Before and after the movie

I, being a new member of the forums, but not of the site, have seen a lot of great discussions on this board. This thread, however, stimulates my curiousity with Child of the 7th Age's insight.

I've loved Lord of the Rings ever since I received the books for my birthday in 1994. I was only 10 years old, but I loved the vivid descriptions and plot of the Lord of the Rings. I do understand the story better now.

Not much changed for me when the movie came out. It only helped me get a better sense of what the characters look like. Now, when I read the books, I picture the characters from the movie. The way I imagined the characters before the movie was quite the same except that I saw almost all elves with grey eyes and Legolas with dark hair.

However, for others, the movie changed the way they look at the world. My cousin, who is 12, saw the movie and immediately asked to borrow my books to read them. Sometimes I think she knows more than I do now!

Over all, I think the movie did the world of Middle Earth some good. It attracted new fans to Tolkien and more people are reading the books. It's also helped the role playing world. I've been rping in Middle Earth since I first finished reading the books. There are a lot more new places to rp now and more members.