Taboo Indiana Jones OR other film props.

[WarPig]

Not Indy related, but “forbidden symbol” related. I’m collecting a lot of Supernatural stuff (including a 1967 Impala with trunk full of weapons). If someone unfamiliar with the show were to come in my house, they would think that I’m a Satanist/terrorist with all the sigils, lore books and weapons (many real)

 

[kevin926]

This thread wasnt about attacking symbols but was about props or pieces you wouldn't want in your collections.

Also, I am changing it to all movie or TV props. Warpig brings up a good point to expand the topic.

 

[Jintosh]

This thread wasnt about attacking symbols but was about props or pieces you wouldn't want in your collections.

Also, I am changing it to all movie or TV props. Warpig brings up a good point to expand the topic.

The INDY-Last Crusade swastika pin that is on the Nazi that dies and turns to dust by drinking from the wrong Grail.

It's iconic, lying there in the dust of his bones and flesh, but a swastika pin is not going to be popular if YOU wear it !

 

[AaronHorrocks]

Because of the groups that I'm in and the connections that I have, I was offered the Jeep and Truck that were used in the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. M38A1, and M35A2, IIRC. Both were vehicles in great shape, however, often times as Hollywood does, they were painted wrong for the movie. These vehicles were painted desert tan, rather than the era correct Semi Gloss Olive Drab #24087. And they were being listed for less than half market value. Even still, no one was biting on them. The amount of work and money to "fix them" and make them "correct" again would have prohibitive, and turned away everybody.

It was at this meet, I think, that I ended up buying all of the vietnam webgear from the movie "We Were Soldiers", and the nurse uniforms from the TV show China Beach. A bunch of vietnam era gear was shoved into two tan dufflebags. The bags had sharpie on them saying "Vietnam Ponchos" or "Liners"". Since I've never seen desert tan dufflebags before in over 15 years of collecting, I had to ask about them. They were part of the gear that was loaned/rented to the movie set Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, and they wanted "desert gear"... So the prop department bleached them and dyed them tan. These were used in the warehouse scene, and I'm told when Harrison Ford got punched, he fell backwards and landed on these. Since they were returned to the dealer bleached and dyed, he considered them destroyed, and a loss, and used them for storage and wrote on them. So I ended up, inadvertently, with screen used props that Harrison Ford Touched.

AND NO ONE WANTED THEM. I had them listed for sale for 10 years and no one would buy them at any price. I couldn't even give them away to two hardcore Indiana Jones fans/cosplayers that I knew.

I eventually gave them to a local friend / casual Indiana Jones cosplayer who wanted a couple military style dufflebags to use while he's traveling the world. So, out there are two screen used props being used as luggage going through airports and what not.

 

[Jintosh]

WOW !

We try to match screen used props no matter HOW they came into being. It would not matter to us what color they are, as long as they were screen used. We would match the color in the movie even if the color in the movie was inaccurate.

 

[Psab keel]

Did you have paperwork from the dealer to back up the claims? If so I would imagine that would have been a huge selling point because of the provenance of the pieces and especially if Harrison used them in any capacity.

 

[Kroenen77]

What I'm not clear on is how hard and fast the rules of usage were - as you can see here, the uniform patch has the eagle looking to its left, but the helmet decal has the eagle looking to its right.

View attachment 1348863

BUT, International Military Antiques has a reproduction paint stencil and this is their description:

'IMA has developed an accurate stencil of the Infamous Nazi Eagle over Swastika known as "The Reichsadler". This symbol during the time of Nazi rule represented Nazi Germany as a national insignia. It was painted extensively on Ammunition boxes, Wooden Crates, Transport Containers, and anything the Germans wanted identified as official property of the Third Reich.'

So, based on that I would maintain that the eagle on the Ark crate is in fact correct.

Thats really interesting.
But I think in the end it wasn't that important for the Nazi bosses where the eagle looks.It was more important that it looks "cool".

 

[joberg]

You can thank Hugo Boss for the majority of the 3rd Reich's designs in terms of clothing, ensignas and other items.

 

[Petertiger]

The only replica prop I've ever decided not to buy as it really creeps me out was a full size Annabelle doll for sale at a local car boot sale a few years ago

 

[Jintosh]

The only replica prop I've ever decided not to buy as it really creeps me out was a full size Annabelle doll for sale at a local car boot sale a few years ago

I agree. I won't have a creepy doll or clown in my house.

