"Fan fiction," which I assume to have existed before the web but which certainly has suffered an unbelievable popularity explosion since, with access to an immediate and free forum, proves this in and of itself, as do the myriad questions we get at Green Books every day. Though the popularity of his books, in his day, was smaller in scope and lesser in frantic, frenzied intensity than that we are observing now in response to the movies, he still had to fend off a wave of targeted questioning and obsession with minutiae, causing him to make remarks about his "deplorable cultus" and the dangers of becoming involved in the stories "in a way I'm not." That tendency is more alive and well than ever today, thanks partly to the very wonderful establishment with which I am connected and others like it on the internet. There is no need to speculate about what Tolkien himself would have thought. The boyishly handsome trio accepted the award on behalf of the production and left the stage. The hallmark of Tolkien's work is the very purity of his language, and to find the most vile of modern insults coming out of the mouth of a digitally created Gollum disgusted me and, I think, would have appalled and disgusted Tolkien. "Purist" would be closer to the mark, I think. But the issue, in my mind, was not whether or not it was funny, but the fact that Tolkien is barrel-rolling in his grave at having one of his characters co-opted into speaking such filth. I didn't watch TORn's clip of Gollum's "acceptance speech." I read a transcript and was horrified enough that I had no desire to watch it. Elijah, Billy and Sean, looking MTV cool in untucked, unbuttoned shirts, bounded up on stage, where Sean apologized for Gollum's previous tirade.
And the winner is The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. What I don't know is whether or not that's a good thing. I know, in a general way, that these films are wildly popular beyond the book's fan base, that the movies have started their own fire that, due to the modern climate, burns higher than the literary one created when Tolkien was still living. I have not followed marketing trends I couldn't tell my father what TTT had grossed at the box office when he asked.
#OFFICE MAX GREENBOOKS MOVIE#
My finger is not on the pulse, as they say, of the pop-culture acclaim the Lord of the Rings movie phenomenon has generated and continues to stoke. Lo and behold, what did I pass but the MTV Movie Awards, and hark, who should be sitting behind Kirsten Dunst but the intrepid trio of Sean Astin, Elijah Wood, and Billy Boyd? Moreover, what award should they be announcing at that very moment but the award for "Best Movie?" I stayed to watch, having not bothered the first time they ran it. I sat down this evening with my brain half fried, knowing that I had a deadline to meet, and started flipping channels. I'm at a loss for a stunning literary topic, one that will provoke your emotions, stimulate your mind, and offer some insight into Tolkien's life or works. | Anwyn's Counterpoint | MTV Has Landed
0 kommentar(er)
