This text is about my love story with Lord of the Rings. I don’t remember how old I was but I do remember I first watched The Fellowship of the Ring on a VHS. But, for the record, I was very young back then.
The first movie didn’t get me at first. It was a long movie and I was a child that couldn’t really understand how someone could make a movie without a finale. However, everything changed with the Two Towers. After watching (at the cinema, this time), I was shocked: I was so into the movie that I didn’t see the hours passing by. Now, that brand new universe created by Tolkien sparked my curiosity and love.
While I was anxious to see where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli’s journey was taking them, I was also wondering if the Ents could represent how the environment could feel about us. I personally enjoy the scenes of the Ents kicking Saruman’s ass. Today, I ask myself if humanity would not deserve to have the ass kicked by all the forests we keep destroying, but this is a topic for another time. Frodo and Sam’s journey was not a big deal to me, but I guess I took a while to understand its beauty.
After the epic Battle of Helm’s Deep, I ran to the bookstore and got the 3 books. Reading them, I deeply fell in love with everything we discover throughout the ring’s journey: from the personal stories of each character to their contribution to the quest.
Men, Elves, Dwarfs, Wizards, Ents, Hobbits: living in Middle Earth in a certain place and time, making alliances and, sometimes, betrayals. Lord of the Rings does tell a story about a very powerful ring that, in the wrong hands, could destroy the world, but what really gets me is the fantastic world that was designed, with unique languages, outfits and great metaphors of our own world. Everything was so well thought out by Tolkien and well enough transposed to the cinema by Peter Jackson that leaves us some questions that only great stories can do: Can we see yourselves in these characters? If we were in his/her shoes, what would our choices be?
The fellowship that began the journey together in the first movie with different personalities, knowledge and background, were forced (or destined) to split up to save that world. After that, they are just doing the best they can, with what they have, day after day. Each one understands their share of responsibility.
When Aragorn, in the Return of the King before riding to Mordor doors, said: “For Frodo”, I understood that even great King’s fate may depend on a boy’s task who was struggling to accomplish (and which, by the way, was not exactly a his own choice).
Only after watching the movies many times, I, finally, understand the beauty behind Frodo and Sam part of the story. I mean I still think their scenes are long and a bit boring, but I guess that’s how it has to be shown.
In the end, when our “hero to be” found himself to be won over by the power of the ring, but here weakness played the part of revelation, showing us once again that in the moment of need we can count on people who truly love us to be there. I didn’t see that coming by then, however, it was the perfect end for a breathtaking trilogy.
When I was a child, the Lord Of the Rings taught me about the grey zone we all have inside our hearts. It taught me how cool it can be to have friends from different cultures and that I could fall in love and change a bit the plan I had for me before, if I want to.
Until today, Frodo teaches me that sometimes a big responsibility is thrown into our hands and we have to do something about it. And even if we don’t have a clue from where we should start, we have to take the first step and hope we are lucky enough to have good friends to get our back.
Mrs. Orange
thewhiterabbit 