Indiana Jones and modern fascism

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers about the game Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle. I advise you to do so before reading these lines. I’m talking about the various locations in the adventure and certain events without revealing the ins and outs of the game.

This article is not intended to be a review of Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, but to share with you my impressions and one point that raised a question. For me, as a fan of the films, it was a real surprise because the atmosphere is so well respected and the writing is so accurate. The introductory sequence, which takes up the first few minutes of Raiders of the Lost Ark, is a pure shot of nostalgia in my thirtysomething veins. The title isn’t without its faults, but it’s a solid proposition that offers an enjoyable and controlled experience, which is rare enough to be worth mentioning. As announced, I’m not here to advise you to launch the game. There’s one thing that struck me far more than the level design, art direction or dubbing, and that’s what made me want to write these lines. First of all, a bit of background, the Indiana Jones licence is known as much for the whip and the hat as for those Nazis who act as antagonists. Once the main plot had been launched, I set off in search of the Vatican in the heart of Mussolini’s Italy. The outskirts of the city-state have become the domain, not of the Nazis, but of the Fascists. This is to be expected, as Italy has not been annexed by Hitler’s army, Benito and Adolf being neck and neck. But all the same, our real enemy, Voss, is a proud bearer of the swastika. As the adventure continues, the term fascist is used much more often than Nazi. Another striking fact is that, unlike in the films, the relentless chase between the American professor and the German archaeologist does not take place in a world where the occupation is barely visible. Here, every place explored is swarming with supporters of the extreme right, not necessarily German, the aptly named fascists. After a game session, I was debriefing with the woman who shares my life, and a thought came to me: What if these fascists were a parallel, no doubt unintentional, with the unhappy news that France has been experiencing for the last few years, the gangrene of the extreme right that is inexorably nibbling away at the healthy fabric of the society that created the Rights of Man and the Citizen. I invite you to follow this reflection with me.

Fascism in 2025

Before getting to the heart of the matter, it’s a good idea to take a quick look at what fascism is, as it’s a term that’s used indiscriminately these days. Fascism is a movement that has its roots in post-First World War Italy. This authoritarian political system, which combines populism, nationalism and totalitarianism, enabled first Benito Mussolini and then Adolf Hitler to come to power in their respective countries. This extreme right-wing policy is the opposite of parliamentary democracy, where the group (often limited to the person at its head) predominates over personal identity. In particular, it rejects equality in favour of national and racial ideals.

As we celebrate this year the eightieth anniversary of the victory over Nazism, there are events that worry me. The rejection of LGBT communities, the widening gap between social classes, the failure to listen to popular demands, the inflexibility of migration policies are all increasing at the same time as the scores of the far right in the polls and at the ballot box. I find many of the same characteristics that describe fascism, but which are trivialised, not to say legitimised, by many in the media. I found this echo in the game that interests us today. Again, this is a personal interpretation that I don’t lend to anyone else, but I thought it would be relevant to share it with you.

Vatican: rescuing dominators in decline

As I said in the introduction, the adventure really begins in the Vatican. By way of background, the Pope is unwell, probably at the end of his life, and, according to tradition, the man in black is in charge of the day-to-day affairs of one of the major religions of the modern world. Father Ventura, the man who is given quasi-divine powers, is far from popular, and Christianity has long been far from its apogee. To establish his authority, he made a dark pact with the Duce (leader), Benito Mussolini, opening the gates of the holy city to men in uniform, setting up a stage and barbed wire to put on a show of fascism under the approving gaze of a leader in the hot seat. These events echoed the Lateran Accords, a diplomatic treaty between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Italy signed on 11 February 1929. This set of three texts restricted apostolic authority to the Vatican’s borders while giving the Catholic religion a monopoly over Italy. Our interim Pope, unable to achieve unanimity, conceded an unusual alliance rather than lose the power he had come to enjoy. With this in mind, it’s hard not to think of our dear Manu. In the manner of a priest, he set himself up as the protector of our good people, not of Satan, but of the Rassemblement National, if there is a difference to be made. Then, just as his power was crumbling (the 2024 European elections), like Monsieur Ventura, Macron strengthened his not-so-weak link with the far right. Between the invisibility of the genocide in Gaza, Pascal Praud’s total freedom of speech, the silencing of opponents (we’ll come back to this), and the hardening of social and migration policy, it’s clear that the liberal centrist has easily lost his balance and tipped, with a smile on his face, to the right, very right. Even if the greatest feat of the various Macronist governments remains that of robbing from the poor to feed the richest, they will also have started the train towards Facholand for fear of falling off their pedestal. So France too has opened its doors wide to its pests, just as the priest does in the game we’re talking about today. 

