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Istar Indigo
Bree
Jun 15 2015, 4:47pm
Post #1 of 7
(1138 views)
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Greetings all,
Here is where my students will post their extra credit questions!
Chris (Istar Indigo)
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Brethil
Half-elven
Jun 15 2015, 7:03pm
Post #2 of 7
(1115 views)
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Welcome again, Chris and students!
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Can't Post
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Hope we can be of help for any questions your students may wish to post.
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noWizardme
Half-elven
Jun 16 2015, 10:14am
Post #3 of 7
(1095 views)
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I was looking for some of the questions UVM students have asked before, & found (what I think is) a good example
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Here's a good one from 2008 - looking at whether physical and spiritual decline of characters go hand in hand http://newboards.theonering.net/...i?post=105433#105433
I think it's an interesting question, but also what this poster does well is to engage with the discussion as it gets underway, and make it clear that they expect to do their own thinking about the suggested leads and resources. One gets the impression of someone who really is interested to think about and discuss the issue they've raised.
~~~~~~
"nowimė I am in the West, Furincurunir to the Dwarves (or at least, to their best friend) and by other names in other lands. Mostly they just say 'Oh no it's him - look busy!' "
Or "Hold off! unhand me, grey-beard loon!"
My avatar image s looking a bit blue, following the rumbling of my 2 "secrets"  : http://newboards.theonering.net/...i?post=855358#855358
This year LOTR turns 60. The following image is my LOTR 60th anniversary party footer! You can get yours here: http://newboards.theonering.net/...i?post=762154#762154
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Charissa_uvm
Registered User
Jun 16 2015, 3:53pm
Post #4 of 7
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What is it that caused everyone to get so deeply involved with the Lord of the Rings? For me personally my mom would always take me to the movies the day that each movie opened in theaters. We would play "hookie" as in she would call out of work and I would skip school just to see it[evil]
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rangerfromthenorth
Rivendell
Jun 16 2015, 5:54pm
Post #5 of 7
(1077 views)
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I was first introduced through seeing the Fellowship in Theaters. Soon after I started reading the books and i could not stop.
I have recently put some thought into what Tolkien's work so unique and unmatched in today's literature. My wife and I read a lot, and we have been reading a lot fiction, especially fantasy, and we have found that none of it compares. While Harry Potter is a very good work, it still lacks the depth of Lord of the Rings. All of the other fiction fails to create an engaging world with heroes that are actually heroic.
Lord of the Rings is sometimes criticized for its good guys being too good. This is a simplistic critique in my opinion. What I enjoy about the heroes is that they know what the right thing is, but like us, they struggle in doing. So for me, the clear morality in this world is great as it works itself over dealing with big picture of the struggle between good and evil.
Also, the realism of the world. Despite the magic and creatures and many races, Tolkien created a consistent world with histories upon histories and this world overlaps with the same struggles we face in the real world.
For me, that is what keeps bringing me back. This work helps me to better understand the world, good & evil, myself, and how I should live in a world where darkness sometimes appears to be winning.
Not all those who wander are lost
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arosea_uvm
Registered User
Jul 9 2015, 11:41pm
Post #6 of 7
(893 views)
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Frodo's courage in the book versus the movie
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Hello All!
I first became a fan of LotR after seeing the movies as they came out when I was younger. It wasn't until after I had seen the movies that I read the series, and I felt like I was discovering Middle-earth for the first time!
I think the movies are excellent, but the way Frodo is portrayed irks me; in the book, he is very brave and courageous, but the movie shows him as weak and dependent. Compare the Weathertop scene in the book to the film; Frodo was the only Hobbit to stay standing when the Black Riders attacked, but in the film, the other Hobbits stand before him to protect him while he cowers behind. There are other scenes (such as the crossing of the ford) that also portray Frodo this way.
Isn't courage one of the most prevalent themes in the story? Why might Frodo's courage and bravery be lessened in the movies?
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squire
Half-elven
Jul 10 2015, 12:49am
Post #7 of 7
(887 views)
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Not sure I've got this right, but this is how I understand it
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I'm no expert on the filmmakers' explanations for their choices in making the LotR movies - others here are, and I hope they'll give a better explanation than mine.
I believe the screenwriters, following established traditions of popular narrative cinema, felt that all the characters had to follow an 'arc' - beginning, middle, end - of emotional development that a movie audience could understand and identify with. In Frodo's case, if he is going to be strong and brave later in the film, them logically he has to be weak and vulnerable at the beginning.
Tolkien, of course, starts Frodo out as a second Bilbo; he is said to be the "best hobbit in the Shire' and the only one really suited for custody of the Ring in terms of courage, intelligence, and integrity. In the book Frodo does then develop further as a person under the pressure of being the Ringbearer, but the process is understated, internal, rather mystical at the end, and of course infinitely depressing - all reasons why the movie makers may have felt they had to simplify, externalize, and optimize how we perceive Frodo's character changes in his quest.
If you're interested, I think you would find that most of the characters in the film were changed, in many cases quite substantially, from how they are portrayed by Tolkien. It might be fun for you to view the commentaries, and research what critical literature there is, to understand better the screenwriters' doctrine and perceived needs as they made the films for a mass audience, most of whom could not be assumed to have read the book.
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd & 4th TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion and NOW the 1st BotR Discussion too! and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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