[ownZero]

Did this guy see the same film I saw? The Hobbits and the Fellowship didn't go off seeking glory, they reluctantly did what needed to be done. Had they appeased Sauron or did nothing they would have been sealing their fate. Any fans here follow his argument? He makes some interesting points but the films and books are what they are. He is bending them to fit his point of view just as much as that of the people he writes about.

[Zipporah]

He's living in some futurist BS.. if anyone takes the time to examine Tolkien, the Triology has nothing to do with WWII .. either. Tolkien was a Christian and the triology is about good vs evil but there is other factors as well.

[redbaiter]

[The film's] overwhelming message is, war is good. Peaceful life in the Shire is OK, but fighting for Middle Earth is ennobling.

Ummm... no. The film's message is that sometimes you have to fight whether you will it or not, and that when your civilization is threatened everyone, great and small, has a stake in the outcome and a part to play. Oh, and, war can get you killed in nasty ways.

Just try to imagine Peter Jackson saying war is ennobling. Puh-lease.

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

There and Back Again: The Journeys of Flat Frodo

Anyone wishing to be added to or removed from the Ring-Ping list, please don't hesitate to let me know.

[Old Sarge]

I saw this magnificent part, and I hope others pick up on it, as well:

John Rhys-Davies, who plays Gimli, was asked by the Christian webzine Looking Closer to assess the impact of Tolkien's religious faith - he was Catholic - on his books. Rhys-Davies answered, "I think that Tolkien says that some generations will be challenged. And if they do not rise to meet that challenge, they will lose their civilization."
The actor went on to pinpoint the challenge. He recalled his own father telling him, a half-century ago, "There is not going to be a World War between Russia and the United States. The next World War will be between Islam and the West . . . And you will see it in your lifetime."
Now this fight has come to the West, he continued, and the West must fight back. "True democracy comes from our Greco-Judeo-Christian-Western experience. If we lose these things, then this is a catastrophe for the world."

Ah, I knew the fighting spirit of the Dwarves would never let us down.

[Xenalyte]

Is 'Lord of the Rings' the U.S. vs Iraq, Etc.?

Given that it was written 50-some years ago, I gotta say no, it isn't.

[StoneColdGOP]

Sometimes, a movie (or a book), is just a movie (or book).

Commentators on the left and right both ought to stop short before proclaiming anything as an endorsement of their philosophy.

[Faraday]

Tolkien made clear that LOTR was not an allegory for WWII or anything else. Nevertheless, the thrust of the myth he created is an affirmation of traditional Western values and culture. Many parallels may be found between events in the LOTR and the struggle with Islamofascism. We should not be ashamed to take inspiration in our struggle from our myths. That's what they are there for.

I wish their had been more Denethor/Sauruman types in LOTR as examples of the enemies within your own culture. It is apparent that our current battle is one on two fronts--with those who wish to overthrow Western civiliazation from without, and those who wish to undermine it from within.