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Sweatpea Knotwise · 07-27-2002, 06:33 PM

I had only visited Tolkien sites a couple of times before the film. At that time, the people and their wealth of knowledge were too intimidating for me, so I moved on to other things.

Before the movie, I had set LOTR on the shelf – I had always had a high regard for Tolkien, but outside of occasionally rereading the books and listening to the BBC radio production, I didn’t feel any need to live my life around it. This was the case for a number of years, until word of Jackson’s movie caught my attention. I now have a renewed interest in the story, and have discovered that there are others who are quite willing to discuss, question, and share knowledge on every aspect of Tolkien’s creation.

Although I am new to The Barrow-Downs, I have visited several Tolkien MBs since the release of the film. Judging from the apparent expansion of online Tolkien interest, the FOTR movie - warts and all - has been beneficial in spreading the word (and re-igniting the passion of longtime appreciators) of Tolkien’s great work. True, a lot of these fans are ignorant of the finer points, and in the long run many could prove to be merely bandwagoners, but there are also those who seem to genuinely want to learn more. The latter will be the ones to carry on the torch long after we are gone.

If I have repeated what others have said, pardon the redundancy.

A question – have we reached the point where Tolkien is no longer considered the province of nerds? There’s food for thought – the conflicting attitudes toward LOTR; high cachet literature and target of derision.

[ July 27, 2002: Message edited by: Sweatpea Knotwise ]

07-27-2002, 06:33 PM	#36
Sweatpea Knotwise Pile O'Bones Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 17	I had only visited Tolkien sites a couple of times before the film. At that time, the people and their wealth of knowledge were too intimidating for me, so I moved on to other things. Before the movie, I had set LOTR on the shelf – I had always had a high regard for Tolkien, but outside of occasionally rereading the books and listening to the BBC radio production, I didn’t feel any need to live my life around it. This was the case for a number of years, until word of Jackson’s movie caught my attention. I now have a renewed interest in the story, and have discovered that there are others who are quite willing to discuss, question, and share knowledge on every aspect of Tolkien’s creation. Although I am new to The Barrow-Downs, I have visited several Tolkien MBs since the release of the film. Judging from the apparent expansion of online Tolkien interest, the FOTR movie - warts and all - has been beneficial in spreading the word (and re-igniting the passion of longtime appreciators) of Tolkien’s great work. True, a lot of these fans are ignorant of the finer points, and in the long run many could prove to be merely bandwagoners, but there are also those who seem to genuinely want to learn more. The latter will be the ones to carry on the torch long after we are gone. If I have repeated what others have said, pardon the redundancy. A question – have we reached the point where Tolkien is no longer considered the province of nerds? There’s food for thought – the conflicting attitudes toward LOTR; high cachet literature and target of derision. [ July 27, 2002: Message edited by: Sweatpea Knotwise ] __________________ Single Hobbit Lass seeks Single Hobbit Lad, enjoys quiet evenings at home and the occasional spot of Old Toby. Talent: a killer seedcake. Contact “The ‘Pea” at Willowrot Row, Michel Delving.