Thread.re,Hobbits etc.
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?story=02/12/30/6884556
James John Bell writes on Wednesday January 01 2003 @ 12:33AM PST: [ reply
| parent ]
I'm glad folks like my essay. I wrote it before The Two Towers film came
out for the Earth First! Journal. The whole point in writing it was to
announce to the radical ecology community that just MAYBE Peter jackson
would make Treebeard and the Ents do some serious damage to the machines of
industry in the second film. Knowing that this was going to be a possible
feature in the film activists might be able to think of ways to exploit, or
hijack, the popularity of the icons.
As it happens the actors themselves have spoken out, saying "Bush is
Sauron" and other remarks, and anti-war activists have jumped at the
opportunity to use the force of the film as an anti-war message. I posted a
letter I received below that speaks to this.
I understand who Tolkien was, or at least I have a pretty good idea, I know
where and what the christian symbolism is, and the reasons why there are
few females, etc. but Tolkien had many faces... Isn't the one I describe in
the article the one that sounds pretty right on? or at least the one that
more people need to see?
It's like what happened to Isaac Newton, the guy got the wrap for bringing
us the dawn of science, but that is not who he was, that is what the
schools teach though... Newton was not the first of the age of reason, he
was the last of the magicians. The guy collected grimoires and studied
alchemy while participating in pagan rites, he compiled thousands of occult
documents - all of which were "collected" in a box and "forgotten" - it
wasn't the image that suited the proto-capitalists. The same, in a way, is
true of Tolkien. Tolkien's anarchist statements, and actions, have been
forgotten, maybe it is time we help people remember.
- James
Dear fellow "Last Wizards"-- I just found this site with a web search, and
it looks like the exact type of site I was looking for -- a combination of
activism with an affection for fantasy and the deep history and heritage of
progressive/environmental work.
My friend Jamie created a TWO TOWERS ANTI-WAR FLYER based around things
Viggo Mortensen (Strider/Aragorn) has said. I included below a post I sent
to some of our local Stanford activism lists..
Pax- Xylem. More positive stuff to actively resist the war buildup:
The second installment of the Lord of The Rings trilogy: The Two Towers
opened Wed Dec 18. This will be one of the biggest films of the year (if
not *the* biggest) and Viggo Mortenson who plays Aragorn, the central human
character, has come out very strongly against the preparations for a war
against Iraq.
My friend Jamie created a TWO TOWERS ANTI-WAR FLYER based around things
Viggo Mortensen (Strider/Aragorn) has said. I hope some of you will
download it, make copies and distribute them to your friends who will be
watching the movie.
I made several hundred copies and my friends and I passed them out Wed
night at a showing of the film we attended, and got almost uniformly
positive feedback.
On the same webpage you'll find links to a transcript of Viggo's interview
on the Charlie Rose show where he spoke against the war. (comments and
feedback on the flyer are welcome)
Pax- M
PS. Elijah Wood who plays Frodo has also said things indicating his
questioning of the war and Peter Jackson (director) supported a benefit
showing of the film for Amnesty International a couple of nights ago.
Further, you may or may not like his work or style of writing, but Tolkien
at heart was very anti-war and pro-environment, with quite left views on
many things. anyone who reads his work closely can see this clearly, and I
also heartily recommend a recent (2000) very progressive analysis of the
LotR entitled "Defending Middle-Earth" by Patrick Curry.
(Editors Note - The Last Wizards reviewed Defending Middle Earth and has
posted some very progressive essays on Tolkien and his work.)
