[Child of the 7th Age]

Now that all three films are out, at least in the threatrical version, I decided to resurrect this thread. Does anyone have opinions to add, either in terms of the movies' influence on their own reading of Tolkien or the general impact on the discussion of books at the Downs?

Some of those who posted on this thread are still with the site, while others have faded away. I suspect that pattern of "fading" will be accelarated in the coming year, since there will be no PJ flick to draw in newbies. I would guess that the Downs will never return to what is was at its origins: a close knit site where the discussion centered almost exclusively on books. There will probably still be more members than in the pre-PJ days. I would also venture to say that Middle-earth Mirth and N&N are not going away, although the posting there may be a bit less hectic and exuberant as time passes.

More importantly, as Burra noted, we can never recapture the newness of that early experience, when every query was being raised for the first time---just as Frodo could never turn back and become what he was before the Ring. He had to adjust to the profound changes in his life, which is not necessarily a bad thing (unless you happen to be an Elf!)

I do have some concerns how much the movies will indirectly affect the discussions we have in the Books Forum. I have seen a number of posts where a person offered a quote or example that was actually drawn from PJ, and introduced it without explanation into a books discussion. Most of the time, someone else pounces on them and points out the mistake.

Yet, if we're honest, there are instances when all of us, even those who read the books twenty or more years ago, find ourselves influenced by the images and ideas that PJ put forward, sometimes consciously and other times less so. There's a current thread that raises the explicit question of how we view the characters (book versus movie) and I can remember at least two other older ones that discussed similar questions.

Personally, I find that my own images of Samwise and Gandalf have at least been tweaked by Sam Astin and Ian McKellan. Yet there are other movie characters whose influence I sternly resist. To me, even with the staying influence of the Ring, there is no way that Elijah Wood looks or acts fifteen years older than Sam. You do have a sense of Frodo's maturity in Tolkien's writings that is missing in PJ. The latter stresses Frodo's vulnerabilty instead. Wood's Frodo definitely works in PJ's interpretation--but he isn't Tolkien's Frodo (which I prefer).

Again in personal terms, I am still poking around in HoMe but have never fully digested all twelve volumes! But, then, there are only a few who have, even among the old-timers. I find myself giving more time to writing than before. But I still read and keep an eye on the Books forum if anything especially interesting comes up.

<font size=1 color=339966>[ 3:03 PM January 01, 2004: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]