such situations. In all...