10 Theories That Improve The Indiana Jones Movies

5. The Main Focus Of Temple Of Doom Was Saving The Children, Not The Stones

It's not always all about the MacGuffin. Or perhaps it's just that the MacGuffin isn't always what you think it is. If you're not familiar with the term, a "MacGuffin" is the core concept driving the events of a fictional story. A motivator. It's a plot device - in Indiana Jones, it's the Ark, the Grail, the Crystal Skulls. And, in Temple of Doom, the MacGuffin is the Sankara Stones. The stones, believe it or not, do have a real life counterpart in the Hindu faith, though they are not called the Sankara Stones. However, these magical stones - which brought prosperity to an Indian community in Temple of Doom, until stolen, along with the town's children - were not even the main point of the movie, according to one fan theory. Instead, the theory goes, the "real" MacGuffin of the movie was the kidnapped kids themselves. To bolster this claim, proponents point to the presence of Short Round, Indy's sidekick for the film, who would have made him more sympathetic to the plight of the children. It's the kids that really matter, and the retrieval of the kids makes Indy a hero. Since the return of the children did have more gravity than a glowing stone anyway, this theory actually makes a fair bit of sense.