The Dust Files: Is Dr. Jones a Good Professor in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade (1989)?

Happy 3rd of July, readers! It’s a long holiday weekend for day job warriors like myself, so naturally I’m taking the week(end) off. But not without recycling a golden oldie for y’all to enjoy.

There’s a new Steven Spielberg film in theaters right now, in case you live under a rock. I haven’t seen it yet because I’ve been spending most of my time with my new wife and my new stepdaughters and a new film project.¹ I know reviews have been mixed, but I think it’s great that he gets to continue doing what he loves at a high level on the eve of his 80th birthday. May we all be so lucky.

So I dusted off this piece I wrote three years ago to celebrate Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, a movie that everyone definitely loves and remembers. My editor John asked me to write about anything starring Harrison Ford, and since I’d been rewatching the Indys, Dr. Jones and his teaching career were on my mind.² It was a great excuse to write something silly about academia—especially since I’d recently taught my last class at Birmingham-Southern College, my alma mater that struggled to solve its financial troubles throughout that year but ultimately closed its doors the following spring.

But as Q-Tip once said, things go in cycles. Just last month, the U.S. Coast Guard opened a new training center on BSC’s campus. And a month before that, I was wrapping up my first semester in a new adjunct teaching gig.

I am now the proud professor of a (virtual) Introduction to Film course at Jacksonville State University, “the friendliest campus in the South.”³ I taught one section in the spring and I’m teaching two in the fall. It’s not the same as actually being in the classroom like I was at BSC, but it’s scratching the itch. And it’s really nice knowing that (some of) my students are watching classic films like Casablanca and Psycho.⁴

You know who else wasn’t in the classroom very much? That’s right. Dr. Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones Jr. Because he was doing really important things like suppressing a Nazi uprising and freeing children from slavery. And now I’m doing really important things like writing screenplays and watching Minions with my stepdaughters.⁵ And boiling shrimp. (I will be boiling so much shrimp tomorrow.)

Hope y’all enjoy this Dust On The VCR classic, which has gone on to be one of our greatest hits. And I hope that all your favorite countries win their next World Cup game.⁶

1. Which means I live under a rock, I suppose. But it’s a really lovely rock.

2. Harrison Ford was still on my mind a month later when I wrote about Witness and movie protagonists named John.

3. Since BSC sports don’t exist anymore, it’s been fun rooting for JSU, especially since their football team regularly makes bowl games and their baseball team just made some noise in the baseball playoffs. (Eat dirt, Virginia.) Oh, and did I mention that the women’s bowling team just won a national championship? Go Gamecocks.

4. I’ll probably write about Casablanca in the fall. One might think that there’s nothing left to say about this masterpiece, but I’m sure I can think of something dumb to pontificate upon.

5. It’s on right now as I write this, actually. A few weeks ago, Ellie (the 4-year-old) said to me “Um, your favorite movie is Minions.” And I asked why she thought that, and she said “Because I just know.” So now it’s my favorite movie.

6. Unless your favorite country is Brazil. I’ve hopped aboard the Norway bandwagon in honor of my (small amount of) vague Scandinavian heritage. Erling Haaland is an absolute unit. And the rowing chant! The Viking vibes are strong.