Does LotR have cross-cultural appeal? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mister Underhill*** · 08-12-2005, 06:52 PM

Here is an interesting article on a man who has gotten rich and famous from the huge royalties he earned from his Chinese translation of LotR, which sold over 600,000 copies following the release of FotR (the movie) in China. You can just cancel the prompt to install a Chinese language pack if you see it and still read the article, which is in English.

The Chinese arguably have a stronger point of identification with the Rohirrim than the average Englander, since they can count as ancestors the most fearsome horse-warrior culture in history. From what I can tell from popular Chinese cinema, the average Chinese has at least as much of a connection to LotR's themes of duty and honor as the typical modern Westerner, too.

Speaking of the movies, I wonder if they have forever biased an analysis of Tolkien's cross-cultural appeal. Who knows how Jackson's "visual translations" have affected -- or created -- audiences abroad?

A couple other quick points, as I always seem to be pressed for time these days:

There are too many factors in play to make any definitive judgment of Tolkien's potential appeal in some parts of the world. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, where people are still occasionally executed for the practice of witchcraft and it is illegal even to possess "polytheistic and superstitious books", and where the government tightly censors the books and even the web access available to its citizens, is it any surprise that there is no big Saudi Tolkien following? Can we rightly say that Tolkien has no "cross-cultural appeal" in such a climate? I guess it depends on how you define culture.

I must join other posters, particularly Novnarwen, in scoffing at the idea that the setting of Middle-earth is somehow so particularly English that the rest of us won't "get it". England doesn't have a corner on green hills or swift rivers or trees or even mist, davem, my friend. Are visitors to Sequoia National Park the only ones who may even have a chance to "get" Lothlórien? Have many primeval giant lava-spewing volcanoes in England, do you? How ever do you "get" Mordor? What's the English analog for Khazad-dûm of which we fur'n'ers are deprived? For Rivendell? It's silly. Middle-earth, while clearly inspired by English and other European landscapes, is not England. Anybody with even a little media exposure and a little imagination should have no trouble imagining Middle-earth, no matter where they hail from.

08-12-2005, 06:52 PM	#20
*Mister Underhill* Dread Horseman Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Behind you! Posts: 2,744	Here is an interesting article on a man who has gotten rich and famous from the huge royalties he earned from his Chinese translation of LotR, which sold over 600,000 copies following the release of FotR (the movie) in China. You can just cancel the prompt to install a Chinese language pack if you see it and still read the article, which is in English. The Chinese arguably have a stronger point of identification with the Rohirrim than the average Englander, since they can count as ancestors the most fearsome horse-warrior culture in history. From what I can tell from popular Chinese cinema, the average Chinese has at least as much of a connection to LotR's themes of duty and honor as the typical modern Westerner, too. Speaking of the movies, I wonder if they have forever biased an analysis of Tolkien's cross-cultural appeal. Who knows how Jackson's "visual translations" have affected -- or created -- audiences abroad? A couple other quick points, as I always seem to be pressed for time these days: There are too many factors in play to make any definitive judgment of Tolkien's potential appeal in some parts of the world. For instance, in Saudi Arabia, where people are still occasionally executed for the practice of witchcraft and it is illegal even to possess "polytheistic and superstitious books", and where the government tightly censors the books and even the web access available to its citizens, is it any surprise that there is no big Saudi Tolkien following? Can we rightly say that Tolkien has no "cross-cultural appeal" in such a climate? I guess it depends on how you define culture. I must join other posters, particularly Novnarwen, in scoffing at the idea that the setting of Middle-earth is somehow so particularly English that the rest of us won't "get it". England doesn't have a corner on green hills or swift rivers or trees or even mist, davem, my friend. Are visitors to Sequoia National Park the only ones who may even have a chance to "get" Lothlórien? Have many primeval giant lava-spewing volcanoes in England, do you? How ever do you "get" Mordor? What's the English analog for Khazad-dûm of which we fur'n'ers are deprived? For Rivendell? It's silly. Middle-earth, while clearly inspired by English and other European landscapes, is not England. Anybody with even a little media exposure and a little imagination should have no trouble imagining Middle-earth, no matter where they hail from.