[Rockin_tha_Casbah]

Originally Posted by yavanna II

Then you don't know much... My dad is a Tolkien fan, but he ain't academically smart... more like street-wise he is....

Throw me in with this group here; I don't necessarily think intelligence determines fanbases; it might help out and lead you to a certain genre or author, but it doesn't guarantee what you will or won't like.

I've noticed that where I live (eastern Kansas, in case that means anything), there is not a very big fan-base of Tolkien. If I want a Good 'n' Geeky (tm) Tolkien discussion, the only group where I'm almost assured of getting it is with the Drama Geeks. (Which presents no problem; I'm a theatre nerd myself).

Many of my friends (at least many of my intelligent friends) do not like Tolkien's work. The reasons that they put out are fairly good (not so much 'Dude...look at the size of that book..."), and I even agree with some of them, but for some reason I love his books and they don't.

One of the reasons people are drawn to Tolkien may be because it's a continuation of their interests. Thinlómien, you mention something about computer geeks. Well, most of the comp nerds I know are heavily into sci-fi, and reading LotR might just be following the path they laid out for themselves. I mean, sci-fi is just fantasy with numbers and chemicals, right?

I really can't say anything about metalheads (a term of endearment from me and my friends) and hippies; I don't have that much personal experience.

Besides, I'm not sure if there really is a factual answer to this question.