ITESM – CEM

Elena Aguilar Hernández

1163994
Literature and Narrative in New Media
Movie Essay

Epic battles, fantastic journeys, unbelievable creatures and moral values all rolled into
one, that’s what The Lord of the Rings saga has to offer. Even though this formula has been
repeating itself over and over, these movies are far from being “reruns” and are actually the
origin of most of the stories and characters we know (and love) nowadays, making them the
very best movies ever.

First of all, the story itself is packed with moral dilemmas and recurring values.
Throughout the story, temptation is one the main issues the characters have to face. Since
the objective is to destroy a cursed but very powerful ring, everyone must fight their feelings
of keeping this artifact to use its evil properties against the enemies. Along temptation, we
also find free will as a recurring value. During this journey, they come across many
opportunities to go back home, surrender and even joining the enemy lines, but decide
against it and keep fighting despite the danger, moved by hope and their own resolution. Also,
union and acceptance appear as very important matters, since they are essential to win the
battle. As portrayed in the movie, all the races that inhabit the “Middle Earth”, just look out for
their own kind, but war becomes inevitable and suddenly they must come together as a whole
and repel this great evil, accepting each other’s differences and working as equals.

Next, we have that the characters are very complex and follow classical stereotypes.
Frodo, the main character, is shown as the hero that starts as the underdog but manages to
accomplish what others couldn’t: destroying the evil ring. This little fellow is what Tolkien
called a “hobbit”; a small, merry and very pacific creature, used to partying and relaxing
thanks to an easygoing country life. It’s difficult to imagine someone with such characteristics
getting involved with war, but that’s exactly what makes Frodo interesting, he managed to
overcome his fears and weaknesses and succeed. Boromir and his brother Faramir, are also
very representative characters, since both had to deal with matters that involved acceptance
and emotional growth. The first one, Boromir, a self-centered, arrogant and stubborn prince,
was convinced that teamwork was useless and that they should use the ring to their
advantage, but as they moved forward, he learned that being selfless and helping others was
the real job of royalty, so this pushed him to sacrifice himself in order to protect his newfound
friends and the cause itself. On the other hand, Faramir, having always lived under his
brother’s shadow, was used to being ignored and pushed around; so, when the time to fight
came, he had to forget his past and accept himself, and he got enough confidence to repel
the enemies, avenge his brother and show his father how much he was worth. Gollum, the
former hobbit, is also relevant because he represents the battle between good and evil.
Gollum’s personalities spend the time fighting and arguing over his mind and actions, but
since Gollum is weak and corrupt, his evil side always prevails, leading him towards self-
loathing and, ultimately, destruction. He shows the audience the results of greed, bad
decisions and lack of intelligence; so, in many acts as the exact opposite of Frodo.

Finally, Tolkien’s work has influenced so many authors and disciplines, he has earned
the title of “father of the modern fantasy”. Brian Attebery, an expert in the fantasy genre, has
said that every work of our time has been influenced somewhat by Tolkien’s books, and that
they “are merely halting imitations of his style and substance”. In fact, some of the most
successful authors of the last five decades have admitted to look up to Tolkien as a source of
inspiration, such as George Lucas and even J. K. Rowling. The stories of the “Middle Earth”
have also been considered music material. Many rockbands, like Led Zeppelin and Black
Sabbath, have created songs based on their favorite characters or battles. Enya, a popular
new age singer, composed two songs in “sindarin”, a fictional language invented by Tolkien.
The books’ influence is not limited to literature and music, believe it or not, they have also
been used to teach composition and astronomy. Actually, there’s an annual academic journal
that includes essays and articles written by scholars of different specialties who analyze every
part of Tolkien’s work, from the plot to the languages made up by him and their influence on
modern sciences.
 All in all, The Lord of the Rings movies have inspired generations of people thanks to
their complex characters, moral values, story and everything in between. Also, anyone can
get lost in this world, since it’s so fantastic and elaborate, but at the same time is kind of real
because it plays nicely with very real human emotions. In conclusion, The Lord of the Rings
movies are the best movies ever made.