'Indiana Jones 5' Isn't Woke, Just Uses Racial Slurs and Makes Nazis Look Good

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) might be out in theaters, and fans would be shocked to learn how the movie handles Nazis and people of color.

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Critics first claimed in early reviews that Indiana Jones 5 is woke. That the movie pushes political agendas and modern themes down people’s throats and ruins the fantasy adventure genre that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas created.

James Mangold didn’t allow this to happen after all.  Even though Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s character, Helena Shaw is always to share her perspective, Indiana Jones never supports her immoral views and focuses on the importance of family and love. In some ways, this final chapter for Indy is dedicated to finding that love and family again and being alive in the present, not the past.

Related: Disney Faces Backlash, Puts ‘Indiana Jones’ in Danger

Fans thought Indiana Jones was over with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), but Lucasfilm had other plans. Surprisingly enough, Indy 5 does bring in one character that might shock fans. In the beginning, the CIA worked with Jurgen (Mads Mikkelsen) to recover half of Archimedes’s dial, which is essential to the story’s plot. One of the agents is a black woman who refuses to open fire or do any violence unless it’s necessary.

She calls another character a “cracker,” a slang word for white people in the African American community, which some would consider a racial slur. While it’s still offensive to some white people, the movie stops there before any more racial slurs can be said. Still, for some families, this might be a step too far.

Related: Harrison Ford Won’t Miss ‘Indiana Jones,’ “It Doesn’t Matter”

Indy 5 also makes Nazis seem more reasonable and less evil than ever. Jurgen never bothers to create a plan where the Nazis are creating a master race. No, it’s about going back in time to correct the mistakes in World War II so that the Nazis could rule efficiently and make humanity better. These are good intentions, but the wrong parts of the Nazi party aren’t stated in the movie. Everyone is just supposed to know that Nazis are evil, but the film doesn’t show us inherently why they are.

This isn’t great for the movie because if racial slurs are used, and Nazis don’t look inherently evil, then there is an alarming message about what the film is fine supporting. After all, other Indiana Jones movies have made it clear why the Nazis are bad. Jurgen’s group doesn’t feel like a menace in the movie, and that’s a huge mistake.

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is out in theaters right now!

 Do you think the movie goes too far with using a racial slur and fails to make Nazis evil? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!