A Comparison of Indiana Jones and Belloq, a Hero and a Villain, (Not So Different After All).

In the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” Belloq calls himself a shadowy reflection of Indiana Jones. Indiana Jones and Belloq have similar goals but entirely different motives. Also only one of them is usually considered heroic.
Indiana Jones and Belloq are similar in that they both make a living out of seeking out items of archeological and historical value. They are also alike in that they are both seeking the lost Ark of the Covenant. However, there methods are very different. There is actually one major distinction between their methods. Indiana Jones chooses to use more legal methods and while he is willing to kill he only kills when he has to. Belloq, however, uses threats and killing as his main way of getting what he wants. He also uses the Nazi army in order to obtain the Ark and sends a murderer and thief to get the “Headpiece of the Staff of Ra”.
Belloq and Indiana Jones also have very different motives. Indiana Jones does not have purely heroic motives. He is seeking the Ark of the Covenant purely for his own financial gain. He does admit however to have a love and appreciation for archeological and historic things and he has every intention of handing it over to a government that he knows will study it thoroughly and not use poorly. Similarly Belloq wants the Ark for his own financial gain and he plans to turn it over to a government. However he only wants it to gain money and power and he knows that the Nazis will only use it to win a bloody war and kill thousands of people.
Indiana Jones only kills when he has to. Belloq kills whenever he thinks it might help him. If Indiana Jones gets the Ark he will give it to a government that will study it and learn from it. If Belloq gets the Ark he will hand it over to a government that will use it to kill. So despite their similarities and the imperfections of Indiana Jones, it is Indiana who is generally considered the more heroic.