The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Please do not read this! (Battles of The Lord of the Rings magazine ad)

Bill Ferny · 02-09-2003, 05:19 PM

I have seen the quality of the models, unpainted and painted by a friend of mine. In my opinion, they are sub-par. Not because of detail. The sculpting is excellent, and its obvious that the artists put a lot of work into these miniatures. They are sub-par because they are made out of plastic. I suppose the reason for this is so they could bring down the minimum age to 12. Lead isn’t really a good miniature media for twelve year olds. This was a business decision, from my understanding of what has been explained to me, intended to widen Games Workshop’s customer base, and is not limited to only this particular product line. Another reason was safety, though I’m sure this was a secondary consideration (yeah, that was a bit of cynicism).

Tolkien put his reputation on the line when he published The Hobbit. I can argue, likewise, with some merit that the movies have done harm to Tolkien’s reputation, as has Alan Lee’s, John Howe’s, Ted Nasmith’s, and plethora of good and bad fan fiction and art. I can argue that 99% of the posts on this forum has harmed Tolkien’s reputation. My opinion of what Tolkien’s reputation is or is becoming in no way gives me the right to dictate how other people envision, interpret, apply or commercialize (as long as it is legal) LotR.

I wonder what you are worried about as regards his reputation. Do you think that the commercialism and hype surrounding the movies and movie spin-off merchandise somehow harms Tolkien’s reputation as a great literary figure? Hardly! Tolkien and his fiction have never been taken seriously in scholarly circles. When was the last time The Hobbit showed up more often than Tennyson, Dickinson, or Joseph Conrad in a college British Literature syllabi? All three of those authors show up in Webster’s Dictionary, Tolkien does not.

It can be argued, though, that Tolkien is just as good from a literary stand point, even though his poetry really can’t compare to his forebears. The reason he isn’t taken seriously is his association with a genre that is full of trite crap, shallow skill, and mindless hacks. The moniker “Father of Modern Fantasy” has done more to harm Tolkien’s reputation than any movie or movie spin-off merchandise could have hoped to achieve if they were trying.

[ February 09, 2003: Message edited by: Bill Ferny ]

02-09-2003, 05:19 PM	#36
Bill Ferny Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Bree Posts: 390	I have seen the quality of the models, unpainted and painted by a friend of mine. In my opinion, they are sub-par. Not because of detail. The sculpting is excellent, and its obvious that the artists put a lot of work into these miniatures. They are sub-par because they are made out of plastic. I suppose the reason for this is so they could bring down the minimum age to 12. Lead isn’t really a good miniature media for twelve year olds. This was a business decision, from my understanding of what has been explained to me, intended to widen Games Workshop’s customer base, and is not limited to only this particular product line. Another reason was safety, though I’m sure this was a secondary consideration (yeah, that was a bit of cynicism). Tolkien put his reputation on the line when he published The Hobbit. I can argue, likewise, with some merit that the movies have done harm to Tolkien’s reputation, as has Alan Lee’s, John Howe’s, Ted Nasmith’s, and plethora of good and bad fan fiction and art. I can argue that 99% of the posts on this forum has harmed Tolkien’s reputation. My opinion of what Tolkien’s reputation is or is becoming in no way gives me the right to dictate how other people envision, interpret, apply or commercialize (as long as it is legal) LotR. I wonder what you are worried about as regards his reputation. Do you think that the commercialism and hype surrounding the movies and movie spin-off merchandise somehow harms Tolkien’s reputation as a great literary figure? Hardly! Tolkien and his fiction have never been taken seriously in scholarly circles. When was the last time The Hobbit showed up more often than Tennyson, Dickinson, or Joseph Conrad in a college British Literature syllabi? All three of those authors show up in Webster’s Dictionary, Tolkien does not. It can be argued, though, that Tolkien is just as good from a literary stand point, even though his poetry really can’t compare to his forebears. The reason he isn’t taken seriously is his association with a genre that is full of trite crap, shallow skill, and mindless hacks. The moniker “Father of Modern Fantasy” has done more to harm Tolkien’s reputation than any movie or movie spin-off merchandise could have hoped to achieve if they were trying. [ February 09, 2003: Message edited by: Bill Ferny ] __________________ I prefer Gillaume d’Férny, connoisseur of fine fruit.