[Child of the 7th Age]

Will the Honorable Judge Lindil hear a petition on behalf of Child of the 7th Age?

An aged crone stepped forward with a copy of Tolkien's LotR tucked under one arm and PJ's battered script under the other.

Master Lindil, I have been a Tolkien fan for a very long time, quite possibly longer than any others who have appeared before this court today. Almost forty years ago, I curled up with a copy of The Hobbit. I became a card carrying member of the Frodo Lives! generation who tacked Remington's hallucinogenic poster up on my college dorm wall and solemnly baked bread and hugged trees in order to bring a piece of middle-earth into my life.

I am also known within the Barrow-downs as a Frodo fanatic who can not keep the characters in the Silm straight, but who has successfully sponsored a number of learned threads including "The Light in Frodo's Eyes" and "Frodo's Sacrifice." Certainly, no one is more aggrieved about Mr. Jackson's egregious errors in the portrayal of Frodo Baggins than I. Every time, Frodo rolls his eyes upward and keels over to the side, I find myself in correspondingly acute distress.

Having said this, however, I would like to submit a petition on Mr. Jackson's behalf. For despite his errors in artistic interpretation, Mr. Jackson does deserve more than the shoddy treatment this prosecution has awarded him.

First I would contest the very basis on which this suit stands. For there is truly no such thing as a Tolkien 'purist'. I cringe when I hear that word. For a person to label himself in that manner is folly, and shows a degree of hubris bordering on the ridiculous.

Just who is to define the Tolkien 'purist'? If we are honest with each other, we have to acknowledge that every person and generation brings to Tolkien unique feelings and values that shape how they interpret the writings. Committed Christians, experts on ancient languages, and hippy tree huggers all see something different and yet all contend to be Tolkien experts. And, in a certain sense, all are right.

Each of us has the right to interpret without having tomatoes thrown in our face. And that right of interpretation extends even to Peter Jackson. For it is only in the give and take of discussion and debate that Middle-earth truly comes alive. To sit by yourself in a corner and read is a treasured thing....but to engage in a spirited discussion with folk who sometimes become your friends. This is, to paraphrase another learned authority, ....truly priceless.

That brings us to the central question...How many of us would be here today were it not for Mr. Jackson? And how many of the folk bringing charges on this thread will be standing in line Tuesday at midnight to be the first in to see RotK? A great number, I would venture!

You do not remember the old days, but I lived through the eighties when it was a very lonely thing to be a Tolkien fan. At that time, being a Tolkien fan was roughly analagous to being in "The Sea Bell." The film adaptations had largely bombed. There was no internet to sit and chat. When I mentioned Tolkien to the young students I taught, they looked at me with blank expressions and little hint of recognition. There were a few of us still banging around in The Tolkien Society, but our numbers had definitely taken a hit.

That has changed. We now have droves of new people reading the books and engaging in debate. And if we have to endure some distasteful merchandising schemes, let's not forget that we also have the delight of seeing folk like John Garth or Wayne Hammond easily able to locate publishers for their fine books dealing with Tolkien and Middle-earth. That would not have happened so readily before.

We can argue endlessly about whether Mr. Jackson should have done this or that...or exactly what grade his films should get. But, make no mistake, the man has done us a favor by passing at least some of the magic on to the younger folk. What they will do with this new found enthusiasm will be their own decision, but it is a development that I will watch with interest.

I would therefore petition that you step back and cut poor Mr. PJ some slack, at least until after the Oscars.....

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 9:55 AM December 15, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]