Good versus evil: Downplayed, or overplayed?

[ArathorofBarahir]

I don't think the Theme of Good Versus Evil was Overplayed nor do I think it was Downplayed, it was evident but not to obvious.

[Saraphim]

Ah, yes. I had forgotten Editorials.

Message to Everyone: ignore my last post!

Anyway, I'm a bit confused about your arguement here, Knight. I thought that it was a good thing (especially from your POV) that Peter Jackson wasn't interested in fleshing out the Christian themes?

[Knight of Gondor]

Barrow-Wight, I’m sorry if it’s against the rules to use a lot of quotes. I usually feel the most comfortable responding to each person individually. It wouldn’t surprise me to see this thread get banned sooner or later...most discussions of the religions themes do. :-|

I’m more than happy to discuss the issues with those who disagree, but, heh heh, is there anyone who agrees with Ms. Basham?

[tar-ancalime]

It seems to me that the quotes from Peter Jackson in the second article were very carefully crafted statements. Jackson never says that he buried the moral themes of the story; he only says that he has "not an ounce" of interest in fleshing them out any further. Personally, I take this to mean that the story itself is so thoroughly imbued with the idea of good vs. evil that Jackson felt comfortable refraining from typical Hollywood heavy-handedness (at least for the most part--there are some exceptions to this; I felt a little preached-to when Gandalf made his "death in judgement" speech in Moria instead of Bag End; not sure why this change felt so unsavory to me). In other words, it's still in the story, folks, even if Jackson didn't choose to make it a surface feature.

Also, though the Professor wrote a story saturated with his own worldview (and how could he write it any other way?), by making morality thematic as opposed to a surface detail, he not only put it deeper into the story, but ensured that those billions of people in the world who think of their Creator differently than Tolkien did, could still understand his story and his messages. To insist that the morality of Tolkien's work is only a Christian morality treads very close to (a) claiming ownership over values that many, many people in the world share, and (b) creating a privileged class of audience for this story that excludes most of the people in the world because they call their morality by a different name.

[Lush]

I am posting a link to an article that would undoubtedly intrigue Ms. Basham, as it argues the exact opposite of what she believes to be true about Tolkien's works while at the same time appearing to take root in the same ideology that Ms. Basham subscribes to.

A warning, however: This piece is reactionary, insulting to Catholics, attempts to speak for God Himself, and calls Tolkien's works "carnal" (well gee, if Tolkien is now considered carnal, I might as well kill myself). If you know you're going to be seriously put out, do not read it.

Click.