Excellent rant [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
I'm English and read the books before the films were out, and thus had an inherent feeling of Englishness throughout the books, particularly the parts in the Shire.
And I think you're spot on that the films have made many think of NZ as ME, and not England. However in terms of the film's settings, I'm not bitter. I appreciate that all of the more dedicated fans will see the story as an English creation, as opposed to a Kiwi one. If people who aren't so hardcore see NZ as ME, it doesn't bother me.
The locations were fantastic and such a variety of locations could not be found in the UK, particularly the more rugged ones and such a large, undeveloped river. At least PJ didn't film it all in a Hollywood studio!
In conclusion, I hope that people acknowledge the story's English history but NZ was after all, an English colony and said to be the closest physical and topological place to the UK on earth. It'd be a shame, for instance, if idiots start thinking Tolkien was a Kiwi but until then I embrace how well our mental images from the book were conveyed onto the big screen.
And as I'm moving to Aus in November for at least a year, I intend to go NZ and visit the settings for PJ's Middle Earth. However I remember and respect the distinction and know that if I want to see Tolkien's vision, I'll get a train to Oxford or Birmingham instead! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]
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