End of the first chapter.

Giza: blending into the landscape

Our archaeologist with the devastating hook climbs a few ruins to give us an unobstructed view of the pyramid tombs, and Egypt opens up to us. Our first steps are taken in a workers’ camp, the local workforce for the excavations. Before long, the player reaches a bustling market town full of stalls and tearooms. The atmosphere of North Africa is well captured, warm, welcoming and full of mystery for the uninitiated. Then it’s on to the sand and the excavation camps. In the midst of outfits adapted to the constraints of the desert, uniforms roam in an almost religious silence, with no discernible tension on the horizon, at least no more than any colonialist. The further you go down the map, the more the ratio of natives to fascists reverses, until you reach a full-blown Nazi camp. For all that, local life seems imperturbable and calm. It’s time to live together. To return to reality, we know, thanks in particular to the historian Kurt Tauber, that Egypt was a destination of choice for Nazis on the run at the end of the Second World War. When it comes to France today, it’s hard to talk of discretion. From Nazi salutes and SS symbols at Gerland stadium to demonstrations in the heart of the capital, French neo-Nazis are shouting their hatred with impunity. The media, which are owned by billionaires, are doing everything they can to prevent left-wing ideology from jeopardising their status, the same people whose fortunes have increased tenfold since Macron’s arrival in the highest office of state. When we see that this famous far right, which I remind you was supposed to find an opponent according to electoral promises, sees its number of seats in the National Assembly reach a record since the creation of the Fifth Republic. For his part, Jordan Bardella is proposing a book to speak to the French, even though his votes and those of the members of the RN systematically run counter to the needs of society under the guise of eradicating the migratory threat. All this applauded by Cyril Hanouna at the helm of one of the most watched television programmes. Just like in the digital Giza, everything coexists in our society without raising many eyebrows, even going so far as to label those who sound the alarm as anti-Semites. Astonishing, isn’t it?

End of chapter 2

Siam: violence in response to protest

After an intense passage through a bombed-out area, we are reminded that war is not just a race for ancient artefacts. We make a stop in the lush flora of Siam, Thailand’s former name. Here too, cohabitation seems peaceful. In front of the hotel we’re staying at, two fascists are quietly repairing their jeep. The hostess seems busy and suspicious of new arrivals. It soon became clear that a group of resistance fighters had made the building their headquarters. As the night wears on, it’s time to go to our rooms for a well-deserved rest. No time to get into bed when the commotion on the ground floor forces us downstairs. The people who had seemed so calm just a few minutes earlier were panicking. The fascists try to storm the hotel to nip the resistance in the bud, forcing them to flee to a small village on the banks of a river. It is also in this remote location that we learn that it was a local leader who opened the door to the country to the fascists, like a taste of déjà vu. What interests me in this part of the game is the violent response in the event of dissent. I won’t insult you by citing the crimes committed by the Nazis. France, a democratic country, has seen a good deal of violence committed by representatives of the state in recent years. Every major demonstration has had its share of blunders. The gilets jaunes of course, the Sainte-Soline movement, the 2023 demonstrations have all been places for certain people in uniform to let off steam. In other words, disagreements over falling purchasing power, mismanagement of water resources and pension reform have only been met with oppression and tear gas. We agree that a government cannot manage every agent it sends into the field, but like a Benalla who reproduces en masse, there was total impunity. And yet it is the Minister of the Interior who orders these interventions. Resorting to such actions is an admission of weakness, knowing that discussions will not allow the government to impose its vision of things. It is also proof that our leaders consider those who elected them to be incapable of making the right choice, which is quite paradoxical. Once again, the parallel between Bethesda’s title and our reality doesn’t seem all that convoluted to me.

