Opinion: A "Hobbit" Trilogy?

"The Hobbit" is going to be three movies."

Most people might read this statement and think, "what is a 'hobbit'?" I'm sorry if you're one of those few, but feel free to educate yourself here.

I have several reactions to this statement, and hopefully by the end of this blog post, I will have gotten my bewilderment sorted out and (maybe) have a coherent opinion on this news.

First: why? Why are they making three films out of one book? This strikes me as a stupid money-making marketing ploy. I hate it when Hollywood complicates stuff like this and really ruins good films. Because the creative team here is mostly intact and all the original actors have returned to play their respective characters as needed, this "trilogy" will forever be associated with The Lord of the Rings, which is critically acclaimed as excellent. Whether for good or ill, this will be considered as essentially the same story. So if this goes south, LotR is going to go the way of Star Wars and its 3 prequel films and Jackson will be regarded as just another George Lucas who creates your childhood cinematic loves, (LotR is very much this for me) then once you've reached adulthood, he ruins them by using it to get more cash from you. So this thought makes me angry.

Second, how? The Hobbit is about 310 pages long. This is just a little over half the size of the Fellowship of the Ring... the first book in the series of the Lord of the Rings trilogy! And it's about one fifth the size of the whole LotR trilogy. Somehow, they got it so that the original plan was to make two movies out of the Hobbit. Where are they getting this new material from? Apparently, much of it arises from the appendices listed at the end of the Return of the King (the third book in the LotR series) and in Tolkien's other notes. But unfortunately, alot of this was not published by Tolkien as its own work because it was not complete/finished. It might be mentioned in passing in an appendix, but will Jackson and the crew be able to fully realize Tolkien's vision and tell his story? Or is it just material scraped and scrounged to make a Hollywood blockbuster? I'd say this idea makes me doubtful.

Now, my reaction to this news has also been positive. Peter Jackson has done a pretty good job of adapting Tolkien's work to the screen. And while it may not be faithful to every single little detail written in the books, I think it does a good job of illustrating for the viewer in the span of 10ish hours what Tolkien is trying to say. (if you want any more than that, then I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to suck it up and read the books) So with this in mind, I'm a little curious to see how Jackson pulls it off.

Also, Howard Shore will be composing the music. All three of his scores for the LotR trilogy were stellar (with the scores for the 1st and 3rd films garnering Academy Award wins). So, if anything, the extra film will just produce more beautiful music that I will inevitably be buying. An example of this are the additional Pirates of the Caribbean films. I have only seen the first two sequels, but the music that Hans Zimmer wrote for them complement and expand on Klaus Badelt's decent score for the first film (which I believe that Hans Zimmer also had a strong hand in creating). Regardless, I'd say more music from Howard Shore's interpretation of Middle Earth makes me giddy.

In conclusion, I'd say I'm dubiously furious at Peter Jackson's audacity to make what was a simple bedtime story into 3-film cinematic epic, while still remaining inquisitively enchanted at the prospect of there being more of Middle Earth to see on the Silver Screen.

Boromir: The Type of All Men

My favorite character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, is Boromir, son of Denethor the Steward of Gondor at the time of the War of the Ring. He is my favorite character because he is the image of man imperfect, bearing qualities of weakness and pride, but also traits of courage and perseverance. His character is a mix of strengths and weaknesses in varying degrees, and he remains the most "human" member of the Fellowship (literally, actually, because the only other man of the Fellowship, Aragorn, was raised in Rivendell).

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Boromir is the member of the fellowship about whom the reader is always in doubt. He very strongly voices his opinion and motives at the Council of Elrond, making him appear to be the only member of the chosen Fellowship that is not completely “on board” with the plan to destroy the One Ring. He holds the dream that one day, Men will overthrow the rule of Sauron through strength of arms and bring peace to Middle Earth. Since Sauron’s rule in the land of Mordor began, the Men of the old kingdom of Numenor and the new kingdom of Gondor have lived in the shadow of the evil that dwelt behind the Black Mountains. Sauron attempted his advances, but Gondor has always possessed the strength to keep him at bay. But with each passing day, Sauron grows in strength and pushes the defenses of Men to their limits, inching ever closer to the breaking point. Realizing the proximity of this breaking point at the Council, Boromir, Captain of Gondor, enthusiastically calls for the Ring to be brought to Gondor with the persuasion of a military general, rallying the spirits of his troops before battle. Maybe the reader is swept up into this call to arms and hope that Man can defeat evil, but ultimately, this is cast as false wisdom and the Fellowship choose the path to destroy the Ring.

Mankind often hopes to defeat evil by his own strength and perseverance. He seeks to impose what is right by exerting control on those things exterior to him. However, he often neglects those things that hide within the darkest recesses of his own heart. Pride, the source of the Fall of Man, always struggles in the heart of all Men, festering and lusting to exert full control over all Men. Ultimately, Boromir's swelling pride drives him to take the Ring from Frodo, even at the expense of taking Frodo's life as well.

However, for all his faults, Boromir possesses a vulnerable humility. Though he does not completely agree with or understand the direction the Council has decided to take in destroying the Ring, he puts aside his pride and joins the Fellowship as a protector of the Ring-bearer. Although he frequently wishes to appear courageous and strong-willed, he is humbled by the smallest of things that causes him to fall. And I don't think Boromir should be considered completely unaware of his vulnerability to this temptation. The extended version of The Two Towers film illustrates this well. Boromir's father, Denethor, sends him to Rivendell to attend the council that will decide what to do with the Ring. Boromir first is reluctant because he knows the Ring to have been the death of Isildur, the man who took the Ring from Sauron for his own. So even he recognizes his own weakness and fears its control over him. 

My favorite part of the whole trilogy is at the beginning of The Two Towers when Aragorn, attempting to regroup the fellowship on Parth Galen after searching for Frodo, discovers Boromir, pierced by many arrows while defending the hobbits, Merry and Pippin. He confesses his failure and begs Aragorn for forgiveness. (though certainly not to be taken literally, this calls to my mind, very vividly, the spirit of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation) 

Man will fall because his nature is fallen. He stumbles because he clings to his own brokenness and not to the source of his salvation. But a true man realizes that he can always be forgiven if he seeks forgiveness and resolves to fight once more. I imagine I would like Boromir significantly less (or dislike him) if after he had fallen, he went off into the forest to despair and bemoan his failure, turning his back on his friends and loved ones. Instead, it's very crucial to note that even after committing so grave a sin, he returns to the aid of Merry and Pippin and gives his life in an attempt to preserve their safety. Boromir did not choose to be a Judas, but instead a Peter, who after breaking his oath of fidelity to the mission of the Fellowship and betraying his friend, Frodo, he returns to the fight and dies a martyr for his friends.