I found an interesting article on the net regarding the spiritual themes of the movies as they relate to Tolkien's works. Most of us would probably agree that LotR shines with a steady Good versus Evil message. But how about the people that put the movie together? Do you think they recognized it?
Be aware, this is an article written by a fellow Christian, and there is bound to be some religious discussion on this thread. Just so you're warned.
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by Megan Basham
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Hollywood is not how debauched, depraved and decadent its stories are — considering how untouched this area of American culture is from Christian influence, we could hardly expect different. No, what is most surprising is how many films still manage to capture brief flickering lights of truth in an industry that feeds almost solely upon darkness — a darkness that disguises itself as “tolerance” (when it is in fact a refusal to acknowledge any moral law) and “self-empowerment” (that is in reality little more than self worship).
True, our silver screen icons celebrate fornication, adultery, and blasphemy at nearly every turn, but the truth that God has written in their hearts remains, so that, in spite of themselves, they also occasionally celebrate mercy, justice, fidelity, and faith. As a result, you can have an abortion activist like Ed Harris (a man who recently stated that it would be a “catastrophe” if Roe v. Wade were overturned) appearing in a film like Radio that unabashedly argues for the value of every human life.
One of the most striking examples of this disparity in recent years has got to be that between J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and the filmmakers who adapted his story. All art in one way or another takes on the worldview of its creator, and so it did in the case of this Christian writer. Tolkien acknowledged as much when he called his trilogy a “fundamentally religious work,” and said he resented criticism that his stories “contain no religion.” But if the people behind the films are aware of these sentiments, they are, for the most part, unwilling (or unable) to consider them.
The Author v. The Filmmakers
At the recent press junket I attended for The Return of the King, some of the actors, the screenwriters, and director Peter Jackson begrudgingly paid lip service to Tolkien’s well-documented Christian worldview. However, deeper questioning revealed that they had little understanding of how that worldview manifested itself in Tolkien’s work. Something close to desperation drifted palpably on the air as the interviewees grasped at any trendy “ism” — from multiculturalism to environmentalism — trying to recast the Christian subtext of Tolkien’s edifying myth.
Asked specifically about the religious elements in the trilogy, actor Orlando Bloom (Legolas) made a vague reference to an awareness of the “spirit” and “energy” that defined Tolkien’s writing. Further pressed to define that “spirit,” he seemed to strain for words, speaking once again about the film and his own experience rather than the book in question: “It’s very positive. … It’s about a group of strangers, of mixed races, putting aside all of their … differences to come together to make a difference. … And New Zealand, which is a classless society in many respects … that we were all treated with equality there had an effect on us when making this film. … ”
Similarly questioned about the religious themes in the trilogy, director Peter Jackson appealed to Tolkien’s well-known love of nature: “He [Tolkien] hated the way the English country side had been destroyed by the industrial revolution in the 1880s. The Shire represents what happened to the England that he loved. There was pollution, forests being cut down. … ”
While Jackson wasn’t wrong on his point that Tolkien disliked industrial progress, when he proceeded to magnify this element in favor of much weightier and well conceived themes, he demonstrated a profound lack of understanding of the trilogy’s defining struggle: “The ring is obviously a metaphor for the machines, the factories, that enslave you, that take away your free will.”
Though many elements in the trilogy might represent harmful industry, it is fairly obvious to Christian readers that the ring is not one of them. To a redeemed reader, the “One Ring” could be symbolic of several things — temptation, lust for power, idolatry — but all of them point to one reality: sin. Small and innocuous as it is, in its hold over those who wear it, the ring is very much like a lion seeking whomever it can devour. In fact, one might say that all the various “owners” of the ring eventually end up becoming slaves to it.
Actor Ian McKellan took a different tack on the question of the books’ religion altogether, refusing even to acknowledge that there are any Christian undertones in the them. Flying in the face of Tolkien’s own assessment, McKellan stated, “I wouldn't say there's an appeal in this story to any particular set of beliefs… I note with delight that Hobbiton is a community without a church. … There is no set of beliefs in this story, no credo.”
However, once the cast and crew moved past their initial hesitations about having to answer questions related to spirituality, their responses to the Christian journalists’ questions concerning Tolkien’s faith began to reveal shared worldviews of their own.
Absolute Standards v. Moral Relativity
True to biblical philosophy, Tolkien’s characters believe very much in the concept of absolute evil, that there is a terror in the East that must be defeated. Most of Jackson’s cast and crew very much did not.
Though he played Aragorn, great warrior and defender against monstrous evil on screen, Viggo Mortensen the actor was reluctant to pass value judgments, or even admit that the trilogy does so: “It's [The Lord of the Rings] not necessarily promoting one particular philosophy … but saying that if you accept that there are differences in the world and are prepared to embrace those differences, to approach the world in a positive, loving way, you may actually be able to change the nature of the human race.” One wonders how the Fellowship would have fared had they simply “accepted” and “embraced” the Orcs “differences.”
