But when they were given a mission that would determine the fate of their small world and the much larger world, they heeded the call. They traveled for years through the most treacherous terrains of Middle-earth at the word of a wizard. They joined a group of belligerent strangers who had become their brothers. They looked angry more than once. They made dangerous mistakes and witnessed countless tragedies.
They persevered and eventually delivered on their promise, returning home, forever changed by what they had seen and done
Peter Jackson’s theatrical adaptation of “The Fellowship of the Ring” was released 20 years ago this month, just three months after the September 11 attacks. It was then a light to Americans and moviegoers alike worldwide, a winning display of friendship and good people doing impossible things that could make even the most fantasy-averse viewer cry.
And it’s also been a bright spot for viewers during the pandemic, a soft spot to land when the pain of reality overwhelms and a font from which to draw strength to carry on.
“The story and the characters tell the truth about what it means to be human,” Sean Astin, whose Samwise is the heroic heart of the films, told DailyExpertNews in email responses. “The journey is an immersive and complete journey through the spectrum of ideas and emotions we all share.”
We don’t always have control over the darkness we get. But it’s as Gandalf says in Fellowship, when Frodo laments that he wished he’d never encountered the ring and endangered his friends: “So does anyone who goes through such times. But that’s not for them to decide. having to decide is what to do with the time given to us.” And as a fictional roadmap for how to live in unprecedented times, “Lord of the Rings” is one that will endure.
‘LOTR’ is escapism with a purpose
While the mind of Middle-earth JRR Tolkien took his worlds and the characters within them seriously, he also understood very well the escapist tendencies of his readers and the power of his stories to transport, inspire and save.
Tolkien championed escapist fantasy fiction in his essay “On Fairy-Stories.” In that essay, Tolkien stated that escapism is “very practical and perhaps even heroic” — readers and viewers engaged in fantasy stories are not leaving the real world, but are preparing to face it better.
“Why should a man be scorned if, while in prison, he tries to get out and go home?” He wrote. Or if, while he cannot, he thinks and talks about subjects other than jailers and prison walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it. In escaping in this way, the critics have chosen the wrong word, and moreover, not always through a genuine mistake, they confuse the prisoner’s escape with the deserter’s flight.”
By engaging with the story, “Lord of the Rings” fans can “escape our own world and our own problems for a while, but then of course we can return to them too, better equipped to tackle them.” ; buoyed by the procrastination and perhaps even inspired to face the difficulties and evils we face,” said Corey Olsen, a scholar known as the “Tolkien Professor” for his in-depth study of Tolkien’s works, and president of the nonprofit Signum University.
Tolkien began writing while recovering in a hospital bed from an illness he contracted during the Battle of the Somme in World War I. The world was in between wars when the first part of “Lord of the Rings” was published in 1954, and the aftershocks of 9/11 were still loud when the adaptation, “The Fellowship of the Ring,” hit theaters. .
What makes Olsen return to the story, both the books and the movies, he said, is what he’s learned about himself and the world throughout his life. The lessons the characters teach, he said, have been “an important part of my worldview since long before I understood what that means.”
“I learned as much about life, about doing the right thing, about coping with adversity, about dealing with others from Tolkien than from almost any other source,” he said.
Viewers first discovered or fell in love with ‘LOTR’ during the pandemic
Despite all the acclaim for the series, it took a pandemic for some would-be fans to finally enter the fantasy world they had long encouraged to visit.
Olivia Simone, a voracious reader who hosts the YouTube channel iLivieSimone, spent part of the pandemic dusting off the unread books on her shelf, including Tolkien’s works, then looked at their adaptations to compare.
She finally wanted to understand the memes she’d seen everywhere — remember when it was impossible to escape variations of Sean Bean’s Boromir saying, “You don’t just walk into Mordor”? And so she read “The Hobbit,” a prequel novel that follows Frodo’s Uncle Bilbo and his own fling with the One Ring (and Gandalf!), and the “Lord of the Rings,” then watched all six movies based on the books. She and her sister plopped down on the couch and devoured the extended editions of the movies, filmed their reactions and posted them on her channel.
