Why does indy wear a jacket?

[fenris]

Hasn't anybody wondered why an adventurer like Indy would wear a leather jacket in the first place? He goes to places where it is hot and humid; deserts and jungles for example.

Would anyone of you be able to stand the heat wearing a leather jacket in a hot and humid jungle? I live in the Philippines and even without a jacket, I sweat because of the heat.

I'm not dissing the style. In fact, I'd like to get my hands on an Indy jacket... I was just wondering what you guys think.

[RCSignals]

Some people who live in hot places actually layer. I'm not too surprised at Indy's jacket, especially when he is in some of the places he goes, where the leather provides a layer of protection.

[Indiana Bugs]

He wears a leather jacket in case he gets dragged down a dirt road behind a truck.

[CM]

He wears one because he is a fictional character (with a generic soldier of forune uniform as seen in many old films and photos).

[fenris]

I remember karen allen's comments about how she felt hot while filming in hawaii and how harrison and shia must have felt wearing leather jackets.

[RCSignals]

He wears one because he is a fictional character (with a generic soldier of forune uniform as seen in many old films and photos).

that's the real answer of course

[CM]

He wears one because he is a fictional character (with a generic soldier of forune uniform as seen in many old films and photos).

that's the real answer of course

Yeah, but it's also less fun.

[mrkaboom]

During the course of the movies other characters have alluded to Indy military past - Sollah in raiders for instance - in the bar. The jacket maybe something indy had in the forces and kept on when he left. After all it is a pilot style jacket.

Just thinking out loud here

MK

[Raskolnikov]

This forum is, by itself, one of the best answers to this question. Image world has different rules than real life. In the films, Indy's jacket is something that works so well that everybody likes it. In other words, it's a very important, an essential part of Indy's personality, as well as the fedora and whip. Actually, a uniform has a psychological meaning that often goes beyond to it's suitability.

[nicktheguy]

Well I would want some protection if I was wandering through a jungle - to protect my body from cuts from thorns, falls, etc - A good outer skin is important - plus it can get pretty cold in the jungle and desert at night.

[Mark Raats]

It hides the fact that he doesn't have any arms....

[Holt]

he wears one because he is a human being. he doenst care how he looks, he just put something one tht he thought would work at the time.

he also wears a fedora. a city fedora that isnt made for adventure wear. but does he care? no. I dont think he picked out his clothes for adenture. he just put it on...

the bullwhip he has just came in handy. the gunbelt and holster is the only thing that is made for action.

he actually remhinds of a 1880 western cowboy. he wears clothes with a gunbelt. not much thought that went in the outfit I think.

[ron521]

I'd say the jacket is, like most of the things he wears, something "pressed into service" doing something it wasn't really designed to do, it was a common type of jacket sold in Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs at the time for anyone who wanted durable outerwear. It would have been a little too warm in some climates (especially in high humidity), and not warm enough in others, but still better than nothing, and better than many other choices which would have been available to him at the time.

I own a similar artifact from the era, a vintage leather jacket made by a sportswear company called "Lawton", similar length and sleeves, khaki twill lining with no insulation, straps on the sides to adjust the fit, but mine has slash pockets and no bi-swing back. When new, it was a nice looking brown leather jacket comfortable in moderate weather, as tough as a motorcyclists jacket, but with a little less "image". Here's a link:

http://www.ron521.homestead.com/LawtonJacket.html

[Raskolnikov]

Maybe the ship scene too, in the beginning of LC Anyway, it doesn't matter. Why does Clint Eastwood wear a wool poncho in the middle of the dessert? And why nobody hits the guy while everybody is shooting him? Movies logic have nothing to do with real life. In them, garments tend to represent at first sight a kind of personality, in this case a very special kind of adventurer. They have a psychological value and they also have to seem cool. That's all and, anyway, it's very interesting indeed, when you really think about it...

[Michaelson]

And why nobody hits the guy while everybody is shooting him? Movies logic have nothing to do with real life.

TV too. Case in point, the 'A-Team'. Did they EVER hit anyone?

I think the biggest jolt I ever had was when I first saw 'Young Guns'. In that film when John Tunstall was ambushed and killed, both his horses were also shot and killed in the hail of gunfire.

Huh? Horses never get hit in westerns!

Regards! Michaelson

[Michaelson]

My first experience in that respect was the Western 'Return of the Seven'.

I'm with you there in sympathy on 'The Wild Bunch'. I didn't care WHO got hit in that particular film.

