Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam all changed radically due to their adventures, and in ways that strangely mirror each other.  In this video I explore how their adventures changed them—the good, the bad, and the rest. 

The playlist for all the videos by my fellow YouTubers is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSSf8JTB0Nrqdd1U_JmGQcTTWFrihAN_u 

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Patreon: www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek

Tolkien was great at recycling ancient stories, plot points, and characters, but he seems to have done the same with one of his own….

My video on The Story of Kullervo is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-FtGIqizCY

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The Lord of the Rings was widely reviewed both when each volume was released and many times since.  Some critics loved it; others not so much.  But did the negative critiques have any merit?  GirlNextGondor, fellow YouTuber, joins me to discuss!

Check out GirlNextGondor’s channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs2Ia76_oHKz7IZuWcRF2NA

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This is a response to a piece by Molly Ostertag over at Polygon making the case that Frodo and Sam are gay.  I think she does as good a job as anyone could, but I remain unconvinced.

Molly Ostertag’s piece at Polygon is here: https://www.polygon.com/lord-of-the-rings/22550950/sam-frodo-queer-romance-lord-of-the-rings-tolkien-quotes

My video on the “Gondor in Transition” paper is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7s2otyaC7k

My video on authorial intent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n49foLSWx50

And here’s a video I did on that unpublished epilogue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7VO5qNFoD4

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The Greeks had many words for different kinds of love, unlike us moderns.  But we have great examples of almost all of them in Tolkien's stories.  

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I watched "The Green Knight," starring Dev Patel, and it was cringy, boring, and pointless.  Here are my full thoughts.

For my review of Tolkien's translation of the original poem, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSEk0XGDOBc

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The 2021 Summer Seminar held by the Tolkien Society got a lot of attention because of the topics.  Was the fuss merited?  Here are my thoughts on one specific presentation—Cordeliah Logsdon’s “Gondor in Transition: A Brief Introduction to Transgender Realities in The Lord of the Rings”.

Here is the specific presentation I’m addressing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1BYu4NOIv8&list=PLoyx2jXs6Le_MelDj_rJsmiYSYQBeVYxQ&index=1

Here’s the playlist for all the videos in the seminar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1BYu4NOIv8&list=PLoyx2jXs6Le_MelDj_rJsmiYSYQBeVYxQ

This page gives the titles and brief descriptions of all the talks: https://www.tolkiensociety.org/events/tolkien-society-summer-seminar/

My video on authorial intent vs. death of the author: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n49foLSWx50

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Be careful what you say, even if you aren't making a specific promise, because someday you may have to live up to your own words and find that's a bitter pill to swallow, just like these Lord of the Rings characters!

For my review of David Rowe's book, The Proverbs of Middle-Earth, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi2mJ6mFopM&pp=sAQA

And if you want lots of other cool sayings, follow his account on Twitter @TolkienProverbs: https://twitter.com/tolkienproverbs

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There are two schools of thought when it comes to interpreting a work of fiction.  One says we should pay attention to what the author intended, while the other says we can completely disregard the author's intent.  I fall in the former camp, and this video explains why.  

Videos referenced:   

Tolkien on Politics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufT7wgWr3rM

Response to Wisecrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZ4Ej5Ng_nU 

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Tolkien wrote many stories, not all of them about Middle-earth, and this is my ranking of all of them.  

For reviews of some of these check out the following links:  

Roverandom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8hJR1Kj5qY 

Farmer Giles of Ham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O32CpI0rOgg 

Leaf by Niggle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OdiCz3JwHA 

Smith of Wootton Major: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyzNBaaHZqY 

Beren and Luthien (note, the book is more about the textual history than just a straight story): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTGPOdzjSFg 

The Children of Hurin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKWzsP_3tcY 

You can now find me on Rumble at https://rumble.com/c/c-355195 

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

You can support my channel by visiting my Patreon page: www.patreon.com/tolkiengeek.