Posted on 11/27/2001 8:56:31 PM PST by sourcery
J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that he distained allegory, but many people thought that the novels referenced the fight against the Germans in WWI and II. Parts of LOTR were written as serials sent off to his son who was in combat in WWII.
Others have suggested that the wizards represent the prophets giving guidance to the hobbits, who represent normal folks, who one day have to rise up and fight evil on their own without relying on others to do so for them.
There is no doubt that Tolkien was christian, and that he and his good friend C.S. Lewis, wrote some lovely work.
I think we're all scared for your children's sanity... but not because of LOTR!
Dan
(c;
I think you hit the nail on the head (so to speak). I got some fans a bit heated at me when I pointed this out in another LOTR thread. Check it out: Young boy places himself in old man's hands... (not a pee wee herman thread!)
Mark W.
I understand that some changes are necessary to translate 1500 pages into 3 movies, but as long as they don't replace major characters I'm fine. Eliminating Bombadil makes sense, generally, though they will then need to explain where the hobbits' swords/knives come from since there can be no barrow wight now.
Thank God for That!
I'm sure others feel the same way I do about this upcoming film. I've waited for this since 1974 when I first read the Trilogy. Then I proceeded to read the Hobbit and then the Silmarillian and then other materials by Tolkien or others. I'm patiently awaiting the Dec 19th debut. I think Peter Jackson did it as good as it can get. Bravo - premature - but BRAVO anyway!
The Trilogy is absolutely spellbinding. Women tend to be quite dull, unless they happen to be strong like Maggie Thatcher or mostly naked like Britney Spears , and there are few strong women in real life, so it is no suprise that the same sex that endowed Bradd Pitt with stardom might want to take a pass on this movie.
A woman's idea of exitement is being told by a man what to do, after waiting around doing nothing.
I'm wondering, do you think I'll get flamed?
LOL. Yep, there is. But if I got off on kissing boys, I'd be able to face up to it. I don't, so I don't have to repress & project any fantasies. Besides, if this were my projection, then Hollywood wouldn't be promoting LOTR with shots of Elijah Wood that look more like a girl than the chicks from Lilith Fair!
Mark W.
Thom Bombadil!
Thom, Thom, Merry Thom, merry Thom-a-dillo, Thom, Thom, Happy Thom, Thom Bom-bad-illo!
Thom is larger than life in his short part of the story, and in his own way one of the most powerfull charactors in the series. The Magic of the Ring has no effect on him at all.
I, too, went on to love the Ring trilogy. In fact, I read the books aloud to my kids (2 girls and a boy) when they were fairly young. Needless to say, at the rate of a few pages a night, this took quite some time. They loved it, although occasionally I had to abridge or summarize some of the description and move along to the action when I felt that the younger two were getting restless.
I agree that most of what passes for "women's literature" is either sappy or ugly, or, if one is really unlucky, a combination of the two. I realize that we are in no way responsible for the tastes of all other women, but it's still a puzzlement to me.
This epic is about a titanic clash of VIRTUE and VICE. It is chivalry and honor in a struggle for survival against the tyranny of absolute evil. It is "white knights" and "damsels". If chivalry is no longer a virtue then this is a meaningless, dated story. I believe the women in the story are real heroines. Women whose virtue is worthy of imitation. It is not a modern romance story, but it is a great romantic piece in the true sense of the word.
Read on AuntToots, I think you'll get into eventually.
This is our big chance people. Here on FR in every movie discussion you encounter you'll find the hoardes of people complaining about all the filth that Hollywood produces, the sex, the gratuitous violence, the foul language. You, we, want more Iron Giants and fewer Pulp Fictions. And you protest and you write letters and you complain and you boycott. But there's one thing you don't do: spend money on the movies you want more of. Hollywood doesn't care if you protest, actually they like it, that's free advertising (the holy grail of Hollywood is "no such thing as bad press", keep this in mind Potter bashers). They light cigars with your letter what they care about is money. When a movie makes a lot of money you will see a lot of movies like it, when it doesn't projects get canceled.
Look what happened in the mid 90s, we had Pulp Fiction that bloody swear fest (which I happened to like but that's for another day) made MONEY, lots of MONEY. So what followed, tons of tons of wannabe Tarantinos making movies with people killing each other, most of the clones sucked because the didn't understand why Pulp Fiction was cool (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is, IMHO, better a being Pulp Fiction than Pulp Fiction), but Hollywood didn't care they were riding a gravy train.
During the time of the PF-clones out came The Iron Giant, great family values animated movie, a little anti-gun but not really. Solid morals, no swearing, no blood and guts and very nicely animated. Hands down one of the best movies of the year (especially if good conservative values are your primary grading point). Also a total and complete flop, made no money, out of the theaters in two or three weeks, merchandising went nowhere. The message that was sent to Hollywood was that nobody really wanted family values movies, or at least not enough people to make it worth their while.
Even "low budget" movies cost a lot of money to make, then advertising and distribution costs generally double the outlay expense, Hollywood isn't going to put that kind of money on the line for proven flops. So what needs to happen, if you really want more family values movies, is to spend money. See the movie, buy the movie guide, buy the "movie versions" of the paperback (the ones that will have the movie posters as the cover), buy the toys for your little ones (or yourself, never to old to dig toys, that's what my yo-yo collection says). Spend spend spend, make these movies earn earn earn. Because here's your chance to tell Hollywood that a movie with strong Christian values, based on a book by a Christian author, can be profitable even if it's a really expensive special effects extravaganza.
Of course it doesn't stop here. You've got to keep your eye out for the next good movie and make sure that earns too. If you want more Iron Giants than Pulp Fictions you've got to make the Iron Giants more profitable than the Pulp Fictions, constistently and regularly. Because the only thing that Hollywood listens to is money, anything that doesn't effect the bottom line is just background noise.
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