2. History! Real People, Events and Places
The pre-production process of Young Indiana Jones was systematic, lengthy and highly detailed. Drawing on real events, real people and real places was important, as the series was targeted at a younger audience and therefore fell under the genre of edutainment. Relating Indiana Jones to real people and events essentially provided an action-packed history lesson for kids, and Young Indy regularly comes across famous figures from the past. Deborah Fine, director of research for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, explains how a timeline was drawn from 1908 1922, and how all major events were taken into consideration. The main event of this time period was the First World War of 1914-1918, and the majority of the series is set in locations relating to WW1. Enlisting as a soldier in the Belgian Army, in order to fight in the conflict, Indy finds himself on almost every front of the war, and episodes see him fight in the trenches of France, the jungles of the Belgian Congo and the Alps of Italy. Serving as an espionage agent, Indy travels to neutral Barcelona, the sinister streets of Constantinople and watches as the Russian revolution of 1917 explodes in front of him. Aside from the First World War, there are other notable settings, including the rebellions in both Mexico and Ireland, Jazz and prohibition in America, and adventures in China, Palestine and Transylvania. Coupled with the famous settings are equally famous characters. Incorporated into Indys adventures and exploits are notable figures from the past, including Al Capone, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Winston Churchill, Sigmund Freud, Ho Chi Minh, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Charles de Gaulle and Leo Tolstoy, plus many more. Placing the fictional character of Indiana Jones with such a list of famous people takes dramatic licence to at times unbelievable levels, but somehow it works. Indy blends into the characters lives, neither detracting from the facts of reality nor the fiction of the story. The settings and characters portrayed so vividly and often enigmatically, bridges the gap between the present and the past, and through Young Indy, brings history to life.