Posted on 12/31/2002 10:59:06 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
Tolkien Picks Up A Few More Bits Of Cultural Baggage
By Chris Mooney
Sunday, December 29, 2002; Page B03
Early in the new film of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," the heroes happen upon a pile of burning carcasses, the smoldering remains of a party of orcs bred by the evil wizard Saruman. These orcs were ambushed and slaughtered by horsemen from the kingdom of Rohan, the heroes' allies in the great war enveloping Tolkien's fantasy world. Despite their military advantage, the riders took no prisoners; in fact, they slew so recklessly that they didn't even notice that the orcs had prisoners of their own. As a memento of their victory, the horsemen left behind an orc head gruesomely spitted on a spear.
In the real world, the horsemen's wanton slaughter of the enemy -- no matter how evil -- would probably qualify as a war crime. In its gorily violent film incarnation, however, it is just one episode in a rousing tale of good versus evil. The heroes' sense of mission remains unclouded...
More... WashingtonPost.com, see link.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
But thanks anyway!
A fair criticism of my own behavior!
I always find connection between things in my life, and am often struck by how a few lines in a movie, or a song, will express a sentiment I feel for something else, better than I could.
Those of us who don't have a particular talent for writing often will use the writings of others to say what we wish we could express on our own. Kindof like finding the perfect Hallmark card for a moment.... written by a stranger with perhaps a different moment in mind when they wrote it. But it fits nonetheless...
moonecc-at-yahoo.com.
This is his homepage
Please ignore this meaningless post.
thing is, I personally think we don't need someone like Tolkien. Americans have their own justifications.
Like September 11, 2001.
Like preventing a known megolomaniac like Saddam getting the nuclear capability.
If Clinton had never happened, would North Korea be doing what they are doing now?
I don't need Tolkien's work to think for me. But I find it just as reprehensible that the leftists are using Tolkien to justify their radical environmentalism (Boyd and Monaghan are now speaking out for Greenpeace), and ANTI-WAR sentiments (Viggo and his t-shirt!). Why do they get a nod, but those who find reason to resist the threats of the Middle East should just shut up and lay back and might as well as enjoy it, right????
I think there are stupid people on both sides.
Boston Globe Online / Sunday | Focus / The ring and the cross
And that article was from June/2001. This guy has been fixating on Tolkien for awhile.
Didn't Saruman's forces blow up the wall in the book? I don't think PJ was thinking 'suicide bombers' when he filmed the movie, but for the analogy to be correct, the orc would have to have gone down into the caves where the women and children were and THEN blown himself up killing as many innocent civilians as he could.
The journalists of today don't like the fact that Tolkien could so easily define good and evil. They want there to be some sort of 'moral equivalence' between us and the terrorists, and they'll try any torturous route to create one.
Well, I can't fault him for that... HA!
Even as they spoke there came a blare of trumpets. Then there was a crash and a flash of flame and smoke. The waters of the Deeping-stream poured out hissing and foaming: they were choked no longer, a gaping hole was blasted in the wall. A host of dark shapes poured in.'Devilry of Saruman!' cried Aragorn. 'They have crept in the culvert again, while we talked, and they have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath our feet. Elendil, Elendil!' he shouted, as he leaped down into the breach; but even as he did so a hundred ladders were raised against the battlements. Over the wall and under the wall the last assault came sweeping like a dark wave upon a hill of sand. The defence was swept away. Some of the Riders were driven back, further and further into the Deep, falling and fighting as they gave way, step by step, towards the caves. Others cut their way back towards the citadel.
And good point... our "Olympic torch runner from Hell", was after a strategic rather than terrorist target... the suicide bomber analogy doesn't hold.
Jr. tells me that's one of the characters in his TTT video game he can't (yet) kill...
(in other news, I can't read the full article because I refust to register with the Compost...but thanks for the ping)
Indeed you weren't - wonder how that happened?
I don't know if Miss Hair's heard this. In the Harvard Lampoon satire of LOTR called Bored of the Rings there's a footnote around page 29 about something a king did: "either Arglebargle IV or somebody else". I read this in 1971 then lost the book, but this footnote gave me such a laugh that I remembered it when I first got on the Internet in 1997. So I used to sign on everywhere as "Arglebargle IV", but I got REALLY tired REALLY quickly of explaining it to everyone. So I shortened it to Argh. Weird, huh?
It had nothing to do with Monty Python's castle.
I'm going to get at that article now, Miss Hair.
You were probably just being a dutiful ping list keeper and only adding those who specifically ask. I probably forgot to ask. 2JM would be very proud of you. ;^)
I guess it would be inappropriate to remind folks that I never did like him as Aragorn.
WFTR
Bill
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