The biggest inaccuracy in the popular Indiana Jones franchise is not that Jones can outrun boulders or survive a pit full of snakes, but instead, it is the year that all this allegedly happened: 1936. The Washington Post writes that by this date, Egyptian, Peruvian, Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, and Chinese scholars were challenging the long-standing reign of European and American archaeologists over the recovery and display of artifacts. Western archaeologists were convinced that the natives would not be able to run their own affairs, and they packed up, and left. The franchise, which is working on the fifth installment, set for release in 2020, perpetuates this ugly Western response. The scholarly challenge is not fully explored, and does not acknowledge that Egyptian and Chinese scholars had long ago earned a legitimate place alongside their Western colleagues.
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