ABSTRACT
As scholars search for the meaning of the Holy Grail, speculating on the multiplicity of points of origin, pondering the mysteries of the Eucharist, struggling to explain the ineffable, they, like the protagonist of so many romances, often neglect to ask a crucial question: 'Whom does the Grail serve?' The failure of the Grail knight to ask this question - which within the structure of romance seems almost rhetorical - results in the continued suffering of the Wasteland. In Parsifal Richard Wagner attempted to empower the Holy Grail as a symbol of German nationalism and Aryan Christianity. In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Steven Spielberg recuperates the Grail from German nationalism and anti-Semitism. Throughout the film Spielberg deploys visual imagery often taking the form of traditional Christian symbols - crosses, in particular, abound. The movie's theme, though weakly reinforced, invokes traditional Christian theology.
