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Originally Posted by davem
My feeling is that we should be demanding that movies (& books) with Elves, Dwarves & Magic Rings deal with such issues, because for too long fantasy has been dismissed as juvenile fiction which only provides its readers with an 'escape' from the serious issues of 'real' life.
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Well, to truly engage with this issue we would have to try to understand the reasons behind the popularity of LotR the book. It is itself generally regarded as "escapist" in nature. A mischaracterisation (or misunderestimation) perhaps, but I do doubt that the majority who enjoy it do so because it gives them the opportunity to grapple with themes such as this.
I do not disagree with the ideal behind your statement. But, as a practical matter, I can't see studios being willing to back the idea. Middle-earth requires a big budget to bring to the screen (to make it visually accurate at least), and it would therefore have involved a hefty financial risk. The book, of course, involved a hefty investment from Tolkien, in terms of his time, but he did not (at the outset at least) have an eye to profit.