These questions were asked to the members posting in the Over-40 thread in the Prancing Pony Forum – here are the questions, followed by the responses.
What does LotR mean to you?
When did you first read the books ?
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies?
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
From Faramirgirl
What does LotR mean to you?
I am thankful for the LOTR books. I am also thankful for the movies, for the books and movies have so many meanings. They showed courage, love, coming together for a common goal. I like this one, because in coming together for a common goal you draw strength from each other.
It also showed that different races can come together and work together. In today’s world we need more of this. Everyone wants to fight each other, and it is sad because most of the time everyone is fighting for the same goal. Gimli and Legolas started out fighting over the difference of their race, but by the end of the movie they were the best of friends and in the books they went off together. If only the world would take a lesson from those two. Then maybe we wouldn’t have so much violence and hatred between different cultures and even among ourselves. In the TTT EE, when Faramir and his men had captured Frodo and Sam and he is looking at the young men he had just killed, he is making this statement: “This war will make corpses of us all.” And how true is that statement in today’s world? Wars are breaking out all over today. And most of the wars that are being fought are for freedom, but everyone is fighting against each other.
It showed them struggling in life choices which is something that we all do. Frodo’s struggle with the Ring and knowing what must be done. Boromir’s struggle of wanting the Ring. Aragorn’s struggle of who he is. And how many of us have struggled with something in our lives? In the EE of FOTR, when Aragorn is kneeling at his mother’s statue and Elrond comes up and tells him that he is the only one left of that blood line, Aragon says “I have never wanted that power” and then Elrond tells him that there is no other left. How many of us felt the weight of the world on our shoulders? Or when Frodo tells Sam that the Ring is his task and his alone. How many of us felt that we must do something because no others can do it? Or Boromir wanting the Ring and making an oath to help Frodo, but the power of the Ring finally overtaking him. How many of us felt that we knew what was right and should have done, but something with more power was controlling us?
It showed the pain of those surviving the dead ones. Théoden’s pain at the death of his son Théodred, when he said, “No parent should have to bury their child”.(As a mother I agree, I should not outlive my kids.) Denethor when Boromir died and when he thought that Faramir had died too.
But most of all it showed that anything can be done as long as there is hope and faith and you believe. How many times throughout the movies and the books did we see those simple words “There is still hope?’” or “There is always hope?”
Of the sadness that is going on in the world today I can always find peace in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and in the movies. In Middle-earth there were also many wars and people that fought for the cause of freedom. It is like Gandalf told Frodo: “There is more than evil at work here. Some that lived deserved death and some that died deserved life, can you give it to them, Frodo?” How true is that today?
Yes, many lessons to be learned, and I am so thankful for the boards and the coming together of so many different cultures.
When did you first read the books ?
I did not read the books until after the TTT was out. I did not know anything about the LOTR books until my 22-year-old son told me about the movies and books.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies?
My fav scene is when Denethor and Faramir are talking (the part where his father is about to send his son and rangers to their death). The ROTK is my fav book and movie.
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
My views have not really changed, but I do love the books more than the movies.
From Old_Tom_Bombadil
What does LotR mean to you?
The Lord of the Rings is a great work of literature that I enjoy visiting again and again. I love many things about it: the setting (of course), the complex and well-developed mythological world, the characters, the places, the creatures, the ideals and values expressed, and the language in which it is written.
When did you first read the books ?
I estimate that it was 1973, when I was 11 years old. My mother brought the books home to read and shared them with my brothers and me. I recall her loving the funny language used by Gollum, and the warm, comfortable hole that Bilbo lived in and all the good things he enjoyed eating. I loved all of it.
What is your favourite scene from the books?
So many scenes to choose from, but if I had to choose one…I’ve always loved Éowyn’s encounter with the Lord of the Nazgûl. The scene is so evocative, and the language is wonderful!
And from the movies?
Difficult to say, but if I had to choose one I might select the scene in Bag End after the party, where Gandalf persuades Bilbo to leave the Ring behind. The script was very nearly verbatim from the book and it was wonderfully acted by Sir Ian Holm and Sir Ian McKellen. Honorable mentions would be the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, and Sam and Frodo’s encounter with Shelob.
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
I don’t know if I’d say “changed”; I’d probably use the term “enriched”. They certainly have helped refine my own images of Middle-earth and its characters, although I wouldn’t say that they’ve changed them. I still think of the characters, at least some of them, as different than they’re portrayed in the films. I do seem to hear the actor’s voices in my mind, though, when I read the books now, particularly the four hobbits of the Fellowship.
