William Montgomery McGovern: The Real Indiana Jones?
Abstract:
<p>Indiana Jones is both one of the most popular fictional film characters and popular movie series in film history, generating almost $2 billion in revenue since 1981. The swashbuckling figure of Indiana Jones, with his trademark hat and whip, is instantly recognizable to the movie-going public and to most Americans and others worldwide. Was there a real person who inspired this fictional character, and, if so, who was it? One of the leading contenders for this honor is William Montgomery McGovern (1897-1964), a former Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University in Chicago, and a man who was one of the first foreigners to visit Tibet (in the early 1920s) and explore the Amazon Basin. This presentation is based on archival research at Northwestern University, and documents the case for McGovern’s role as a real figure behind the Indiana Jones myth. Not only does it shed light on an interesting and important scholar but also traces how real-life figures can be fictionalized and become popular film heroes.</p>
Keywords: William Montgomery McGovern, Indiana Jones, Northwestern University, Chicago, Exploration
Authors:
Michael Pretes, University of North Alabama; Submitting Author / Primary Presenter