Have a safe trip!

Regard! Michaelson

[Raskolnikov]

TV too. Case in point, the 'A-Team'. Did they EVER hit anyone?

Yeah, and why, in LC, when Indy and his father are in the plane, his fedora doesn’t even shake? Why he doesn’t get drowned when he is on the submarine or torn into pieces in the truck scene? Why he doesn’t brake any bones? Why he is so lucky? Why, why...? And why he wears that *#%! Jacket???!!
Well, because he is Indiana Jones: there-is-no-other-way.
Any other question?

(Just making fun of myself)

[m.s]

Maybe the jacket is what holds all his broken bones and severed limbs in place.

[Brett]

He wears the jacket because 'IT'S AWSOME!' and a garment of substance is needed for that kind of 'Heroery' (yes, I just made that word up)

[Raskolnikov]

Ok, I decided to phone George Lucas. He told me that Indiana Jones wears a leather jacket because he had a dog that wore one too.

[Texan Scott]

Haven't read all the posts but here goes....Lucas conceived the character as a two fisted cad, wearing a leather jacket. The fedora ties this character to a certain time period in the US, the 1930's, nostalgic America.

Aside from formulaic reasons, no doubt Indy wears a leather jacket because it is a covering, something practical to wear on your arms when treking through the jugles, barbed foliage, etc....and as protection from mosquitos, before there was such a thing as "Off". He wears his leather jacket in the desert, as we would layer clothing, because in the Middle East, or other desert regions, it gets cool in the evenings and early morning hours. Also, as protection from the sun, and to keep the elements beaten back.

[Mike]

Case in point, the 'A-Team'. Did they EVER hit anyone?

No, but they sure caused a lot of jeeps and vehicles to flip over…just like CHiPS. Though on CHiPS, those overturning vehicles were usually full of chickens or watermelons.

[Gater]

I brought this point up during a Geocache related thread. I wore my cowhide Raiders and my buddy was in short sleeves. It was +30 out and humid, and I was dying, but by the end of the day, he was COVERED with mosquito bites and cuts from trees/burrs/leaves/etc and all I had was sweat. I would have been more comfortable had I gone with my lambskin, but the cow is my 'beater' jacket. So there IS a practicality to the jacket.

[Tennessee Smith]

Though on CHiPS, those overturning vehicles were usually full of chickens or watermelons.

Those poor defenseless chickens and watermellons!!!! Where was the FCC when those vicious acts of barbarism took place?!?!?!?!

[Michaelson]

Oh, I don't know, Erin. Kind of sounds like daily traffic on our backroads, doesn't it?



Regards! Michaelson

[Tennessee Smith]

Oh, I don't know, Erin. Kind of sounds like daily traffic on our backroads, doesn't it?



Regards! Michaelson

Wha..what?!?! I swear I didn't see that yeild sign officer

[crismans]

Though on CHiPS, those overturning vehicles were usually full of chickens or watermelons.

Those poor defenseless chickens and watermellons!!!! Where was the FCC when those vicious acts of barbarism took place?!?!?!?!

Especially when the truck blew up just after Ponch and Jon got the driver out!

[RCSignals]

Oh those California freeways.

Thing is they are well traveled by trucks just like those carrying livestock and produce.

[knibs7]

Well for one thing, wearing long sleeved clothing and/or heavy clothing, such as a leather jacket, actually keeps your body cooler in hot places. Besides, since Indy's jackets are lambskin (first 3 movies) it really isn't that heavy of a leather. I wear my Indy jacket when it's 90 degrees bc it is so light.

Kyle

[nicktheguy]

He wore the jacket to allow the stunt guys to hide the pads they wore during the action scenes

[DeWayne]

Every hero needs a cape.

[nicktheguy]

That would have been a totally different movie if Indy wore a cape all the time

[binkmeisterRick]

They named the bat Indiana?

[crismans]

Otherwise, I don't see any sequence where he's wearing the jacket that it makes sense. Before somebody says Nepal? Lol! It's not much more than a windbreaker. In that climate he'd be dead if he walked a mile.

Maybe it had a zip-out thinsulate lining.

[nicktheguy]

They named the bat Indiana?

[EvilDean]

...but women do wear sexy lingerie and have pillow fights - then accidentally kiss each other... Right?

Don't worry, that part is always true!

[rick5150]

And women always lay in the sun wearing bikinis and high heels. But Indy wears a jacket because a leather jacket is the coolest piece of clothing in anyone's wardrobe.