No more woke versions of Tolkien's stories!

Enough with the woke versions of Tolkien's magnificent art; put Tolkien's work into the public domain and let independent creators work their magic

There is a substack about Tolkien that I just became aware of recently. The name of the substack is Jokien with Tolkien, and it has some very good content. I recommend subbing to it if you are a fan of Tolkien.

A recent article contained information about Warner Brothers doing new movies based on Tolkien’s world:

Last Thursday news broke that Warner Bros. had reached a deal with Embracer Group, who recently acquired Middle-earth Enterprises, to partner in making new The Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens have been kept in the loop and Warner Bros. reportedly wants them involved.

The fandom immediately erupted into delirious celebration, anxiety, and speculation, as this news immediately led to a host of questions. Does this mean a new live-action version of The Lord of the Rings coming our way? An adaptation of something else from Tolkien’s legendarium? Or completely new stories set in Middle-earth but not based on any particular source?

The article goes on to delve into the possible kinds of movies that might be produced by Warner Brothers. But I will simply say this about all of it:

NO THANKS!

Peter Jackson’s movies were the beginning of Woke Tolkien

I know that there are many who love and idolize Jackson’s movies, and even consider them to be free of woke propaganda, but that is not true. I, too, love the spectacle of those films, and Jackson did get some things right. But the films are not true to some of the characters in the books.

Consider these examples:

1. In the films, Aragorn said, “I do not want that power,” and Arwen had to nudge him toward wanting to become king. In the books, Aragorn believes being king is his destiny, and only Sauron stands in his way. Book Aragorn is confident, sure of himself and his destiny. Film Aragorn is weak and uncertain, not wanting to take the power that is his birthright.

2. Arwen is a bad clone of Xena: Warrior Princess in the films. At one point, she sneaks up on Aragorn (who, in the books, is the greatest ranger in the West) and holds a sword to his throat. Film Arwen lacks the grace and dignity of Book Arwen, and is a pretentious imitation of Xena.

3. In the flight to the ford, Arwen calls the shots, not Frodo. In the book, it is Frodo who rides the white horse alone and attempts to defy the ring wraiths at the ford. Arwen was put into that scene to push the “girl power” narrative, and it ruined an important moment in the Fellowship of the Ring.

4. In the films, it is Arwen who calls on the river to bar the way of the ring wraiths, not Elrond. In the book, Elrond commands it and Gandalf makes the water appear as horses, etc.

5. Glorfindel, the male elf in the books, is written out completely to make way for Arwen: Warrior Princess.

6. In the book, Gandalf the Grey defeated a Balrog in Moria before he died, and then returned, grown in power and likely second only to Sauron himself. In the films, Gandalf’s staff is broken, and he is knocked off his horse by the Witch King. In the book, they never fought, and the Witch King left when Rohan arrived.

7. Gandalf is diminished in the LOTR films as he represents the White male patriarch archetype. His diminishment is even worse in the Hobbit movies, where Galadriel: Warrior Princess has to rescue him from Dol Guldur.

8. Gimli, a serious and heroic male character in the books, is made into comedy relief in the films. At one point, he falls off the horse, and Eowyn laughs (which was totally out of character for her).

Aragorn - a male hero - is deliberately diminished by the screenwriters to fluff up Arwen: Warrior Princess. He must be made weaker so that she can appear stronger. The same goes for Gandalf; he must be diminished in the Hobbit movies so Galadriel: Warrior Princess can be made to look stronger. Frodo - another male hero - is also diminished by becoming a rag doll for Arwen to hold on the horse while she rides away from the ring wraiths.

There is much more that I could cover here about Peter Jackson’s films, but you get the idea. While admirable in terms of spectacle, his films were a precursor to the woke communist trash produced by Amazon called “The Rings of Power.” That series was so bad that I’m not even going to get into it here. You can find tons of material elsewhere examining how awful it was in terms of woke commie propaganda.

Whenever I point out the failed characterizations of Jackson’s films, I get crap from people whose perceptions of the books are superficial, and who are swept away by the spectacle of the films. But it is important to note all of it because we are hell and gone from the days when Jackson made those films. The mutilation of Tolkien’s characters that Jackson engaged in is NOTHING compared to what will be done now.

New Tolkien TV shows and films are going to be at least as bad as “The Rings of Power” in terms of woke communist propaganda. All the movie studios were taken over by the woke mind virus years ago, and the commies are fully in control of all the content they produce. It is highly unlikely that any Tolkien-related content is going to be free from the woke mind virus.

Tolkien’s art needs to go into the public domain

The only hope I see for new works based on Tolkien that are not woke commie propaganda, is for the copyright on all of Tolkien’s works to expire, and for all of it to go into the public domain. That would allow independent content creators - some of whom are traditional and not woke commies - to produce their own works based on Tolkien’s creations.

I understand that there would also be woke commies pushing their mind virus, but so what? That’s already happening while Tolkien’s works are under copyright protection, so how could it be worse if they were in the public domain?

The Saxon Cross had a good article explaining why Tolkien’s works should go into the public domain:

I think without him, the entirety of the English canon would be weakened- both the works that he inspired and the works that he drew his own inspiration from would be lessened without his contribution. Tolkien is the loadstar from which the entire modern conception of the mythic northwestern spirit springs from. Without him we would not have modern myth, modern “fantasy” as we know it would be completely different. Without his work, modern appreciation of Beowulf, the Eddas, the Volsungs, all of the ancient northwestern canon would be substantially weakened. Without him, even the modern conceptions of elves, dwarves, goblins and dragons that we take for granted would not exist.

Tolkien’s importance as a myth-maker cannot be overstated.

Which is why it is high time the copyright to his legendarium expires and his creation is set loose to the public, to the whims of any talented artist, writer, screen producer, composer, musician, poet, or novelist that wishes to make their own addition to, or rather make a discovery in, Middle-Earth.

There could be no better fate for Tolkien’s works than for them to finally be released into the great public melting pot of myth and story.

I agree with TSC on this, though my reasons are slightly different.

Allowing movie studios - which are bastions of woke communist ideologues - to control content creation based on Tolkien’s works, is a cultural disaster for the West. Tolkien’s works must be set free, and then let the best content creators take Tolkien’s world and do their best to add to it.

Beware of new Tolkien content

So if you see an announcement about new Tolkien films or TV shows, BEWARE! It will almost certainly be filled with woke commie trash designed to indoctrinate you and change how you perceive the world and everything in it. The commies never stop, and they are always hungry for new ways to manipulate and control the thoughts of other people.

Tolkien’s wondrous, beautiful world and stories should be experienced by reading or listening to his words, not by watching video trash made by people who despise his religion and values.

I recommend the Rob Inglis audiobooks:

The Hobbit

The Fellowship of the Ring

The Two Towers

The Return of the King

Inglis is a fantastic narrator, and he will take you into Tolkien’s world with Tolkien’s own words. There is no woke commie trash to brainwash you into hating Tolkien’s values.

I also recommend Martin Shaw’s narration of The Silmarillion:

The Silmarillion

---

How you can support my writing

• Please share this post

• Tip with Buy Me A Coffee

• Tip with crypto

• Select a paid subscription option that fits your budget

All contributions from readers are greatly appreciated. Thanks! 👍🏻 💀