Gollum...lembas?

[Silmiel of Imladris]

Hey everybody. I am back with a new Dell laptop. Anyway, the Lembas did have a leaf wrapper around them that Gollum could probably touch. He also may have been over exaggerating when it comes to elf things. What I want to know is why did he get this way over things made by the elves? Was it because of what the ring did to him or was it because he was captured by the woodelves and 'really' hated them for it?

[The Only Real Estel]

Welcome back, Silmiel

I'd imagine it was because of what the Ring did to him. Kinda made him hate all good things (especially truly pure things, like elves, I'm guessing), but I'm sure he wasn't happy with the elves or they're land after their imprisonment of him.

[Kath]

Look the whole scene was stupid. I mean it never happened in the book, and I'll grant artistic license if and only if it can be backed up by proof. Since there is now an entire thread on the discrepancies of the scene, proof seems pretty much non-existant. Gollum takes hold of an elven leaf and crumbles the bread onto Sam whilst making enough noise to wake the dead. The crumbs had all fallen off Sam's jacket before Gollum pointed them out.
I really don't like that scene but I'm sorry if I just turned into crazy obssessed fanatic.

[The Only Real Estel]

I mean it never happened in the book, and I'll grant artistic license if and only if it can be backed up by proof. Since there is now an entire thread on the discrepancies of the scene, proof seems pretty much non-existant. Gollum takes hold of an elven leaf...

Well, the reason their's a whole thread devoted to the discrepancies of the scene is because the thread is about the discrepancies of it. If we had a thread devoted to the proof of it, it would be a short one because there's only one item of proof (the only one that matters at least). If you want proof to back up the artistic license that PJ has obtained (luckily), here it is:

The proof for the scene is Peter Jackson didn't want to confuse the audience with a seemingly meaningless 'Gollum aversion' to Elvish things. Sure, he put it the lembas-choking scene, but that wasn't even important enough to make the Theatrical Release, why should he further go into Gollum avoiding the touch of the leaf wrappings? Besides, I don't think PJ went with Tolien's concept of 'leaf wrappings', Tolkien's seemed to be acutal leaves, while PJ's were pretty much just packages that were decorated to look like leaves. There's a pretty big difference there.

...and crumbles the bread onto Sam whilst making enough noise to wake the dead. The crumbs had all fallen off Sam's jacket before Gollum pointed them out

Well, I know if I had had as little sleep as Sam & Frodo, & could've been attacked by Dead & slept through it (whether I woke again or not )! As for the crumbs having already 'fallen off' of Sam's jacket, that's simply an error in the movie, & there are plenty more like them. Just take it as Jackson meant it to be...

[Kath]

But the aversion wasn't meaningless! Gollum is supposed to be this creature that while once good is now intrinsically evil. As elves are meant to be like the embodiment of all things good then Gollum being unable to touch things made by them would actually be a good way to show his nature.

[Guinevere]

why should he further go into Gollum avoiding the touch of the leaf wrappings? Besides, I don't think PJ went with Tolkien's concept of 'leaf wrappings',

In the book it says (as Sharku quoted above) :
"Frodo broke off a portion of a wafer and handed it to him on its leaf-wrapping"
where as in the sequence on the DVD, Frodo broke off a tiny bit and flung it (without leaf wrapper) in Gollum's direction, so he had to pick it up from the ground.
This seems perhaps a small change, but it annoys me because it shows such a different attitude! In the movie Frodo shows contempt and disgust of Gollum ("Don't touch me!") but Book- Frodo showed pity and the real wish to help Gollum:

"I'm sorry," said Frodo; "but I can't help you, I'm afraid. I think this food would do you good, if you would try. But perhaps you can't even try, not yet anyway."

[The Only Real Estel]

But the aversion wasn't meaningless! Gollum is supposed to be this creature that while once good is now intrinsically evil. As elves are meant to be like the embodiment of all things good then Gollum being unable to touch things made by them would actually be a good way to show his nature.

That's true, but the aversion is not needed to further the plot, perhaps I should've put it that way.

This seems perhaps a small change, but it annoys me because it shows such a different attitude! In the movie Frodo shows contempt and disgust of Gollum ("Don't touch me!") but Book- Frodo showed pity and the real wish to help Gollum:

Movie Frodo is certainly different from book Frodo in many ways, & you pointing out the lembas sequence is one that I really hadn't noticed before. Although Frodo treats Gollum with enough pity at times ("I want to help him Sam."), he seems to have mood swings on the issue. Although I think the "Don't touch me" was perhaps directed to Gollum more out of fear of him touching his Ring than anything.