From Morwinyoniel
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books ?
The LOTR is definitely one of my favourite books in the Fantasy genre, and also in general; a story that I can read and re-read, and always find something I hadn’t noticed before. I’ve always been a sci-fi and fantasy fan, but didn’t read LOTR until in my late twenties, towards the end of the 1980’s; I knew about the books, but thought that they were children’s stories.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies?
My favourite scene in the books has become the confrontation of Gandalf and the Witch-king at the gates of Minas Tirith, when those two are in a stalemate situation, and suddenly, the horns of Rohan are heard in the north…In the movies, it’s more difficult to say, there are so many that move me in some special way.
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
The movies definitely helped me to visualize some places and things that had been difficult for me to imagine. In other respects, I don’t think they have changed my view of the books very much; I take those two as different works of art, different interpretations of the same story. And, for me, the book version will always be #1.
From Morwenna
What does LotR mean to you?
So much, but mostly it’s about courage and honour in the face of near overwhelming adversity, the power of friendship and how an individual can make a difference.
When did you first read the books ?
I still vividly remember the first time I read The Lord of the Rings. The book was a Christmas present from my parents in 1972. I opened it and became immersed in Tolkien’s world. I kept a journal in those days and copied many of the poems into it. One of them that meant and still means much to me is “The road goes ever on and on…” I suppose back then I felt I was setting out on my own journey.
What is your favourite scene from the books?
This is a difficult question, as there are so many. However, I remember when I first read the books feeling desolate when I thought that Gandalf had died, so one of my favourite scenes would have to be when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli first meet up with Gandalf the White in Fangorn Forest.
What is your favourite scene from the movies?
The Council of Elrond, when we get our first view of how PJ saw all the members of the Fellowship.
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
The movies have not changed my view of LOTR. I resisted watching the movies and in fact didn’t watch The Fellowship of the Ring until the New Year of 2003. I was afraid my own view of the books would be altered, but this has not happened. I love the movies, OK, there are some changes I don’t particularly agree with (I can appreciate why they were made though), but I can enjoy them as PJ’s interpretation and still keep my own vision of the books in my mind.
From LadyAdaneth
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books ?
I first read The Hobbit when I was 5, and in those innocent, pre-fanfic days, got into trouble for plagiarising when I was 7, although I actually rewrote Smaug’s flight to Esgaroth from the dragon’s pov! I must have read LOTR for the first time of many shortly after that. Middle-earth has therefore been an influence for as much of my life as I can really remember. As a child (well, OK, I admit it hasn’t worn off yet), I was fascinated by fairy stories, and by myths and legends from all over the world, with common themes of good against evil, romantic love, heroism in the face of outrageous odds, the importance of freedom and rule by consent (even if the position is hereditary, unpopular rulers generally come to a sticky end). Middle-earth is a product of Tolkien’s knowledge and appreciation of those themes. However, instead of simple tales to amuse, entertain or educate, what we have in LOTR is an entire parallel universe constructed before the phrase was coined. We have weather, scenery, history, languages. Here was an entirely believable world in which for a time I could live with its peoples. From first reading, I could at will go into that world inside my head. I happily “Mary-Sue’d” in the privacy of my brain, beating up the Orcs with the best of them. I’m sure this gave me a lot of confidence to face up the “Orcs” of the real world. It still does today, really, because the attitude that it’s worth sticking up for what you know to be good and right is now so engrained through habit.
Other influences – music and singing are cool! And poetry! Less healthily, I longed for long blonde hair like Galadriel for many years. Having been blessed (I can say it now!) with quantities of very dark hair, this was not going to happen without radical chemical treatment which somehow didn’t seem right in the pursuit of Middle-earthiness.
To me, the films worked well because the film-making team realised that the completeness of Middle-earth makes it so special, and spared no efforts to make their recreation internally consistent. The landscapes are much as I imagined them, and the characters all act wonderfully and fit with my previous mental images very well. I would say that film Legolas is perhaps not quite as I imagined him – until the end of the trilogy he seems to act too young. However, Mr Bloom is so appealing to watch that I can forgive him not being older!
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies?
I have many favourite scenes from both books and films. Here are some:
Book – in the temporary haven of the house at Crickhollow, where the hobbits take welcome baths and slosh water all over the floor in high spirits, following their nightmare trip across the Shire tailed by Black Riders. For me this always summed up the homeliness and good humour of the hobbits
Film – Gandalf lighting up the pillared hall in Moria (for the way the music enhances the moment)
Book – for sheer, suffocating horror – the inside of the Barrow Downs
Film – all of Lothlórien, and especially Galadriel seeming to float across the grass on her bare feet
Book – the bit where Éowyn is betrothed to Faramir, and Aragorn says he has wished her well ever since he first saw her
Film – Aragorn’s speech to rally the army before the Black Gate. I want to cheer every time I see it.
How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
The films only served to reinforce my view of LOTR. What is new now is the Internet, and the opportunity to encounter so many people who also love Middle-earth. I used to think I was a bit weird, now I realise that my obsession is fairly mild and harmless, and what’s more, is shared by thousands of others. How wonderful!
From Scots56
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books?
What does LotR mean to me? Boy, that’s a good question. This particular book has had such a HUGE influence on my life, you just cannot imagine. It has been interwoven into my psyche for close to 30 years.
I first read LotR the summer after my freshman year in college (1976) at the suggestion of a then-boyfriend. As an additional comment: This is the ONE thing from the relationship that I will forever be thankful for. I was immediately hooked. I have reread it so many times that I have lost count. I’ll be willing to bet that it’s been at least 50 or 60 times. People looked cross-eyed at me when I tell them that. It has slowed a bit in the recent years, and I’m down to once or twice a year now when I read the books in entirety. I do reread bits of the appendices and the books when I want/need references. I am now working on The History of Middle-earth. I’ve never quite been able to make it through The Silmarillion, but hope springs eternally. I find that it calms me from the stresses of teaching and life when I can escape to ME. It’s always touched with a shadow of sadness though. That comes from the knowledge that I will never be able to live there in my waking world. I imagine heaven to be just like the Shire.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies? How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
My favorite scene in the books and the movies are one and the same. It’s where Frodo leaves for Valinor and Sam returns home to be whole. It is such a bittersweet, aching scene in both mediums that never fails to bring a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. I guess that it’s my favorite because that’s what real life is like, it’s not all happy endings…many of them are tinged with sadness too.
As for my view of the books after the movies, it hasn’t really changed it at all. PJ did an absolutely marvellous job of adapting the Professor’s work for the screen. My only complaint on that issue, is that too much was left out. I do know that is necessary, and it’s not really a big thing for me. I find that it’s a fine compliment to the books, never a replacement, mind you, but a fine compliment. I find myself going back to the books and some of PJ’s imagery comes through and some of mine still resides there. A wonderful mix, if you ask me.
From sindarinelvish
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books ?
I first read the LOTR when I was in 10th grade. I was part of the school book club and they were offered through it. A group of friends and I were the reading geeks, so we were always reading the same books – it was the era of The Godfather (p. 46 was the juicy one, I think), Serpico, etc. We had a history teacher who would assign the textbook chapter and give us days in class to read it. Julia and I spent most history classes that semester in Middle-earth.
(I have to admit that, except for a literature course in college where I buzzed through The Fellowship in order to write a paper about who was the most human hero in the book, I didn’t re-read LOTR until the movies came out.)
Back then, I think we were so impressionable to LOTR because the good guys were good and the bad guys were bad…the allure of being the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice everything for what is good and just in the world.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies? How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
My favorite scene (the one that stuck to my mind) from the books when I first read them was the Dead Marshes and Frodo and Gollum struggling in the Cracks of Doom.
My favorite scene in the movie (lots of ’em) was when Aragorn realizes Arwen is alive and kisses her. In 10th grade I didn’t, of course, understand the relationship between the two, but as a 40+ adult I can understand the sacrifice, the two working together to achieve what they had hoped for so long.
I was sitting at the first movie with my DH and after the intro Last Alliance scene and the movie began in the Shire, I grabbed his arm and said loud enough for several people around us to hear – “That’s it – that’s the Shire!” I was enchanted by the movies because most of the scenes I imagined (the Shire, Moria, the Dead Marshes!!! for example) were exactly as Jackson did – it was like I was revisiting a real place I had been to before.
I guess I am at the point in life where I am beyond caring what most others think, so I can be a Ringer and just be considered eccentric, I can drive my car with my ELVISH plates and wear Lothlórien leaves in my ears and learn Elvish. So, I guess, to sum up, LOTR makes me happy and that’s a lot in today’s world.
