What with the movie, and all, I thought this would be apropos.

I think I saw the original 24 years ago.

It was "totally cool"

But then again, I was "stoned to the bone".

Oh for God's sakes! Now you hobbity-weirdos are disguising your threads so we normal people can't avoid them.

Lord of the Rings was a comic book without the pictures.

Not another Lord of the Rings thread.....

And I thought my fetishes were weird.......

You must not see the ideas behind words you read. There's adult reading comprehension courses you can take at your local community college. Time to dig a little deeper.

J.R.R. Tolkien : Author of the Century by T. A. Shippey

Na-noo na-noo.

Long article -- Here's the print version

It's not readily apparent to a lot of people why Tolkien's work makes him the greatest author of the 20th century. Hopefully people will read this article or the book and not just think whatever they thought based on reading it as a child.

Maybe we should start demanding that these LOTR threads include "Geek Alerts," the same way pro-Hillary articles carry "Barf Alerts."

Something to consider.

If you know the story, it's about a ring, a very powerful ring that would give one man mastery over all that lived. It was about 4 hobbits taking it to Mount Doom, so that it would be destroyed, so that no-one could be enslaved by evil.

This ring could make you invisible, so that you could have the upper hand in a fight, spy on people, gain power and influence by knowing things about people they thought were secrets. You could know your enemies weaknesses and strengths by spying on them and being totally invisible to them. This was a ring that ruled all of the others.

The goal of the story was to unmake an evil that had been made long ago. It's an interesting tale, considering it's modern counterparts. If you look at what our government has become, and look at where our country is going, you can see that we need to unmake quite a few things so that we can set things right. It's about being able to change the world, and to undo evils that should never be.

Before you go ranting about how this movie is for geeks, and how it's stupid, think about the metaphor the ring is, and ask yourself would you be able to destroy something that would enslave you?

Lord of the Rings is a metaphor, and a pretty brilliant one at that. Read the books, and look at them for what they are. Sure they are fiction, and written so that children can understand them, but their ability to teach a lesson shouldn't be discounted.

The book of the century was The Screwtape Letters, which ripped the veil of conspiracy away to show who was really behind Fascism and Communism.

The Book of The Century:

Although its popularity is unparalleled, intellectuals dismiss "The Lord of the Rings" as boyish fantasy.

Intellectuals have historically known very little about literature in terms of how it actually touches people, as opposed what appeals to their status-hungry, fad-addled little brains.

In any case, I'm not ready to say any book is the greatest of the 20th century -- though if I had to choose one it would be Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale. While I enjoyed reading Tolkien's works, they wouldn't make any list of my favorites.

I will say, however, that it is one of the most important as it reinvigorated the field of fantasy and mythical fiction. And frankly, when scholars look back on the 20th century, I suspect that the most admired works of literature will be what is now genre writing and most of what is written as literature today will be forgotten.

I do take issue with one thing from the article. Tolkien is quoted as having said:

We have come from God (continued Tolkien), and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming a "sub-creator" and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbor, while materialistic "progress" leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.

I'm ready enough to agree with most of that. However, I think that there is no essential contradiction between "materialistic 'progress'" and the power of myth. In fact, as someone trying to break-in as a mythical/fantasy/fairy tale writer, I find that materialistic feats of engineering and technology -- especially streets and bridges -- are very powerful mythical symbols to me. Such genres are as capable of supporting -- of finding meaning, if I may tread dangerously close to left-wing trendiness -- materialistic philosophies as any other.

Na-noo na-noo.

If this is the extent of your reasoning on this subject, I will have to stick with those who, like W. H. Auden, consider it masterful.

While I viscerally hated givin Salon a hit, this is a fine review, not that I agreed with it all. I liked the quotation from the famous Tolkien - C. S. Lewis conversation, which eventually led to Lewis becomming a Christian:

"We have come from God (continued Tolkien), and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Indeed only by myth-making, only by becoming a "sub-creator" and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall. Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbor, while materialistic "progress" leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.

As Carpenter observes, this is the central doctrine of Tolkien's philosophy, and it has countless echoes in his work."

It also pays the lie to the fools who think that this is a kid's fairy story. Since it is not written like a comic book, it may be beyond their comprehension, or they may be so wedded to modernist error that they cannot detach themselves from their enthrallment. In this way they demonstrate their own enslavement to the Dark Lords which control our culture.

very powerful mythical symbols to me. Such genres are as capable of supporting -- of finding meaning, if I may tread dangerously close to left-wing trendiness -- materialistic philosophies as any other.

You and I certainly both went to the heart of the article, but part of the point of the book is Tolkien's belief that the essential reality of the myths could be derived from the words themselves, and spoke to those of related linguistic experience. Of course as a Philologist, Tolkien might have a built in tendency to believe this.

I think that one HAS to be stoned , in order to read these books.

I have NEVER been in that state ( never did ANY illegal substances, and I haven't been drunk either ) , and I found these books to be boring ! When the first boxed set came out, in 1965, I bought it and " THE HOBBIT ". They sounded like something I'd REALLY enjoy reading. They weren't, and I couldn't even get through any of them.

The clips, from the movie ; however , do look good though.

When the first boxed set came out, in 1965, I bought it

Might I suggest that it is just possible that with increased maturity and experience at reading literature, you might have a greater appreciation of LOTR than you did when you were 36 years younger. Give it a try, it should be easy enough to find a copy.

It was the movie I saw,if I hadn't been "under the influence" I would have left.

It was the animated version and I was 16.

it was the animated version and I was 16.

The animated version, being stoned and 16 on the one hand, and this version, sober and 40 -- sounds like two different universes to me.