Feeding on Fantasy

TIME ^ | November 24, 2002 | Lev Grossman

[HairOfTheDog]

More from the same issue of TIME that ran the Cover Story Lure of the Rings posted earlier today....

[HairOfTheDog]

OK Jen! - Shoot the messenger!

[JenB]

Thank you, Hair. My main beef is with the next to last paragraph or so, though the whole article is stupid, badly written, and just wrong.

And at its core, The Lord of the Rings isn't a story about frilly shirts and talking frogs; it's a tale about temptation. Frodo isn't a knight in shining armor; he's not even a wizard in a pointy hat. His only claim to fame, his sole superpower, is his uncommon ability to resist the seductive, corrupting temptation of the all-powerful Ring he carries. And as hard as he fights against that temptation, in the end he fails.

Well, let's ignore the SPOILER for the ENTIRE TRILOGY that they throw in and see that they're completely wrong. LotR is not primarily about temptation. It's about power. Tempation figures in as resisting - or not - power. And Frodo did give in but Tolkien is quite clear that Frodo could not have done otherwise; only a perfect being could have. It's a very Christian idea, that even our best is not good enough, but that God will make it work.

The other issue in this article, that fantasy is more popular than SF, is also wrong. They are two sides of the same coin. We look back and forward in order to better understand today. And what do they expect to get if they interview the SCA, anyway?

[Sam Cree]

Hi, Hair.

I like the last two lines, but otherwise the political correctness of the article is kind of overwhelming. They don't get it, at all.

[HairOfTheDog]

I haven't even read the thing yet!

I was in the chat room with Jen and it was tickin' her off, so I posted it! ;~D

[Sam Cree]

I'm using my laptop, in Key Largo, it doesn't have the chat address bookmarked, but I'm going to sleep anyway.

A shame that a major publication wants to belittle Tolkien...not surprising though, as LOTR clearly is not sympathetic to leftist values.

[ecurbh]

Ring Ping!!

[John Farson]

Bah! There is so much wrong with this article.

In Middle-earth, unlike the Middle East, you can tell an evildoer because he or she looks evil.

So much for... "a servant of the Enemy would look fairer and seem fouler"... Saruman? Sauron to the people of Numenor?

The only people with dark skin in Middle- earth are the Orcs.

Orcs aren't people. The people of Bór were good guys and had dark skin.

[Mudboy Slim]

"Right's Winning"
(To be sung to R.E.M.'s "Nightswimming")

Fight Tyranny...Bold Warriors of The Right!!

We must ignore the Media Whore'd, they sold out long ago...
Spins the Truth backwards so the Sheeple doze.
Clinton, he ain't Right...To Tyrants, Liberty's a Curse!
Nation needs The Right to lead her...We'll DETHRONE Willie first...
That's our solemn pledge! Slick's Goons Shall FEAR Our Might!!

Right's winning...the Truth shall come to light!!
Must make sure all the Sheeple understand.
We shan't let Traitors go...Bill Clinton must git caught!
We'll avenge the Waco Slaughter...RATS' Emperor, he's naked!
Bill's crimes won't go away...seek Justice ev'ryday!!
Right's winning...remember as we fight...
November's coming soon...Right's shooting for the moon!!

Slick, watch MUD's dreams come true!!
Re-Impeached by Congress...Convicted of Treason!!
Your vile style forever shunned...it's God's design...Right's Winning!!

Bill, your crimes condemn you...Slick, we will soon judge...
Guilty of Vile Tyranny!! I sit here laughing quietly...
MUD predicted this...Right's Winning!!

(Reprise)

Ignore the Left's protests...They love Slick 'cuz RATS love Liars!
Right's Winning!! Come join the Noble Right...

Come Join Our Righteous Fight!!

FReegards...MUD

[My back yard]

Well, if that one made your blood pressure rise, take a gander at this one. (I rate the Bush/world and Tolkein/Middle Earth as two issues intertwined.)

The Battle Hymn of the Republicans

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101021118/story.html

Consider the source. The line from Pelosi says it all -- Pelosi says she's ready for combat: "We cannot allow Republicans to pretend they share our values and then legislate against those values without consequence."

[Charlie OK]

bump for later reading!

[redhead]

"The clarity and simplicity of Middle-earth are comforting, but there's also something worryingly childish, even infantile, about it. Things are too simple there. Everyone has his class and his place—funny how feudalism works that way—and he's either good or evil, with no messy gray area in between."

This guy needs to get a grip. This IS a fantasy, and it was written almost 60 years ago in a foreign country. Helloooo!!??

[PMCarey]

I'll get flamed for saying this, but here goes. Tolkein was a devout Roman Catholic, and while one may love the book, I believe that one cannot really understand the book unless one understands and - dare I say - embraces Roman Catholic doctrine regarding sin, temptation, evil, and in the end, Supernatural Grace.

[Chemist_Geek]

Hmmm...

[HairOfTheDog]

I didn't write it!

[Chemist_Geek]

I know. I was commenting on the article.

I don't know if the pseudopsychoanalysis is any good. I'm sure that there are some people who are fantasy fans, SCA types, role-players, etc., who pursue their interests because of the reasons outlined. However, I doubt that the majority of the above groups have the motives assinged to them by the author. It would be an interesting psych or sociology research project...

[JenB]

We Presbyterians understand all those doctrines very well, thank you. The only thing in LotR a non-catholic might not "get", I think, is the stuff with Galadriel, some of which is apparently representative (not the right word) of your views of Mary.

But there's plenty in LotR that makes perfect sense to someone with a Calvinistic view...

[Long Cut]

"But is all this fantasizing really good for us? Should we worry about all these strapping men poking each other with sharpened phallic symbols? After all, on the political correctness meter The Lord of the Rings is radioactive. Where are the women? Peter Jackson filled out Liv Tyler's role for the movies (it's much less prominent in Tolkien's version), but the Fellowship is still as much a boys' club as Augusta National. And whiter too. Don't let all the heartwarming Elf-Dwarf bonding between Legolas and Gimli fool you. The only people with dark skin in Middle- earth are the Orcs. "

Wonderful. We just couldn't let a popular, fun, and well-made masterpiece of filmmaking like Rings slip by without tossing the PC stinkbomb on it, could we, Time?

I bet the author of this nonsense thinks themselves clever, too, what with the "Augusta National" reference (Hey, support the NOW harpies AND bash "rich white males"! A two-fer!).

I guess we now can await the protest marches by Jesse Jackson( to end when PETER Jackson hires Jesse's buddies on his next installment) and NOW (to cease when PJ changes the script so that Aragorn is revealed to be gay, Arwen is revealed to be a lesbian, and Eowyn takes over as the Ruler of Gondor with her queen, Galadriel.).

A pox on PC.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

Yes; we should be thankful this was a Peter Jackson production shot in New Zealand, far from the meddling of Hollywood. One shudders to think what would have happened had this been a typical Hollywood production.

[Vast Buffalo Wing Conspiracy]

And what do they expect to get if they interview the SCA, anyway?

Good home brewed ale and mead? Dancing until 2am? Fighting in armor, fencing, archery? Parties, camping, and campfires? Fun?

Don't blame the SCA just because the media is overrun by elitist, left-wing doofuses.