Just finished The Two Towers. Whew! What a relief. Now that was a battle scene. I'm so glad their ok.
So my wife gets up before me this morning (she's an artiste), and starts talking about the movie. She went to a lecture once with Tolkien. Though she didn't remember much about it (not really interested at the time), she said a lot of the questions had to do with the political, racial, psychological (etc) side of the story and the implications. Some people said it was anti-semetic, which after she explained, I could see their point. Then we talked about the major themes of hope, despaire, courage, valour, temptation, greed, weekness, etc. She said that it was a mean story, a story without mercy, one where there are these great heros and everyone else is pretty much losers (she said the women and children were like blobs), and that aging people are full of all kinds of hangups, temptations, doubts, weekness and generally lame, but that certain gifted youngish males were really the only role models. Well, I think what she said was better and more profound actually, and I feel a little guilty quoting my wife, so I'll stop now. But anyways, I thought that it unfortunately gave many young men the excuse to escape into fantasy worlds because the reall world was just too ugly compared to middle earth, and so they escaped into more fantasy, late nights, sloth, junk food, computer addiction, role playing games, etc. But in fact the real world, the daily life that I must live, is really one that is faced with courage, where good and evil are real, and we decide what we are going to do. A life of action and strength and simplicity. Wheras these stories are too much of an escape for some people. The real world (and by proxy, their own lives free of fantasy) are a disappointment.
But alas, I am so looking forward to the last episode! :rolleyes:
