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.Ithilwen.
Rivendell
Jul 1 2009, 12:32am
Post #1 of 23
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You know what I've realized...
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If this doesn't belong here...sorry :)
Now back to my epiphany!
I was discussing this with my mother yesterday and she agreed with me.
I've spent the past few months exploring Middle Earth and all of its characters and various places.
And I've talked to many great people because of that.
And I've come to realize how much people really care about Tolkien's world and works.
Much more so then any other “book world”.
I mean there are die-hard HP and Twilight fans…But, at least to me, it seems pretentious (Only word I can find…) and plastic in a way (no offence to any fans out there )... Honestly, I like both of those stories very much and the movies are entertaining…But there isn’t that love like there is with Lord of the Rings (etc.)
I mean people become Tolkien Linguists, Scholars, Experts, and teach entire classes about him and his writings. And don’t become completely obsessed and enthralled because of a sparkly immortal.
Maybe I’m just crazy and gone off on one of my rambles…But does anyone remotely agree?
El eria e mor
I `lir en el luitha `uren
(A star rises out of the darkness. The song of the star enchants my heart)
~Aníron, Enya
NARF since summer '08 when I wouldn't read anything written by Tolkien because my Mum called it classic literature...
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Jul 1 2009, 12:51am
Post #2 of 23
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of comparing the relative merits of different fandoms. What speaks deeply to one person is mute to another, and is no measure of its inherent qualities.
I think what *is* important is to find something you love and to feel free to enjoy it. Whether you get your joy from Transformers, Tolkien or Buffy is neither here nor there - only that you *do* find joy somewhere in the creative realm. 'Cause life is a little more dull without it.
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded b*****d with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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EmynArnenLady
Rivendell
Jul 1 2009, 3:01am
Post #3 of 23
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And don’t become completely obsessed and enthralled because of a sparkly immortal.
*sniff, tear* but...it's not bad if you are is it?
But I totaly agree with that you trying to get across here. I've had many "obsessions" in my life and I am a fan of many things. But there is something about Tolkien's work that is unlike any other fandom I've been seduced to. To me, Middle Earth is just like our own existing world...with just a little bit of magic thrown in. It's not an other-wordly place filled with fantastical beasts and people spewing magic and fairy dust eveywhere they go (no offence to thise things). It's just the right amount of blend of both worlds and that's what I love about it. Hell, I'd much rather be in Middle Earth than here most of the time...even if there are things like Orcs and dragons and nasties like those. If such a world, could exist, I'd be there in a heartbeat.
...especially if the elves are still there *wink*
Lego-mainiac and proud of it!!
(footer image to return soon when I have the time to fiddle with the resizing)
When true hearts lie withered, and fond ones are flown
Oh who would inhabit this bleak world alone?
- The last Rose of Summer, Thomas Moore
Crackle: "Those freakin' elves man....they came from the trees...they came from the trees!"
Pop: "Here's to Snap...." - (Family Guy Episode)
Luke Goss for Thranduil!
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Tolkien Forever
Gondor
Jul 1 2009, 4:32am
Post #4 of 23
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Much more so then any other “book world”.
Not those who believe in the bible.
The Ultimate Tolkien Trivia Quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=so-you-want-to-be-tolkien-geek
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Fruit of Laurelin
Rivendell
Jul 1 2009, 4:37am
Post #5 of 23
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I dunno about pretentious... the people on mugglenet.com analyis the books and movies in a similar way we do here. On twilight, most people who enjoy it don't enjoy it for it's literary merits but because they like a certain sparkling fairy. I'm not saying that's bad, but they tend to not be the kind of people to fine comb through the books looking for hidden meaning, things like that. I don't think it's pretentious, just different. Tolkien's world may not be 'better' than another author's but on this site I think most of us think it tops a lot.
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guitarzankansasfan
Lorien
Jul 1 2009, 9:09am
Post #6 of 23
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I think Tolkien would be pleased that the Bible is reportedly the one book that still outsells LoTR.
"llapan wayrapi ñutu-hallp'ata kawayku"
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Tolkien Forever
Gondor
Jul 1 2009, 2:33pm
Post #7 of 23
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I don't think most or the majority of Tolkien's fans 'comb through the books looking for hidden meaning'.....
That's just the style on this website.
Others just like the nuts & bolts historical depth of the work itself without (sometimes) trying to put words in the author's mouth.
Judging what the entire world of Tolkien fandom is like just from one website's stylistic viewpoint would indeed be a huge mistake.
The Ultimate Tolkien Trivia Quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=so-you-want-to-be-tolkien-geek
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sherlock
Gondor
Jul 1 2009, 6:49pm
Post #8 of 23
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I guess that means I have to stop looking down on my daughter who's a major Buffy fan.
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Rosie-with-the-ribbons
Forum Admin
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Jul 1 2009, 7:19pm
Post #9 of 23
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I think there is so much more about Middle Earth to be found. Professor Tolkien wrote so much. The Hobbit and LOTR as the "main" story. And than all the stories around it, the Silmarillion and all the other books (from which I can't remember the titles just now, shame on me). He made the various languages and everything. So there is so much more to discuss and so much more to find out.
And.... (with the chance of being called totally stupid), the LOTR is a very large book and written a bit more difficult than the other books you mention.
I love to read Harry Potter and at the moment I'm totally addicted to Twilight (yes I confess) and from both fandoms there is also so much to be found, also with total analysis of the books, the characters and the places. I think it is also about what you are interested, in that region you will find the most information.
But I have to agree with you that I don't think that from either two series there will be so much information to be found in 50+ years as from Lord of the Rings is now.
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
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Jul 2 2009, 12:18am
Post #10 of 23
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I'm totally addicted to Twilight
I'm two-thirds of the way through the fourth book and I just love the story. (Don't gag, Annael!)
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded b*****d with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
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weathertop
Rohan
Jul 2 2009, 4:24am
Post #11 of 23
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what all the hubbub is about. granted i don't know what's going on in a woman's head much of the time (prolly not at all!) but can all that cra...stuff be in ya'll's minds? i found Bella to be awfully whiny. almost annoying to the point of putting the book down. but jacob kept me going, and learning about the rest of the cullen brood. I will have to say tho that the fourth book was actually pretty good. by far the best of the group. just annoying that i had to go thru so much agony to get there.
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Fruit of Laurelin
Rivendell
Jul 2 2009, 4:58am
Post #12 of 23
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But every Tolkien fan I know I only know through the internet and most people here do look through the books carefully. Maybe people in RL are different.
I still say that the world if Tolkien fandom in general is more analytical than most other fandom’s. I've been obsessed with several different things in the past, going on all the sites of that fandom I could. None of them looked into things like people do here, though it was still nice. On the other hand, there’s libraryofmoria which focus on a completely different side of LOTR to this site.
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Ainu Laire
Tol Eressea
Jul 2 2009, 5:43am
Post #13 of 23
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That huge fans of the same series, often for similar reasons, can be completey and utterly split about another. It's strange how that works out. My rather black-and-white brain can't grasp it very well. 
*trots off to join Annael* 
My LiveJournal ~ My artwork and photography ~ My LOTR fan fiction
NARF since age 8, when I refused to read the Hobbit because the cover looked boring and icky.
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Tolkien Forever
Gondor
Jul 2 2009, 3:41pm
Post #14 of 23
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Yes, Fruity one, I completely agree that aside from the 'movie first' types, which also do abound here, us bookish types due tend to look through the books very carefully, even to the point where those of us who are gifted in the area of memory can find any passage or quote at the drop of a hat when the need arises in a discussion.
The part I questioned was'finding hidden meaning' in the works of Tolkien - not everyone I know goes in for that, even though, as I said, it is the modus operandi on this particular site.
Another Tolkien site I know of however, is very scholarly & simply sticks to debating the factual evidence found within the books as opposed to the essoteric "I think the text means this to me" type of theories I see mainly posted around here.
As I said, judging all Tolkien fans by just what goes on at The onering.net would be a bit too narrow of a definition.,
The Ultimate Tolkien Trivia Quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=so-you-want-to-be-tolkien-geek
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Ataahua
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Jul 2 2009, 7:53pm
Post #15 of 23
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of the anti-Harry Potter threads that blossomed for a short time on TORN just before and after the FOTR movie came out (sparked by early media stories of 'Gandalf vs Dumbledore'). I think we were between Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix being published at that time.
I suppose I just take the line of the more fantasy series to grab people's minds, the better.
Celebrimbor: "Pretty rings..."
Dwarves: "Pretty rings..."
Men: "Pretty rings..."
Sauron: "Mine's better."
"Ah, how ironic, the addictive qualities of Sauron’s master weapon led to its own destruction. Which just goes to show, kids - if you want two small and noble souls to succeed on a mission of dire importance... send an evil-minded b*****d with them too." - Gandalf's Diaries, final par, by Ufthak.
Ataahua's stories
(This post was edited by Ataahua on Jul 2 2009, 7:54pm)
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Fruit of Laurelin
Rivendell
Jul 3 2009, 5:13am
Post #16 of 23
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It may be narrow, but it's still a glimpse of the whole thing
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Well as a movie firster myself, I stil enjoy looking through the books carefully. I also enjoy reading through the RR, even if I never have anything to say there  .
I agree that not everyone goes for the 'finding hidden meaning' stuff, but I think if you generalise the fandom as a whole, Tolkien fans do go for that sort of thing more than other fandoms.
It may be narrow, but it's a sample of the fandom. Even if people here make up 0.1% of fans, that's more people into this sort of thing than any other group I've heard about. Every major fan must of at least heard of this site, right?
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Tolkien Forever
Gondor
Jul 3 2009, 6:55am
Post #17 of 23
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I doubt most fans have heard of this site....
Even though it is the biggest.
I myself for example have read the books for 30+ years & went through all the movie years without ever even coming across this place until about a year ago.
When I mentioned it on another site, none of the people there even had a clue it existed.
Shocking, huh? 
It really is a great big Tolkien world out there. 
The Ultimate Tolkien Trivia Quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=so-you-want-to-be-tolkien-geek
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Kelvarhin
Half-elven
Jul 3 2009, 7:06am
Post #18 of 23
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In Reply To
of the anti-Harry Potter threads that blossomed for a short time on TORN just before and after the FOTR movie came out
was just thinking the other night, that we could see a resurgence of that with the last two HP movies coming out at the same time as the two Hobbit movies.
Warning: Tigers not colour-fast! Wash separately.
~~~10th Anniversary Thank You Cards to VIP's~~~~Laerasea's Travelling TORn Journal~~~
One book to rule them all
One book to find them
One book to bring them all
And in TORn bind them
In the land of TORnadoes...where the brilliant play
(This post was edited by Kelvarhin on Jul 3 2009, 7:06am)
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Fool of a Took
Bree
Jul 3 2009, 7:21pm
Post #19 of 23
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I live with perhaps the biggest HP fan out there...
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my wife, who has written a couple of books on the HP fan phenomenon, started the Orlando Harry Potter Book Club, is involved as a creative consultant for the Wizarding World of HP at Universal Studios, and on top of all that is a Wizard Wrocker (The House of Black).
The HP fandom is big. It's huge. And I know they have the same amount of passion and dedication that LOTR fans do. But a couple of posters on this tread are right: comparison is not a very useful activity. Someone said (Altaira? I'm too lazy to backtrack...) that the more fantasy series out there the better.
And we know that Tolkien is the grandaddy of contemporary fantasy.
But grandchildren are fun too.
"Despair, or folly?" said Gandalf. "It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt."
"This is the hour of the Shire-folk, when they arise from their quiet fields to shake the towers and counsels of the Great."
http://hobbitmeals.wordpress.com
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Fruit of Laurelin
Rivendell
Jul 3 2009, 10:40pm
Post #20 of 23
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Really? They didn't even know this site existed? Shocker! Maybe I assumed this site was bigger than it was, as someone who chanced upon it less than a week after reading FOTR. It's also mentioned on plenty of the 'official' books and websites for LOTR, so I don't know how they missed it all 
What a great, whooping big world out there.
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Sonic#
Bree
Jul 4 2009, 3:02am
Post #21 of 23
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Well, it's one thing to be listed everywhere.
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And quite another for people to look at it. There are lots of things that I like, and would even profess to be a giant fan of (Star Wars, Harry Potter, so on) where I haven't visited any of the major fan sites in years. I've been to the official Star Wars site once in three years, MuggleNet once in two, and... none of the others. Yet I'm sure, if I looked even a bit, I'd find sites every bit as prominent as the one in this fandom. It's not that I'm any greater or lesser fan of any of these other things, but I express my inner fan in different ways. For Star Wars, I largely play the video games. For Harry Potter, I have discussions with my friends in person. With LOTR, I talk with a couple of friends, roleplay, and then post here. :D
All it takes is not taking the initiative to go out searching for it. The internet's a busy place.
(This post was edited by Sonic# on Jul 4 2009, 3:03am)
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Tolkien Forever
Gondor
Jul 4 2009, 5:14pm
Post #22 of 23
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You must understand that my lack of internet knowledge is based on me being a complete computer moron.....
I believe my wife suggested 'this'Tolkien site she had found, I liked it & never even knew how to look elsewhere for years.
The Ultimate Tolkien Trivia Quiz: http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=so-you-want-to-be-tolkien-geek
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Anorien
Rohan
Jul 6 2009, 10:05pm
Post #23 of 23
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There is a special kind of love for the works of Tolkien. But there are fans out there that really do love other works of literature or film. There are definitely obsessed Twilight and HP fans that do have real love, not the plastic kind, which I'm sure we've all come across. Perhaps its the number of Tolkien fans that have that deep love and passion for his writings that is most noticable.
But I have also come across many Twilight and HP fans that are more interested with the actors and special effects then the actual story. That's ok, it's just their thing I guess.
The Lord of the Fellowship of the Return of the Two Towers of the Hobbit King of the Rings...with the Silmarillion!
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