(yes, i read them multiple times when i was a child. yes, i remember enough to 'get' most of the tortured references. no, the posts with these refs are not very enlightening, informative, or even interesting to read, so i would not bother to read the silly books just to decode these mutterings.)
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Good lord, what an arctic blast!
I love discussions that are, in some way, animated by LotR. The battle lines are always predictably drawn. Someone praises the work - if not directly, as in "I love it", indirectly, as Dennis does, by using harmless references. As if on cue, someone else is inspired to grandly and dismissively wave his hand - often with less consideration than might be used dealing with annoying flies.
I remember a discussion about this very topic a few years back – on the BBC I think it was – sparked by the announcement that LotR had been named the “best book” of the 20th century via a popular vote. Out they came, the James Joyce partisans, wailing like, well, like wraiths - hmmm, on second thought, do wraiths wail? No, no, that’s a silly question, onward then. “Oh the silliness of the common folk” the litetarati cried. Don’t they know Tolkien is anti-modern whereas Joyce is the zenith of modernity? Why do they flee into a dreamland of magical creatures when complexity, sweet, sweet complexity, beckons?
Well who knows eh?
But there it is, this love, out there in time and space, a part of the thought stream. So, why not use it as a reference for modern concerns if it suits one’s fancy. I happen to enjoy the sight of attractive women in high heels - ah, the lingering pig in me, oui? If I were to compare something, say Bechtel’s contracting schemes in Iraq to, I don’t know, maybe a stripper wearing nothing but heels whose appearance promises pleasure but who only ends up taking your capital – without the contact a body naturally craves – you might not like this reference but probably would treat it less harshly than a comparison of the same firm to orcs or ringwraiths or some other bit of fantasia.
Yes, there it is - this is what I find so interesting about attacks on some kinds of fantasy and not others.
The disdain for the magical stuff (oh yeah, the sci fi too) is interesting.
Differences in taste I understand but I'm puzzled by the passionate 'no'.
.d.