[beckett]

Mortensen is harmless. When given an opportunity to express his views on Charlie Rose earlier this year before hostilities began in Iraq, he mumbled a bunch of anarchist nonsense, brought up the American "war crime" at Dresden in 1945, and generally made an ass of himself. The guy is dumb as a post.

[xm177e2]

Whatever Mortensen believes, it sure as heck didn't show in the movie. He did a fine job playing his character, he never let his politics pollute the movie. What Medved is upset about is that an actor has any political ideas that Medved doesn't like, even if the actor keeps them firmly separated from his work.

[savedbygrace]

Nevertheless, Mortensen believes that he had no choice but to distract attention from his martial role with his pacifist preening.

Couldn't leave people with the impression that he wasn't acting when he played Aragorn, now could he? Ditz.

("I didn't really mean it, 'cause wasn't me up there on the screen, it was a character, you know.")

[2nd Amendment]

Just because they hired a bunch of pacifist metrosexuals as actors, it doesn't detract from this grat work!

[nutmeg]

LOTR ping

[GretchenEE]

Can we all say, Viggo, you are a hypocrite?

You earn your millions playing the baddest warrior (hello?) in Middle Earth, and bash your own half-country for going to war to keep your sorry hide safe from terrorists?

[GretchenEE]

"As for any inner meaning or 'message,' it has in the intention of the author none," Tolkien wrote. "It is neither allegorical nor topical."

What the author intends should be noted.

What posterity makes of the author's work is for posterity to decide.

The picture he paints is of today, which Tolkien could not possibly foresee.

[montag813]

In his forward to the work, the author insisted that the world of Middle Earth exists as an independent universe, with no connection to current events. "As for any inner meaning or 'message,' it has in the intention of the author none," Tolkien wrote. "It is neither allegorical nor topical."

Here is where Medved loses me. How naive to think the Ring can be separated from human allegory, despite what Tolkien might have said to insure people keep an open mind about his work. Clearly the story reflects the challenges of confronting evil and avoiding corruption, and has deep links with Christian spirituality.