The Tolkien Lore Podcast

In a followup to our previous collaboration (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZLce_96994) dealing with various literary criticisms of The Lord of the Rings, GirlNextGondor and I take on the Michael Moorcock essay “Epic Pooh.”    

If you want to read Epic Pooh for yourself, you can do so here: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/undergraduate/modules/en361fantastika/bibliography/2.7moorcock_m.1978epic_pooh.pdf 

For GirlNextGondor’s video on how the Shire is NOT an idyllic utopia, click here (but only if you promise not to take it personally!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jylGmnltxNQ 

And of course you should totally subscribe to her channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GirlNextGondor  

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Odysee: https://odysee.com/@TolkienLore:f  

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Patreon: www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek

There has been a huge amount of digital ink spilled since Amazon dropped the teaser trailer for The Rings of Power.  I have thoughts that I need to unburden, which hopefully will help everyone to have a more civil discussion.

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The themes of fate and choice are heavy in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and they show us that while many things are outside of our control, our own decisions may have the greatest impact on our own story.

For some background on the concepts of fate and free will, check this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIzDndXGRsY

For an analysis of how these themes play out in the story of Turin Turambar, check this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lROuU1RPDpU

For more detail on how Gollum came to destroy the Ring, I have a whole video on that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVSFfrQrFIc

And if you’re interested in the luck/providence angle, check my video comparing Tolkien’s stories to the movie “Passengers”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UCmnGxJSfI

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A viewer asked in the comments if I could do a video on how the book descriptions of characters compared to the movie portrayals, so here’s a video breaking down what the members of the Fellowship (plus Gollum!) should have looked like, and which movie did the best for each.

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In my previous video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIzDndXGRsY) I discussed the general concept of fate vs. free will.  Here I explore how those two factors (plus a third!) all shape the narrative of a particular story—that of Turin Turambar (“master of fate”).

Apologies for the slightly sloppy execution; I was a bit rushed getting this one out, hence all the background noise!

GirlNextGondor has done her own video on this topic too: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B_MQ3CBdS4

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The subject of fate is a common theme in Tolkien’s stories, and we can get a good idea of how he thought about its interaction with free will from the stories themselves, but also from an essay in the recently published “Nature of Middle-Earth.”

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Where Peter Jackson gave us a fairly flashy and bombastic scene with fist fights and exorcism, Tolkien weaves a much more subtle web of fear, hope, and drama.  Also, Tolkien uses no magic in his version!

This sort of follows my previous videos on tech vs. magic (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O44qroaf0Nw) and magic vs. art (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12MZ58_tmjg) in Middle-earth.

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Tolkien’s view of “magic” (or machine) was that it was distinguished from “art” by the fact that it was the use of an external plan or apparatus to more efficiently impose the will of the user.  In my previous video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O44qroaf0Nw) I discussed the more colloquial distinction between magic and technology, but here I dive into some examples that help us understand Tolkien’s unique take.

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Middle-earth is a realm of high fantasy, so there’s lots of magic and Medieval-style technology, but there are hints of more advanced technology as well….

For GirlNextGondor’s series on magic, go to this playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2f0QuMeFhk&list=PLoUG1YSYOhDSrOjZ1F1ELTUiE0JM2ldTs

For my prior video on orcs, if you’re interested in some serious metaphysics, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyAfhKR3ljs

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ewsweek released a special edition issue celebrating the 20thanniversary of the release of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring, but it’s full of misinformation and misleading statements, so get ready for some major corrections.

For my video on “The Story of Kullervo,” go here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-FtGIqizCY

Other Links:

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrrtlore

Patreon: www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek