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Now what we need is that same picture only with Hillary's face instead of Saruman.
Posted on 12/16/2003 5:37:51 AM PST by SLB
Tomorrow, The Return of the King, the final chapter in J. R. R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, opens in theaters across the country. At the press event earlier this month in Los Angeles, the cast and crew reflected on the experience of making the films: the friendships, camaraderie, and hardships.
The film, of course, has a great message, but one cast member added a powerful—if politically incorrect—perspective of his own. He talked about how the crises and challenges depicted in Tolkien’s mythical world might help us cope with those we confront in our world today.
John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli the dwarf, told writers that “the older I get, the more certain I am of the presence of evil” in the world. Such a declaration by itself sets Rhys-Davies apart from many in the entertainment industry. But the British actor didn’t stop there. He said that Tolkien was “basically saying” that there are “times when a generation may be challenged. And if that generation does not rise to meet that challenge, you could lose an entire civilization.”
According to Rhys-Davies, this message has a “huge resonance for today.” For someone who, as he put it, believes in “Judeo-Greek-Christian-Western civilization,” recent developments, especially in Europe, are a “catastrophe.”
The civilization that has given us “democracy, the equality of women, the abolition of slavery . . . and the right to true intellectual dissent” is under assault—specifically, Rhys-Davies noted, under assault by radical Islam. Instead of resisting that assault, parts of the Western world—and here, he’s referring to Europe—are committing cultural suicide.
Rhys-Davies pointed to demographic trends in Europe here, in some cases, the majority of children being born are the children of Muslim immigrants. While it’s politically incorrect to notice this fact, it’s folly to ignore the cultural implications.
The actor also expressed his support for the war in Iraq. He called it “extraordinary” and called Americans “the most optimistic people in the whole . . . world.” He noted that no one believed that you could democratize Germany and Japan after World War II. Now, we’re trying to do the same in the Middle East .
Now, views like these don’t exactly endear Rhys-Davies to many of his fellow actors. As he put it, he takes a “lot of stick” for his views. Still, the benefits of Western civilization are so great that the alternative isn’t some multicultural paradise. It’s darkness. In Tolkien’s language, it’s the Orcs, Uruk-hai, and Sauron.
These are strong, but necessary words. Our culture is hesitant to use the word evil, refusing even to recognize what’s at stake in places like Iraq. Nowhere is this refusal more adamant than in the industry of which Rhys-Davies is a part. Yet, not a single one of Rhys-Davies’s critics—those “giving him stick”—would dream of giving up the benefits of Western civilization. They’re not willing to pay the price for its defense, beginning with the acknowledgment that it’s under attack.
But that price must be paid. As the trailer for The Return of the King tells us, “there is no freedom without sacrifice.” Tolkien understood that, and so does the man who brought his heroic dwarf to life on the big screen.
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Now what we need is that same picture only with Hillary's face instead of Saruman.
Ping to post #24. LOL!
Tolkien and the Great War : The Threshold of Middle-earth
"To be caught in youth by 1914 was no less hideous an experience than in 1939 . . . by 1918 all but one of my close friends were dead."
So J.R.R. Tolkien responded to critics who saw The Lord of the Rings as a reaction to the Second World War. Tolkien and the Great War tells for the first time the full story of how he embarked on the creation of Middle-earth in his youth as the world around him was plunged into catastrophe. This biography reveals the horror and heroism that he experienced as a signals officer in the Battle of the Somme and introduces the circle of friends who spurred his mythology into life. It shows how, after two of these brilliant young men were killed, Tolkien pursued the dream they had all shared by launching his epic of good and evil. This is the first substantially new biography of Tolkien since 1977, meticulously researched and distilled from his personal wartime papers and a multitude of other sources. John Garth argues that the foundation of tragic experience in the First World War is the key to Middle-earth's enduring power. Tolkien used his mythic imagination not to escape from reality but to reflect and transform the cataclysm of his generation. While his contemporaries surrendered to disillusionment, he kept enchantment alive, reshaping an entire literary tradition into a form that resonates to this day.
Now to read this, it (my admiration) has jumped even more.
Good for you, John Rhys-Davies!
Went on for about five months.
420,000 British casualties
200,000 French casualties
500,000 German casualties.
Land gained = 12km at deepest points.
He was great as the Portugese navigator in Shogun. Wasn't he also in the TV show, "Sliders," and also in at least one James Bond movie?
Mark
Joey Ivansco /AJC In Atlanta and elsewhere Tuesday, costumed 'Lord of the Rings' fans lined up to see the trilogy.
don't forget he was also in at least two of the Indiana Jones movies.
This comment by the English actor is somewhat borne out in the film itself by the creators, in my opinion, at least from my viewing it yesterday on opening day.
First, there is a comment early about "they have already taken the West Bank!"
It may have been minor by itself, but I quickly made a Palestinian tie in my head as I continued to watch the movie.
Second, I could not help to notice the "allies" of the Orc's, that came by ship, sure looked and were dressed like Muslim Pirates, headdresses and all.
Lastly, the riders of the "Oliphants", these huge elephant beasts that came and swept the good guys like so many blades of grass with their tusks. If anyone wants to tell me that all the guys writing these beasts weren't Muslim lookalikes as well, please do ..
I don't know, perhaps it's me, but I think there was some strong not only Christian message in this film but also a very strong tie on the Muslim world as being the home, creator and host of so much evil.
Perhaps there may be some political correct up cry about this from our Muslim cousins. Personally, I applaud the writers and directors for these insertions and do hope they were made intentionally!!!
Anyone catch any others?
By the by, a very enjoyable movie!!!!
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