From PotbellyHairyfoot
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books ?
It’s hard to explain just what LotR means to me. It is a story about friendship, honour and fighting for a cause you know is right, even when the chances of success are slight. It is a story of the triumph of god over evil, but the triumph comes at great cost. For Frodo the cost was too much to bear and he ends up having to leave; although he was victorious, he isn’t able to enjoy his victory. The story is so great to read that I reread it on a regular basis and never seem to tire of it
When did you first read the books ?
I first read LOTR in 1972 when I was in my first year of university. Shortly after that I bought and read The Hobbit. I then searched out every other poem and story, written by Tolkien, that I could find. I remember my excitement at the release of The Silmarillion and the Unfinished Tales, and the confusion I had for years about the exact whereabouts of Beleriand.
While raising my family, I drifted away from the world of Middle-earth, and although I still reread LotR and The Hobbit on a regular basis, for many years I never felt the need to purchase any more companion books.
When I first heard that a new attempt was being made to make LotR into a movie, my interest in Middle-earth was rekindled. I bought a membership in the official LotR fan club and, a few months after that, I found COE.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies?
It’s really hard to pick a favorite scene, and it seems to me that I pick a different one each time I reconsider. Currently I think that my favorite scene in the movies is the charge of the 6000 Rohirrim on the Pelennor Fields. With Minas Tirith already burning and despite being outnumbered by about 8 to one, the horsemen do what is expected of them and charge the lines of Orcs. Watching them hit the line of Orcs like the blade of a snowplough caused me to cheer out loud.
I’ve been searching my mind for a favorite scene in the books and I guess I’d have to say that the Fellowship’s visit to Lothlórien comes closest. The fellowship almost wasn’t able to enter Lothlórien as their own personal prejudices and individuality stood I the way, but they ended up leaving Lothlórien as more of a team, thanks to lady Galadriel.
From Brandywine
What does LotR mean to you? When did you first read the books ?
I never read LOTR before I was over 40. I didn’t read any of the books until the first movie came out. I am a school teacher and I always believe in reading the book first. The only movies I’ve ever seen without reading the books are “The Green Mile” and “A Walk to Remember”.
Anyway, my son wanted me to go to the movie with him and I told him I had to read the books first. So, I set about reading The Hobbit and then continued with the series. By the time the second movie came out I had bought the DVD and watched it (The Fellowship) and was ready for the next movie. I have since become such a big fan that I own both the first version and the extended versions of all three movies and love them all.
To answer your other question: What does LOTR mean to me? First it is a spectacular story about good and evil and the part we all play in the grand scheme of things. Although Tolkien never mentions deity or supreme beings, I think that he believes in an unseen force in the universe and it somehow comes across in his writings. I particularly like the fact that this is a story about men who care for each other because that is such a *cautious* thing in our world today. Men are afraid to admit that they have feelings of love for a man because it will be misinterpreted. Codswallop! Men have feelings just as women do. I like the aspects of friendship and self-sacrifice that show in the books and the movies.
What is your favourite scene from the books? And from the movies? How have the movies changed your view of LOTR?
My favorite scene from the movie? Hmmm now that’s a toughie – I think it might be the scene before the Black Gate, when Aragorn hears Sauron calling him and lowers his sword. His friends look at him in disbelief. You can almost hear the questions poised on their faces. “What are you doing? We’ve come through so much, you can’t turn on the quest now!” Then Aragorn turns and with a serene, almost tearful expression on his face he says “For Frodo”, raises his sword and charges the armies of Mordor, thereby giving credence to his earlier commitment to Frodo to follow him into the “very fires of Mordor.” It is the most kingly moment of the film.
Favorite scene from the book? Not so much a scene as a sense. When Frodo and Sam are being entertained by the elves in the woods and Frodo learns that there are watchers of the Shire everywhere, and throughout, as you get the odd mention of the fact that the Shire is being guarded continually. To me these are comforting thoughts of those who are able, watching out for those who are less able. Something else we could use more of in our world today.
And to your last question: No, the movies have done nothing to change my view of LOTR but to strengthen the vision of the people and places and what it must have looked like in Tolkien’s imagination. I soundly applaud Tolkien and Jackson for their vision and wonder if someday in the great beyond when they meet if JRR might not say to PJ, “How did you know so well what I was thinking?” I’d like to be there for that meeting.