End of chapter 3

Iraq: the denial of responsibility

The adventure is drawing to a close. As usual, our dear Indiana has not been of much use, since his antagonist, Voss, has succeeded in his aim. Fortunately, like his predecessor against the Ark of the Covenant, not everything goes according to plan. The perfect plan is above all the reflection of an inflated ego that thinks the world will bend to his will. Disillusionment isn’t easy to swallow, and that’s when denial and lies come together in a last desperate attempt at manipulation. The concept of responsibility is a vague notion that he rejects out of hand; anyone but him must shoulder the guilt for the consequences of his project. Now you must see me coming a mile away, Voss, mad with rage, screaming that Jones has ruined everything in a storm of rare violence, clinging to a dream of power that will never see the light of day, reminds me of Emmanuel Macron. After his defeat in the European elections, he dissolved the National Assembly wanting, if unofficial sources are to be believed, to teach the French a lesson. Unhappy with the result of the legislative elections, which he himself had caused, with the New Popular Front winning, he formed a government, breaking with the tradition of appointing a Prime Minister from the group with the most representatives. Right from the start, Michel Barnier begged Marine Lepen to forgive a ‘clumsiness’ on the part of one of her ministers. He continued to try to govern according to Macron’s wishes, far from the will of the voters. This lack of consideration led to a censure forcing Manu to offer us a new cast, which smells a bit like something reheated, still without dipping into the left-wing parties, which nevertheless have the most seats in the hemicycle. After this string of failures, his majesty on the gleaming throne spoiled us with a lunar speech that could be summed up as a childish ‘it’s not my fault’. He went even further, insisting that he had made the right choices and that it was not up to him to take responsibility for the people’s mistakes, since we did not share his vision of things. If he wasn’t sitting behind a desk, I’d almost have thought he was putting on a one-man show, such was the absurdity of what he was saying. Instead, it’s a deep feeling of being taken for a fool, such is the crassness of the lies. I recommend the video below to see just how much this man despises those who elected him. I’m not saying that the French President shares the ideas of the Nazi antagonist, but that he uses the rhetoric of a man on the verge of collapse, losing his coherence and composure. That’s the last connection I’d make with Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle.

End of chapter 4

Like all films, the game ends with a happy ending for our heartbreaker, who remains an eternal bachelor. The idea here is not to try and prove that the Macronists are camouflaged Nazis, but rather to highlight events and methods that can be likened to fascism and that are transcribed in the game. I’m not sure that’s the case for our country, or even our world. It’s as if, with history lessons a long way off, I needed this video-game jolt to remind me that the drift is flagrant and dangerous. I’ve drawn a parallel with the situation in France, but it’s possible to extend it to many other parts of the world: Russia, Israel, Argentina, the United States, etc. Wars are multiplying to satisfy the egos of a few megalomaniacs, social rights are being rolled back to boost dividends, women’s rights are approaching the Middle Ages, and all according to the will of a minority who infiltrate the minds of the masses to sow the seeds of fear. Not the fear of the sowers, but the fear that has no real form and that we fear as a precaution. Perhaps it’s time we said to ourselves that the hunt for relics is secondary and that the main quest is to prevent the fascists from achieving their goal, to come to power by taking advantage of a crisis situation that puts the leaders in a delicate position. Maybe it’s time to stop fighting straw men and start thinking about what’s happening before our eyes. Wherever we are on this globe, which is turning into a ball of flames, fascism is no longer the news item we occasionally see in the media. It has mutated into a parasite that cries out for symbiosis as it multiplies until it invades its host. The pathology is not incurable, and there is still time to treat our society and relegate these harmful organisms to places where they will do no harm to anyone (minorities included). For example, the cordon sanitaire and media cordon put in place in Belgium in 1991, which is under strong pressure today, asks politicians to stay away from representatives of the extreme right. In conclusion, Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, whether intentional or not, offers a new vision of fascism through the eyes of an iconic pop culture character, and this has rekindled the small glimmer of hope that sometimes falters but never wavers. Without wishing to say that history repeats itself, mechanisms that have proved their worth in the past are at work again today, and it’s up to us to be vigilant and not let them spread with impunity.

This is how fascism begins. It never says its name, it crawls, it floats, and when it shows the tip of its nose, we say: Is it him? You think so? Don’t exaggerate! And then one day, it gets caught in your face and it’s too late to get rid of it.

Françoise Giroud (former Minister of Culture)