[Kalimac]

Kronos, you said "With Art it is all about the viewer/reader/whomever and their experiencing of said art."<P>But again, how is the art itself responsible for its own interpretations? (I'm discounting propaganda posters and the like, which are clearly designed to promote a particular train of thought). You're making it sound as if Tolkien is somehow subconsciously complicit in all of this. And if it's true that it's all about what individuals get out of it, then why shouldn't the viewpoints of those refuting a racist interpretation have just as much validity as those who promote a racist interpretation? I'm probably misreading, but it seems almost as if you're saying that because it's *possible* to interpret Tolkien in a racist way, we should somehow not be allowed to forget that or to deny that this is a possibly-legitimate interpretation. After all, he left himself open for it by using concepts which have been around for thousands of years. (The concept of a long-lived ruling family which has the blood of the gods - or in this case, the Elves - is one that goes back to the Egyptians and Incans - neither of these groups being notably white - and even earlier). <P>As for Atlantis - I realize that Himmler was a yo-yo who believed in Atlantis as the origins of Aryans; he also sent SS details out to dig up the roots of Yggdrasil, among his many other pursuits. But the myth of Atlantis existed long before the Nazis put their own brand of interpretation upon it, and I should point out that Tolkien was working on the Silmarillion materials before the Nazis even came to power, let alone before the war started. I have no idea if he ever knew of Himmler's perversions of myth, but I'm sure he would have shuddered at it; he was angry enough at the very concept of "Aryans." The white power groups are grasping at very thin straws by saying that this is what Atlantis was all about originally, and at thinner straws by saying that Tolkien was drawing, subconsciously or not, on this idea; they are relying on an interpretation of myth which was made by one very disturbed man, and which did not become common knowledge until Tolkien had been working on LOTR for many years. <P>Magician of Nathor: Perhaps they looked Arabic - there's obviously been a lot of debate about it, which to my mind shows that PJ did a good job of not making them look like any specific recognizable group in the present-day world. To my mind, as I said before, they looked more Indian. But I should point out for your friend's benefit that neither PJ nor any of his fellow scriptwriters are American, nor are they likely to be cranking out American propaganda. Secondly, I must assume that your friend was thinking that it was anti-Arab propaganda brought about by the present troubles. In that case, please remember that these movies were largely filmed before September 11, and that before that time I doubt that the issue of whether they looked Arabic would have been an especially hot one.<p>[ 10:31 PM January 08, 2004: Message edited by: Kalimac ]