How LOTR Should(n't) Have Ended

Today, I want to start out with a little satirical humor about the ending of LOTR. I think you all know where this is going. (And if you don’t, prepare yourself. You’re in for a treat lol.)

http://youtu.be/1yqVD0swvWU (Please watch!!! This is important to the post. =) Thanks!)

Yes. Indeed. That (according to some very odd, creative minds with computer, animation, and technology capabilities with access to the Internet) is one way that some have believed LOTR should have ended. The reactions to such a video are indeed interesting. For my own part, what I get most of the time (besides fan-anger at the video lol) is, “Well, yeah, that would have made more sense. Why didn’t Tolkien (or Peter Jackson for that matter) just do that?”

My own reaction? I LOVE the video. It’s hysterical and gives me a laugh when I need one. But I think what makes my reaction not one of anger or disgust (compared with my reaction to other AWFUL videos made about LOTR on YouTube, oh my goodness) is that this video, this alternate ending of LOTR, is JUST A VIDEO. I can’t even begin to imagine a different ending, or any detail from the films or books, being changed in the course and plot line of LOTR. It can’t change. Then LOTR would change, and it would not be the same as it is now. I know I am probably stating the obvious, but it’s true. LOTR in and of itself is such a blessing from God that picturing anything changed would be horrendous to the everything, to the depth and great beauty that is in LOTR. So, in the end, the video is fun to quote (which my brother Jake and I can quote word for word ha ha) and fun to watch, especially with the security that the beauties, strengths, amazing tensions, and ultimate celebrations of good versus evil will never leave, that the story is unchangeable and that it will always be one of the BEST fantasy stories, fiction stories, and stories in general ever written.

For the sake of argument, what would it be like if it was that simple? What if Gandalf simply called on Gwahir (sp? sorry! lol) the Lord of the Eagles and simply dropped the One Ring into Mount Doom. What if Frodo never traversed across the great land of Middle Earth with Sam at his side; what if Aragorn never took the throne of his lineage and became one of the best, if not the best, king Gondor had ever or would ever see; what if Gandalf had never given his life in service of the safety of his fellowship and friends, and became Gandalf the White, a great prophet, guide, and war general and leader? What if?

These what-if’s trouble me. I can’t even begin to picture LOTR without any of those things. Let’s face it, without every little bit of conflict that makes LOTR so realistic and so pain-stakingly real and raw to the hearts of all who experience it, THERE WOULD BE NO LOTR. It would not be brought to the forefront of the world culture, the culture of fantasy, film, and literature (and so many others that are beyond count.) It would not have caught the public eye. There would have been nothing to show. It would have been a pointless, neutral, baige story.

Who can picture the fantasy world of film and literature without the wide-eyed stares of fear from Frodo as he struggles with the horrific evil of the Ring? Who can picture a battle scene without Aragorn wielding the sword that seems to be an extension of his very arm? Who can picture such a scene? I can’t, and certainly won't.

Sure, it would’ve been easier for the Fellowship if they’d just thrown the Ring in Mount Doom using the Eagles. But what about the glories in suffering, the beauties in carrying your cross, and being purified? Frodo’s character, just as well as Sam’s, Pippin’s, Aragorn’s, and every other character is defined with the journey, more than the ultimate accomplishment of their journey. They would never have become who they were supposed to be without the taking of that journey. It would not have happened the way it was supposed to without the journey and War of the Ring.

The reality of LOTR is astounding and amazing to behold when you examine it. I know that’s a big part of the reason I connect so easily with LOTR versus other fantasies. It’s much easier to relate to. I don’t have to have flying powers, x-ray vision, or the like in order to understand what these characters are going through. The storyline is realistic, and there is even a great underlying spiritual theme, with the evil of the Ring and so forth (which I will discuss in a later post eventually), that makes this story appealing to all people of any age, background, or culture. It’s heartening to see something so family-oriented (not meaning cutesy, but family oriented as in of a wholesome character) that enriches such a wide audience.

