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Why does Indiana Jones wear a leather jacket in the dessert?

Fanch

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4,490
Location
Texas
In Texas and California chaparral country cowboys who worked as "brush poppers" would often wear leather for protection for branches and thorns. Protection just like motorcycle jackets. I can't say I've worn leather for protection when scrambling around on rocky slopes and such but I've been occasionally happy I had it on!

I think Filson's 15-oz. oil finish Tin Cloth works the same way for hunters and outdoorsmen as protection against potential damage from the briar patches. I think their mid-weight Shelter Cloth and to a lesser extent their lightweight Cover Cloth, as well.
 

navetsea

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6,870
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East Java
I think wearing leather in the sun is comfortable , what is not comfortable when your jacket can't release your own body heat, and that has more to do with type & fabrics of its lining. Among all rugged type outerwear, only leather and denim that look nicer as it fades and ages (which what sun will do to your dark colored outerwear), and between the two leather is much better in blocking heat radiation from sunray compared to denim.
 

MikeKardec

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Los Angeles
Great story. I particular like how much it emphasises the sheer stupidity of some people, or let me say, the total lack of knowledge and culture in certain places.

It did seem kind of silly. I like to tell myself that it was because we had differentiated ourselves from Raiders enough by the point we started production that they were happy to NOT be seen as a clone. For a $4m TV movie it really had an exceptional look, very lush and exotic.
 

ProteinNerd

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Sydney
I liked him in Guardians of the Galaxy but I'm not convinced he can pull off indianan jones, he's just hollywoods it guy at the moment.
 

Seb Lucas

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7,562
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Australia
Casting is complex and who knows what works? I remember when I heard Ford was going to play a '30's archeologist - sounded pretty lame. Han Solo in a fedora. But it worked.
 

Stearmen

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7,202
Casting is complex and who knows what works? I remember when I heard Ford was going to play a '30's archeologist - sounded pretty lame. Han Solo in a fedora. But it worked.

This is all I could think about, when I saw that Ford was going to be in this new space movie! Pay attention to the last line, pretty funny! Plus, Booker T. & the M.G.'s, Green Onions. So, give the new guy a chance, he's got to be better then Shia LaBeouf. [video=youtube;JFgTMYEaWlc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFgTMYEaWlc[/video]
 
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Deacon211

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1,012
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Kentucky
I don't know if Pratt can pull off Indy, but I actually like him as a leading man. He seems to manage that combination of comedian and heroic archetype that made Ford so good in Indy


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Thomas Stone

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Location
Arizona
Well, Then I am the odd man out because I liked most of KOCS better than I liked all of TOD...Just my take...While I agree that there was way too much CGI as a whole for the movie, had the movie been a bit darker over all, and the only part of the CGI come in/around the Alien ship, I believe it would have worked. As far as Tom Selleck being IJ, well I agree with the Zen comment; we have seen it so we can never know, but I bet he would have carried it off. Ford would still have been Han Solo and we'd all be talking about using the brushes we use on our hats on our mustaches as well, Not to mention whether or not it cool to wear a hawaiian shirt under our leather jackets!!!
 

scottyrocks

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9,178
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Isle of Langerhan, NY
haha, great thread, grepsing by some folks, aside. :)

Leather jackets and fedoras are part of my daily wear 3/4 of the year. Fedoras 4/4 of the year. Sometimes I even wear 'the bag' for my medical supplies, wallet, and other paraphernalia. Do I hear comments? Of course. Do I care about any of them, positive or negative? Of course not.
 

Thomas Stone

New in Town
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3
Location
Arizona
haha, great thread, grepsing by some folks, aside. :)

Leather jackets and fedoras are part of my daily wear 3/4 of the year. Fedoras 4/4 of the year. Sometimes I even wear 'the bag' for my medical supplies, wallet, and other paraphernalia. Do I hear comments? Of course. Do I care about any of them, positive or negative? Of course not.
You have my admiration Sir. I wear my Fedora & Jacket often and agree, while I hear the comments, occasionally some will start loudly humming the theme music, I don't care. Just smile.
 

BlueTrain

Call Me a Cab
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2,073
I don't have a leather jacket but I wish I did. Not sure I'd wear it much, though, even though it would make a perfect driver's jacket. A fedora or most any other hat is another story. I don't think I could pull it off. I have a safari-style hat that I wear when I going to be outdoors in the sun for a long time and I don't think twice about it but it's not a double-thickness fur-felt number like they wore in the movies long, long ago. I also have a US Army sun helmet but I'm much to self-conscious to ever wear it in public and, anyway, it makes a better hard hat than anything else. For ordinary wear I have three or four cotton drill bush hats that I wear when appropriate. I've been wearing them so long (those actual hats) that they are "me."

There are other things I rather like but I really couldn't pull off without looking silly or strange or something. A bush jacket, for instance; I guess they'd been done enough when Indie was dreamed up but they showed up in old movies all the time, in the jungle and in the desert. Nor could I wear breeches, corduroy or canvas, and they were in the old movies, too. But I don't know where I could find the right lion-tamer boots to go with them. Not riding boots and not the extra heavy linesman boots that are still available (at a price). Things like that used to be very ordinary outings gear but not anymore. Same with Montana-peak campaign hats that half the men are wearing in photos in the Klondike. Real Stetsons, they probably were. But I don't have a gold mine. These days, however, a campaign hat has connotations of Boy Scouts, drill instructors or state policemen. I guess I'll stick to my old dirty and stained bush hats.

The irritating thing is that all of those items, from leather jackets to canvas breeches, are thoroughly tried and true outdoor wear.
 

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