Bad Arabs' Woven Decoy Basket

A woven basket jostled by Bad Arab escorts through crowded bazaar streets and alleys becomes Indy's sole pursuit target after Marion's cry. He cracks his whip at the carriers and later levels his .45 when the lid bursts open, spilling pistols, rifles, and ammunition instead of Marion. The basket tumbles unseen into a speeding German truck's rear amid stacked munitions and dynamite.

4 appearances

Purpose

Transport kidnapped prisoner as decoy and conceal weapons cache during escape

Significance

Drives frantic chase, exposes deception to redirect Indy from pursuit to interception, and plants hidden danger in Nazi truck cargo for later escalation

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Whip Through the Bazaar

The woven decoy basket is the chased object and narrative prize in this beat: it contains Marion (implied) and is the focus of both Indy's pursuit and the escorts' escape, disappearing beyond a building and thereby lengthening the chase and shifting tactics.

Before: Being carried through the bazaar by escorts, visible across the square.

After: Has already vanished beyond a nearby building, out of Indy's immediate sight and harder to intercept.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Wall-Climb Pivot — Indy Abandons Direct Pursuit

The woven basket is the chase's focal objective — carried and propelled through the bazaar by escorts, it repeatedly disappears around corners and becomes the visual carrot Indy pursues. Its movement dictates route choices, forces the crowd's disruption, and its elusiveness triggers Indy's tactical pivot to high ground and a cut-through.

Before: In the possession of the Bad Guys' escorts, being moved rapidly through crowded streets as a protected conveyance.

After: Still under the control of the escorts and lost around another corner; out of Indy's immediate line of sight as he changes tactics to intercept from a different angle.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

False Cargo—Weapons Spilled, Marion's Scream

The woven basket serves as the decoy container; carried by two couriers, its lid is blown off by Indy's whip to reveal the ruse. Narratively it transforms from an apparent vessel for Marion to incontrovertible proof of a setup.

Before: Carried between the two couriers as a closed container, presumed to hold Marion.

After: Top blown off; now empty of its expected human cargo and lying on the cobblestones among scattered contraband.

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S1E1 · RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK

Silent Basket in the Munitions Load

The woven decoy basket is the literal object that falls into the truck bed and, by doing so, becomes a narrative setup: a decoy turned latent hazard. Its innocent exterior masks the presence (or expectation) of a person and it now sits hidden among volatile ordnance, changing future discovery dynamics.

Before: In transit being carried as a decoy through the bazaar (jostled by escorts, moving toward the transport area).

After: Lodged unnoticed among stacked munitions in the open rear of the German truck, effectively concealed and transforming into a concealed hazard or plot device.

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