02-16-2004, 07:09 PM
I noticed on Greek Army Talk several comments by supposed Roman patriots lauding the LOTR abomination, and similar talk has been posted here as well. However impressive as the special effects were, supporting nonsense fantasy films only means they will probably take the place of real history films. How can real war elephants compete with ones that are fifty feet tall, etc. etc.<br>
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Tolkien was a rampant Germanophile who was involved with a clique of like-minded Anglo-Saxons who strived to have all latin words removed from the English language. (Just like the Nazis attempted). The great motivation for his silly nonsense seems to have been a hair-brained attempt to turn the cultured Mediterranean world into the real barbarians (the 'evil' and swarthy southern people of his books), and makes the heroes of his stories racially pure Northern Europeans (who, no surprise happen to speak Anglo-Saxon dialect) with great cities of marble thousands of years ago, when they were little more than cavemen. In reality we know, that for a 1000 years these people could scarcely understand the concept of building more than a firepit of stone, and instead built hovels of twigs, timber, mud and dung, none of which survived a generation or two, not to mention virtually total illiteracy, virtually no metal objects made by themselves, and pottery so crude it could have been made in kindergarten classes. They believed in Elves because they saw Celtic, and later, Roman trade goods they knew could not be made by human hands, and had to be made by a greater race than they. (That much they got right).<br>
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It is a good thing that his great goal was not achieved in his lifetime, that of making his ridiculous fairy tales the "National Myth of the English People". If anything, the true National Myth of Britain might rightfully be that of King Arthur, who is fondly remembered for his struggle to save Romano-British, Western civilisation from the invading, barbaric Anglo-Saxon hordes Tolkien idolized. The besieging, plundering orcs in these stories could easily be the Germannic hordes that overran Western civilizaton and set world progress back a millenium. Too bad Rome didn't possess the 'magic' to have the earth upen up and swallow their 'orc's like those in the film.<br>
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It is fortunate the vast majority of people who are enthralled by this nonsense have no concept it is an attempt to revise European history with its role reversal of civilization and barbarism. For all they know, 'Middle Earth' could be on another planet, in a galaxy far, far away. Let's keep it there.<br>
<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>
<br>
Tolkien was a rampant Germanophile who was involved with a clique of like-minded Anglo-Saxons who strived to have all latin words removed from the English language. (Just like the Nazis attempted). The great motivation for his silly nonsense seems to have been a hair-brained attempt to turn the cultured Mediterranean world into the real barbarians (the 'evil' and swarthy southern people of his books), and makes the heroes of his stories racially pure Northern Europeans (who, no surprise happen to speak Anglo-Saxon dialect) with great cities of marble thousands of years ago, when they were little more than cavemen. In reality we know, that for a 1000 years these people could scarcely understand the concept of building more than a firepit of stone, and instead built hovels of twigs, timber, mud and dung, none of which survived a generation or two, not to mention virtually total illiteracy, virtually no metal objects made by themselves, and pottery so crude it could have been made in kindergarten classes. They believed in Elves because they saw Celtic, and later, Roman trade goods they knew could not be made by human hands, and had to be made by a greater race than they. (That much they got right).<br>
<br>
It is a good thing that his great goal was not achieved in his lifetime, that of making his ridiculous fairy tales the "National Myth of the English People". If anything, the true National Myth of Britain might rightfully be that of King Arthur, who is fondly remembered for his struggle to save Romano-British, Western civilisation from the invading, barbaric Anglo-Saxon hordes Tolkien idolized. The besieging, plundering orcs in these stories could easily be the Germannic hordes that overran Western civilizaton and set world progress back a millenium. Too bad Rome didn't possess the 'magic' to have the earth upen up and swallow their 'orc's like those in the film.<br>
<br>
It is fortunate the vast majority of people who are enthralled by this nonsense have no concept it is an attempt to revise European history with its role reversal of civilization and barbarism. For all they know, 'Middle Earth' could be on another planet, in a galaxy far, far away. Let's keep it there.<br>
<br>
Dan <p></p><i></i>