Thank You, Lord, for LOTR. It would never have happened without You and Your inspiration. And thank you, J.R.R. Tolkien, for listening to the call of the Lord on your heart to write such amazing things and share them with the world. I know that it has and continues to completely change my life, and has indeed saved my life on more than one occasion (a story I will get to later.) Thank You Lord. You are awesome.

Next time I will (hopefully, if everything goes well) be talking about the slight alteration of the scenes in the book to the scenes in the movie in regards to Frodo and Sam, when Frodo tells Sam to go home in the Return of the King, and how that differs from the book, and my justifications for it. =) Yay! lol Alright, goodbye, my friends! =) I shall see you again soon! (A figure of speech of course ha ha)

And....the word is....drum roll please! (here’s where you tap your desk or lap with your fingers)....

The word is....napkin!!!  (thanks Laura my nerdy friend and sister for the random word =)

Adios and God Bless you all!!! Have a great and amazing day!

-Jenn    

From Star Wars, to Lord of the Rings, and back

So, here it goes. Another attempt at grabbing my audience’s attention with some new-fangled words! =) Again, SO sorry for the delay! College life is a bit hectic, but I’m going to try my hardest to make sure I post at least once a week! (I will REALLY try very hard, I promise!)

Ok, so where did we leave off the last time? Tolkien. And his awesomeness. Ok. Hmmmm. Ah! Here’s some humor to break up the tension (if there is any in the first place.)

Ahahaha! I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist. This is one of the best LOTR Star Wars cross overs I’ve seen. It’s so funny! And, I think I’d like to do a crossover of my own today between LOTR and Star Wars, and more particularly between Frodo Baggins and Luke Skywalker. Interested yet? Come with me on a walk my friends!

The connection between the two AMAZING fantasies of Star Wars and LOTR didn’t actually hit me until just recently, when my friends and I watched Star Wars IV, V, and VI (4, 5, and 6 if you can’t read Roman numerals he he.) I suddenly saw myself in the character of Luke, just as I’ve seen myself in the character of Frodo. It was an interesting experience. But let’s move along here!

What makes Frodo and Luke so similar?

Well, they both have an incredibly innocent, loving, and forgiving personality. They have both been given a seemingly impossible task. Both have been faced with certain future sufferings and almost certain death, with a great and surprising ending that takes them, and the audience, by surprise.

Luke, being raised without his parents on a far-distant planet away from any real big inter-galactic turmoil and such, has led a pretty sheltered existence, and is interrupted (gladly, I think, in some regards) by the finding of a droid, R2D2, with a message for “Old Ben.” This Old Ben just happens to be the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who instantly sees and knows that Luke, being the son of Darth Vader, or Anakin Skywalker turned evil, is meant to be a Jedi himself, and urges Luke to leave his home behind to fight the Empire and destroy the enemies of the free people of the universe.

Frodo has a similar story. Raised in a distant place away from home (which is originally Buckland where his mother and father lived before they tragically drowned in a boating accident), Frodo has led a sheltered life himself. Although not in anywhere the same circumstances as Luke, Frodo has a very special calling himself, finding the One Ring being left in his possession from his Uncle Bilbo. Frodo is urged in his own right (in a different way) by Gandalf, to leave his home and to make his way to places unknown in order to ensure the safety of the people of the Shire, and eventually, of the whole of Middle Earth.

Both encounter awful dangers, losing an appendage of sorts (Luke a hand, Frodo a finger) in the long run, and both finding at the end something more than they’d ever imagined being able to see themselves in a light once their journeys had ended. The completion of this journey for both brought them to the great triumph of being able to see and experience the freedom of the people they’d saved through their self-sacrifice.

This is a timeless lesson, a great masterpiece of work in fiction, spirituality, the depth of the human person, soul, spirit, and heart in such great works of fantasy and fiction.