Screenwriter Philippa Boyens also seemed particularly offended by the notion that the battles in the books are predicated upon a fixed sense of good and evil: "The fight [in 'Lord of the Rings'] is not about [an] … agenda-driven sense of right or wrong. Rather it's about Tolkien's humanism … because you don't trust these things when you're a humanist — these tub-thumping notions of what's good and what's evil." Questioned about what constitutes tub-thumping, she answered, slamming her fist into her palm, “You know, those people who go, ‘THIS IS WHAT’S RIGHT AND YOU’RE GOING TO FOLLOW IT.” The notion that the Fellowship was ultimately forcing Sauron to follow their particular version of right evidently did not occur to her.
Later in the day, though, one person was finally able to judge something as wrong. When asked what he would do with the ring of power if he had the opportunity, Andy Serkis (Gollum) stated, "I would banish all religions first of all."
Total Depravity v. Innate Goodness
In a letter to a friend, Tolkien once wrote, “The Power of Evil in the world is not finally resistible by incarnate creatures, however 'good'.” Bringing this belief to bear on his work, he infused his novels with the biblical principle that no one is righteous: Boromir betrays the Fellowship out of lust for power, Gandalf refuses the ring because he recognizes his own weakness, Gollum illustrates a life completely ravaged by covetousness, and even the pure Hobbit Frodo is eventually no match for the seduction of the evil. Yet, while they did an admirable job portraying this reality on screen, none of those responsible for creating these characters were able to see it.
Elijah Wood said of Frodo’s journey, “I don’t know if [a higher power] necessarily pertains to Frodo’s particular journey. The way that Frodo gets through is ultimately in his own will and his courage and his own inner strength … that’s what gets him through.”
Ian McKellan echoed the idea that salvation in Middle Earth comes from within: “I think what Tolkien’s appealing to in human beings is to look inside yourself. That’s why they join a fellowship, they don’t join a church.”
Screenwriter Fran Walsh took this notion further still, even claiming that Tolkien was "passionately arguing for the goodness that resides in men." She went on to say, “If anything, Tolkien’s faith informs the third book — faith that the enduring goodness of men will prevail. … It’s about the enduring power of goodness that we feel in ourselves and perceive in others. … ”
Christian Truth v. Postmodern Perspective
Tolkien knew, and his books clearly show, that there is an order to the universe and, as such, an Orderer. He once wrote to a friend, “I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’ — though it contains … some samples or glimpses of final victory.” He believed, as he told his friend C. S. Lewis, that if he could create an echo of the one true myth, that of Christ, he could disarm cynical readers and point them toward that victory in spite of themselves. While his myth has had significant success at this over the years, it has yet to work its influence on those who introduced it to a new generation of fans. Being confronted with the faith contained in Tolkien’s fiction only seemed to confound the wisdom of these giants of entertainment.
To those (unknowingly?) enmeshed in postmodern ideology, not only is truth up for interpretation, so is the work of truth’s champions. Evidence (such as letters and statements written by Tolkien himself) and facts (such as his faithful attendance and involvement in his church) somehow have no influence on their understanding. Like many college students, the cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings apparently believe that there are no “right” or “wrong” answers when it comes to the meaning of a particular text. Everything is subjective, so that meaning (including Tolkien’s) isn’t based on the author’s intentions, but on the experience of the reader. Good and evil are merely creations of the ideology of the beholder.
Yet if evil is a mere creation ideology, then The Lord of the Rings is nothing more than the story of a group that forces it’s ideology on another group. Why, then, did actors, screenwriters, and director alike revel in the round defeat of Mordor? If evil is merely a creation of ideology, then the victory of the Fellowship deserves our celebration no more than, say, colonialism. Why, then, were actors, screenwriters, and director alike stirred by Tolkien’s depiction of faith, fellowship, and victory? Though the power of their own “rings” may yet be “binding them in the darkness,” let us hope that some part of their hearts recognized echoes of the Other story.
Perhaps over the years, as they look back on their stunning cinematic achievement, Jackson and company will one day come to embrace the truth contained in their films. In the meantime, we can follow Tolkien’s example and continue pointing the lost toward Grey Havens.
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Copyright © 2004 Megan Basham. All rights reserved. International copyright secured.
This article is found at
www.boundless.net. All credit goes to Ms. Basham's brilliant article. Hope she won't sue me for sharing it.
What do you all think? Does it shock you that Fran Walsh doesn't believe in good versus evil? PJ? Andy Serkis?