[Kalimac]

Hooray for Bill Ferny! [clap clap]

Personally, I don't really mind the models, etc, no matter how silly/inaccurate/badly done they may be. They are but a few and passing evil - in a few years they'll be yesterday's junk, stored in the attic or contributing to a landfill somewhere, but Tolkien himself will be in good shape. It's true that some people will get warped or completely false ideas of his universe from such toys, but if they do not have the persistence or the curiosity to correct these impressions by reading the original works, Tolkien probably hasn't lost any potential fans - these people probably just weren't natural Tolkienphiles in the first place. It's true that his scholarly reputation in literature is not what (I think) it should be, but as Bill pointed out, that's a problem that cuts much deeper than a few action figures. Regardless, he has a solid and enduring fan base.

In a way, this reminds me a bit of the reaction among the Janeites (yes, I hang out with them as well) when the greatly-distorted movie of "Mansfield Park" came out a few years ago. It was a pretty dreadful film both by itself and as an adaptation, but some of the reactions to it were borderline hysterical, thinking that Jane Austen's reputation or fanbase had been damaged irreparably by the lousy quality of the spinoffs of her work. A few years later, the movie is on the back shelf at the video store, and sales of Austen's books have not dipped noticeably.

Time will take care of it, as it takes care of everything.

[ February 10, 2003: Message edited by: Kalimac ]