I remember being struck by the ideology that Frodo held in his person as the character that God (I have no doubt) inspired, and now I am finding a similar feeling with Luke. Different stories, but very similar lead characters to bring such inspiring stories of hope, lasting courage, and friendship and loyalty, and both have left and will continue to leave a lasting impression on the world, in more ways than just in cinema (although those alone are astounding.) God is love. And He shows Himself in His courage, bravery and love, through these characters.

Frodo rox.

Luke rox.

The end. =)
And the word is....clam sauce! (Ok, that’s two words, but whatever! lol)

God bless you all and have a great week!! (I will try my HARDEST to post again soon! =)

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien!

A thousand and one apologies for so late an entry! It has been months since I have posted anything on my blog, and I am SO sorry! Things got crazy once I went to school, and so much has happened! But I figured with start of the New Year, and the fact that today is J.R.R. Tolkien’s birthday, made it that much more of an excuse to get off my butt and ACTUALLY write something! Ha ha

I figured I might start today with something of a tribute to the man who wrote the Lord of the Rings, but not in the same way as others might do it. This isn’t going to be a biographical tribute, more of a case-in-point dedication to a man using his work to testify to his genius and his faith in the Lord and his example of that faith.

I LOVE J.R.R. Tolkien. He was such an amazing man. I’ve been reading The Hobbit as of late because of the films and such, and I’m finding myself wanting to read Lord of the Rings more and more when I read it. The Hobbit was supposedly written for Tolkien’s children as a story, which I could see by the way it is written, but in my opinion Tolkien hit his stride and really found his place in fiction and fantasy in his writing of Lord of the Rings. No other work of fiction can even come close to such an unparalleled example of not only scenic description, but character history, plot, depth of material, and religious, spiritual and historical symbolism is beyond comparison.

J.R.R. Tolkien is a great example of how one man, a great and incredibly intelligent man, used his talents to portray God in a fantasy setting, with such a realistic and believable storyline and set of characters as is still unseen in the same way in literature to this day.

I’d also like to use this post to give you a glimpse into how God used the Lord of the Rings to change my life, and how He still continues to use it to this day to continually remind me of His love for me, and of how God has called me to a very different sort of life than I had ever expected of myself.

It goes unsaid that Lord of the Rings has changed millions of people’s lives, and will continue to do so as long as the Lord sees fit. I am merely one of those people. In a time in my life when all I saw was the darkness and numb depression in my life, God sent me grace and inspiration in Lord of the Rings. My life was hectic and chaotic and just plain awful a lot of the time for many years, and the Lord provided a world, Middle Earth, as a way to find Him, to keep my sanity, and to really fall in love with something that would ultimately change and inspire my life, even through the start of my college career.

Lord of the Rings let me be myself, and be passionate about something that spelled so many amazing principles: bravery, voluntary sacrifice, love, joy, friendship, fellowship (I couldn’t help adding that one! Ha ha!), and of course a great and unequaled  perseverance and endurance  from so many dozens of characters in the story.

I will OF COURSE be spelling more of this out in detail because so much of this is SO important to me and my search and interpretation of this creative material for the novel that I am writing through the Blessed Mother and her wonderful hands. =)

Let me end this blog post with just another thank you to that great man who changed my life through his intercession and work here on earth, and in Heaven (I have no doubt):

Thank you, J.R.R. Tolkien, for all you have done in my life and in the lives of so many others. Your work brought together some of the best actors to see, and has been one of the greatest and most influential fantasywritings ever written.

Thank You Lord, for all You have done through J.R.R. Tolkien in my life and others. I could never repay You for the amazing things that have come into my life since that day I first saw Lord of the Rings. Thank You Lord, so much. =)

And the random word is…tolkien-purist!!!! Ha ha it had to be fitting to today! =)

Adios ya’ll!!! I promise to try and post more than recently and will do more with my study of Lord of the Rings to share with all of you. =)

Happy happy happy birthday Mr. Tolkien! You are definitely remembered here on Earth. =)