 

[AaronHorrocks]

Did you have paperwork from the dealer to back up the claims? If so I would imagine that would have been a huge selling point because of the provenance of the pieces and especially if Harrison used them in any capacity.

No, because, like I said he considered them destroyed. He wrote on them with sharpie. He's a Military surplus dealer and has items reproduced. He sells and loans to movies, and like many of us that work with movie studios, "get burned". He didn't make paperwork that documented their use. I bought the contents of the duffle bags, and they came free.

 

[Psab keel]

Gotcha. I can't claim to know how this stuff works. That is really cool that Harrison used them though. Even if it was in a small way.

 

[Raiders March]

i have one of peter74s scaled ark crates.
On one side i had him burn the nazi's army information, just like what God did, so I'm forgiven....

Yes it is an evil symbol, but as stated above, thats not the reason we want it in our collections!

 

[Liberance]

I agree with what others have said here about the Kali Chalice and stuff like that, it's just gross and I don't think it makes for good decoration. As for the Nazi paraphernalia, I only own Donovan's pin because I wanted to have at least one object connected to each movie's villain. But I have it stored away and never on display. Movie prop or not, it's a hateful symbol that I don't want visible in my house.

Now, other than Indy, I try to collect stuff that follows the same aesthetic. In other words, I have some props from Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings and whatnot, but they all fit nicely next to each other. So, like, you can have a display with Indiana Jones relics, the Jurassic Park mosquito in amber or velociraptor claw, some Far West props from Back to the Future III or the StarGate pendant and everything matches. I generally dislike prop collections that are all over the place, like the pink hoverboard next to an Alien skull next to a Captain America suit next to a Conan the Barbarian longsword. To my taste, it makes the whole thing look like a toy store. So that'd be my main taboo.

 

[Psab keel]

I too strive to stick with some sort of themes with my props and costumes.

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

Not Indy related, but “forbidden symbol” related. I’m collecting a lot of Supernatural stuff (including a 1967 Impala with trunk full of weapons). If someone unfamiliar with the show were to come in my house, they would think that I’m a Satanist/terrorist with all the sigils, lore books and weapons (many real)

Yeah I'm more creeped out by Satanic symbols. There was a game, which I can't remember, and they had a character with a Pentagram on it and a really cool statue came out and I just said "Nope".

 

[VonMagnum]

Technically speaking, a pentagram isn't really Satanic in nature and once was used by Christians as well (Pentagram - Wikipedia) and in modern day usage is more ascribed to Wicca (which has nothing to do with Judeo-Christian religions) than anything else. There's also the notion of pentagram's orientation (upside down supposedly being Satanic while right-side up being a protection symbol. But doesn't that depend on one's point-of-view when it's on the ground?)

 

[Jintosh]

Technically speaking, a pentagram isn't really Satanic in nature and once was used by Christians as well (Pentagram - Wikipedia) and in modern day usage is more ascribed to Wicca (which has nothing to do with Judeo-Christian religions) than anything else. There's also the notion of pentagram's orientation (upside down supposedly being Satanic while right-side up being a protection symbol. But doesn't that depend on one's point-of-view when it's on the ground?)

What's hilarious is a guy was called in to design a special light for an Indian Casino (Native American, now) And in certain Native tribes, there is a symbol that looks like a BACKWARDS swastika. So, he made the lamp with the arms lit up and in the shape of a Backwards swastika. All was well and good until he lifted it up and hung it overhead on the ceiling. If you draw a backwards swastika on the ground and then raise it over your head, it REVERSES it. So, now there was an ACTUAL swastika hanging over everyone's head in the casino. They made him take it down.

 

[VonMagnum]

Most of the Hindu type swastikas are reversed (left side points down, right side points up), but not all because many are mounted so you can see both sides and it's up on one side while it's down on the other. The Nazis seemed to like reversing directions on things, though like their own version of the bird looking over its left shoulder instead of the right. I've seen the Native American version on the show Ancient Aliens that talked about it, but I'm not sure how they happen to have the same symbol as in India, etc. as they are on opposites sides of the planet and supposedly didn't have contact with one another (i.e. coincidence), but then the premise on the show is that those cultures might very well have had contact at some period where the knowledge level was higher than we think. Regardless, as my public speaking teacher might have said, it's the meaning intended in communication that should matter now the words or symbols used, whose meaning can be changed over time.