The Hobbit and Tolkien Fangirling

Anyone who knows me knows I'm a fantasy nerd. On one wall of my apartment I have a map of Middle Earth and one side and to the right of it is a poster of Westeros. I've loved tales from Middle Earth since infancy. I'm sure those close to me are probably bored to death of my love for Tolkien's work in particular but I wanted to discuss my response to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and the previous Lord of the Rings trilogy and the significance of such tales. I am a lifelong fan of Tolkien. I own the books, a buttload of Lord of the Rings merchandise, I have three copies of the animated version of LOTR, I even play the MMO - Lord of the Rings online and I'm a level 63 Elf Hunter. I know what you're thinking. You like it when I talk nerdy to you.

I first got into Lord of the Rings during my childhood when my father read The Hobbit to me. My Dad isn't really a fan of Tolkien's work but he went through the book for me anyway. I count this as one of my most important and beloved childhood memories as it set in motion a lifelong love of the fantasy genre. I remember so vividly my father reading my favourite chapter of The Hobbit to me, Riddles in the Dark. It was probably my first encounter with riddles and I remember him giving me time to see if I could work them out. The riddle about the egg was the one that amazed me the most. From that point on the richness of Middle Earth and the bold characters stayed and resonated within me. In fact my father wears his wedding ring, a plain gold band, on a golden chain around his neck and I kid you not - it looks exactly like The One Ring and the way Frodo wears it on a chain. I often wonder if Dad will sneak off in the night to take the Ring to Mordor... but he's a teacher so him using it for evil seems more plausible. Other members of my family are fans of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, particularly my aunt and uncle. My Uncle and I once spent a good part of an afternoon discussing the thematic similarities between the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Narnia Chronicles by C.S Lewis. In fact I almost did my dissertation about Christian ideologies in Lord of the Rings and The Narnia stories, such is my love for these books.

My emotional response to the film was, well, extreme. I went to see the film the day before general release and saw it twice. First in 2D with one friend and then an hour later in 3D with another friend. Before seeing it I found myself filled with anxiety as to whether the films would live up to my rather high expectations. They did. This will sound lame but I found myself tearing up at three points of the film: firstly in the beginning because of the way they set up the start of the Hobbit at the start of The Fellowship of The Ring. I was thinking "We're back. I'm back here in Middle Earth preparing to feel like part of another beloved adventure"
Second time I welled up was when they brought out the map at Bilbo's home with Smaug detailed upon it. I remembered this map from the copies of The Hobbit at my uncle's home. I thought of him and our many conversations on Tolkien's work. Thirdly I found myself welling up as we reached my favourite chapter, Riddles in the Dark, as I found myself instantly connected to my wonderful father and my childhood. My father even went on to trying to read the LOTR trilogy to me despite not enjoying Tolkien's work. Eventually I recall trying to read the books to him, or reading them during the free periods during my time at Sixth Form College.
I really enjoyed the film and what they'd done to it. I liked the way they brought humour into the scene with the Goblin King and created a new villain who, although not in The Hobbit, was at least mentioned elsewhere within Tolkien's work. The soundtrack is brilliant (if I ever had the chance to hire someone to create a soundtrack to my daily life, Howard Shore has the job)

Having seen it in 2D first and then 3D I have to say that I preferred 2D. The higher frame rates, the richness of the colours, the 3D effects were all good an created a clear image but sometimes I found the image itself to be too rich to look at. I found myself occasionally taking the glasses off. It works really well in certain scenes like, say, when Bilbo is fighting a Goblin in Goblin town and the focal point is the two of them within the shot but there were other scenes and frames where these techniques were distracting and harder to fully concentrate on. Overall, though, I really enjoyed the film and my expectations were met and I am really pumped for the next two films. I loved the little references that were clearly thrown in there for Tolkien nerds e.g "I once walked all the way to Frogmorton" (If you know Middle Earth you'll know that's like...nothing. Bag End is practically next to Frogmorton on the map) or Gandalf not knowing the names of the other two wizards because Tolkien himself didn't give them names within his work. Every time I went I picked up on subtle references or details that I'm sure other Tolkien fans were squirming over in excitement for being in the know about those little details.

I think the reason that I really love The Hobbit/LOTR is that it gives us hope that the smallest of people can have the biggest impact on society and the world. It marries pastoral and fantastical elements creating a world full of beauty and wonder. The books are so filled and rich with details; they are full of songs and stories that they become the kind of books you have to read more than once to fully appreciate. If you enjoyed the films and have not yet read the books then I urge you to pick them up sometime.
I also highly recommend George R.R Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series for any adult readers who like tales from Middle Earth and the works of C.S Lewis for younger readers.

Are you a reader of fantasy novels?
If you are and you have a recommendation please let me know in the comments and I'll add them to my 'To Read list' and follow it up. If you're a writer/aspiring fantasy writer, please also get in touch.