Using Tolkien to Score Some Points

[Bêthberry]

Belegorn, I asked that this thread not be used for political comments, which are contrary to the rules of this barrow, but for discussion of how Tolkien is appropriated in popular culture, and whether this parody actually "gets" Tolkien's characters right. Please reconsider your post.

I will delete the tread if it it is used to discuss the American election rather than the literary question.

[Inziladun]

The article comes across to me as being a pretty superficial appreciation of LOTR. I get a definite 'movie vibe' from the way the parody is presented. My initial feeling is that the author is a fan of the movies, speaking to other fans of the movies, trying to come off as satirical.

I don't know who the target demographic of the website might be, but my feeling is that the writer missed the mark with his intentions. I personally don't know any people (away from this fine forum, of course ) who'd be likely to pay it much mind.

[Zigûr]

I'm not sure I can comment on the article because I didn't find much to grasp in it to be honest. It just seemed like a pretty shallow use of the material to make a joke. The comments were more enlightening, suggesting a number of rather insubstantial and mistaken understandings of Professor Tolkien's narrative.

In my thesis research I found that virtually any political viewpoint could manipulate, and in published works has manipulated, Professor Tolkien's words to make them sound like they supported any position across the political spectrum. My counterargument was that Professor Tolkien's Catholicism superseded his politics and that to read too much straightforward political content into his works (apart from an obvious opposition to tyranny) risked misinterpreting them.