The verdict? She loved them. The characters and locations she visualized as she read came to life in the film perfectly, she said in her YouTube review. But what struck her most was the unsinkable friendship between Sam and Frodo. Even as the corrosive power of the ring begins to wear down his precious “Mr. Frodo”, Sam is his most loyal supporter, saving his life and restoring his faith to eventually destroy the One Ring.
“I was so touched that those two had endured so much and still kept going, despite how difficult it was obviously to take even one step forward,” she told DailyExpertNews. “In the context of the pandemic, friendship and just putting one foot in front of the other even when things are rough rings even more true, sure.”
The pandemic also gave Tolkien devotees time — plenty of time — to delve even deeper into his world. Take Matt Graf, who first fell head over heels in love with Tolkien’s world when he saw “Fellowship” on DVD in 2002. In January 2020, on a whim, he started a YouTube channel — “Nerd of the Rings” — where he dissects esoteric elements of “Lord of the Rings” and the wider world of Middle-earth.
Within two months of the channel’s creation, “Nerd of the Rings” would become a social lifeline, connecting Graf with other Tolkienites who devoured his analyses.
“As someone who is naturally a worrier, I have no doubt that spending extra time in Middle-earth during those challenging days was a great comfort — not just to me and my viewers, but to millions around the world.” , he said.
For years, Graf said, he’s found solace in “Lord of the Rings” by untangling health issues and personal losses. Now he shares the histories of supporting characters like Shelob the giant spider and even interviews cast members like John Rhys-Davies, who played the stubborn and loyal Dwarf Gimli in Jackson’s films.
“Despite overwhelming odds and knowing there is only a foolish hope of success, our heroes decide to do what they can – if they fail in the end, they will fail as they to attempt‘ he said, a message he carries off the page and the screen.
Fans’ connection to ‘LOTR’ changes as they grow
As fans and stars of “Lord of the Rings” live with the story and return to it all their lives, they find their understanding of it has changed.
Astin said major events of the January 6 uprising, the Covid-19 pandemic and the growth of his children “turn every passage in the story or moments in the film into a kind of talisman…a dowsing rod that is different at different times.” resonates.”
“I keep learning things about Sam that I never knew,” he said, noting that he was thinking about what a ring bearer meant to the hobbit. “My sense of that journey and what it means to him, and what death means to me, is reexamined daily in my life.”
For Graf, the character of Théoden, the king of Rohan, has more of an influence on him now than when he first fell in love with the series.
“As a father who has experienced the heartbreak of miscarriages, Théoden’s grief over the loss of his son and his statement that ‘no parent should bury their child’ touched me directly,” Graf said. “As the father of a newly adopted daughter, I relate to Théoden’s relationship with Éowyn in a very different way. I now realize exactly what Théoden means in the books when he calls Éowyn ‘dearer than daughter’.”
The timeless adventure of ‘Lord of the Rings’ continues
We’ve lived with the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies for 20 years and the books for almost 70 years. It’s a testament to the power of the story that they all still hold up — and that the substantial fellowship continues to attract new members. Soon there will be new stories to tell with Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series.
Graf found a community of like-minded Tolkienites with “Nerd of the Rings”, which has now grown to over 400,000 subscribers. He now uses their support to inspire young people to love Tolkien, and calls on his viewers to donate copies of “The Hobbit” to children’s hospitals.
Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd, who play Merry and Pippin respectively in the films, have a relationship similar to that of their characters. This year, the pair launched a podcast, “The Friendship Onion,” where they remember their time on set, exchange stories, and make friends with castmates (including Astin). The results are dazzling and delightful — in one episode, Astin, Monaghan, and Boyd burst into laughter as they recalled how excited Jackson was to show them a CGI preview of Middle-earth’s foliage as the jetlagged cast for first landed in New Zealand.
Olsen, meanwhile, leads classes on Tolkien’s work at Signum University and hosts weekly programs dissecting the books. He said his leadership model was inspired by the characters he’s known for years: the confident Aragorn, the good-natured Gandalf, the loyal and humble Sam.
“If I prove at the end of my career that I have been a good leader or entrepreneur, I will largely owe it to Tolkien’s influence,” he said.
And Astin embarks on his fourth cover-to-cover journey through Middle-earth, this time with members of his book club on the Fable app. The books are a commitment, he said, but one he’s willing to make with readers who love the series as much as he does.
“We will feel and think and dream through it,” he said.