Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom remains a beloved classic, but in recent years, the 1984 movie has come under fire for including what some perceive to be racist stereotypes and the white saviour trope.
With the latter point, it's easy to see where they're coming from, as Indy is shown helping "primitive" Indian villagers retrieve a sacred stone and later being served chilled monkey brains as a local delicacy. There are also some sexist undertones, but to call the movie problematic...well, an argument could be made that it's a little over-the-top.
After all, the world, for better or worse, was much different nearly four decades ago. That was something Short Round actor Ke Huy Quan argued during a recent interview with The Guardian.
"We’re talking about something that was done almost 40 years ago. It was a different time," the actor says. "It’s so hard to judge something so many years later. I have nothing but fond memories. I really don’t have anything negative to say about it."
"Spielberg was the first person to put an Asian face in a Hollywood blockbuster. Short Round is funny, he’s courageous, he saves Indy’s ass," Quan added, praising the representation his iconic character brought to the table. "That was a rarity then. For many years after that, we were back to square one."
He also talked more about reuniting with Harrison Ford at D23 earlier this year (a photo of them together quickly went viral), and it sounds like it was a very special moment for the actor.
"I hadn’t seen him for 38 years. As I got closer, my heart started pounding because I didn’t know if he was going to recognise me. He looked at me and said: ‘Are you Short Round?’ I was immediately transported back to when I was a little kid. I said: ‘Yes, Indy.’ He said: ‘Come here,’ and gave me a big hug."
Indiana Jones 5 is set to be released in theaters on June 30, 2023.