As chance would have it,I have been rereading LoTR of late. And I was struck by how like the way Frodo interacts with the ring is the way we interact with our cell phones and social media.
It also occurs to me that hobbits, in general, do not like to be exposed. As Tolkien explains, they can slip into the countryside. And we see this early on, when Merry talks about seeing Frodo use the Ring to hide from the S-Bs - and then says he went on to hide himself in the ‘usual fashion’. Sam, too, is unhappy and embarrassed by the gaze of Galadriel.
Part of what makes Tolkien’s writing so important is that he tackles temptation and fall straight on. The Fellowship is not a collection of plaster saints, but flawed individuals who struggle.
Yes, I totally agree. He is often criticized for "flat" characterization, but I think that this is because he does not follow conventional characterizing of modern novels. They are morally complex.
Exactly so. And the morality is often subtle and comes out very slowly. It takes careful attentio n to notice, for example, that Merry is always the one taking care of things, quietly, and in the background - starting with having enough hot water for everyone to have a bath.
Yes indeed! And, really, that whole section shows the innocent high spirits and friendship of the hobbits. The images of that section just pop into my mind without effort as well. It is part of an older style in which we can afford to take our time and really understand a world, and a set of people.
What a cool series of connections, John. I often go back to Foucault’s panopticon to think of power and surveillance. I like what some filmmakers do with this visually. Your read that Tolkien moves beyond this is compelling. And I was not expecting Prince here! What a treat.
The passage from LOT you chose reminded me of something I was looking at in Moby Dick today. Just before the final hunt, in “Symphony,” Ahab tries to talk himself out of the need to get the whale and is nearly persuaded also by Ishmael (I think, or someone else) to go back to Nantucket to their families. The compulsion to continue is power, it is a desire to master the unknown, and to seek knowledge, even if that knowledge is evil. But the irony is that there may be just as much, if not more, knowledge in their home place. Anyway, much more to say there, but the passages make a nice, unexpected pairing through your frame.
Thanks, Kate. Ah, yes… Ahab and Saruman have some things in common, come to think of it. And always expect the Purple One to turn up when you least expect him!
I've always connected the Palantirs with smartphones somehow, not least because of the way miscommunications spring up so easily from the lack of face-to-face contact. It's similar to the way the Palantir only shows the viewer parts of a whole truth, leading to misinterpretation. Sauron used this to his advantage, as did Aragorn. Pretty interesting implications for our current era.
I also despise the whole spotlight Sauron Eye thing in the PJ films haha.. What a waste of potential. It just makes me laugh in derision every time (I still love the films, but certain things......).
I’ve got an image of Frodo trudging up Mount Doom (or through the Emyn Muil and among all those watchful corpses in the Dead Marshes), an iPhone hanging from his neck and weighing him down. Cast that phone into the fire – break the link to the all-seeing Apple – talk about a digital detox :-)
John, that's a great and funny link between the Palantir and smartphones – even more, I’d say, to the lure of the Ring itself. A big nod to you and Prince for highlighting surveillance capitalism (and the panopticon, which I've also been thinking about in another context). "Don't be fooled by the internet," says the Artist, "Don't let the computer get on you." Damn straight — except I'm more like poor Pippin, sleepless because of what I might see in the glowing screen.
Yes, I'm just like Pippin--lying in bed thinking, I wonder if they responded to that email? Let me just check... Then an hour later, I'm watching YouTube videos about songbirds.
Although there's a lot to complain about in the recent Amazon series, I kind-of liked the direction they took Sauron, which I think is an extension of what you're talking about here, John. Not as much of a malign will seeking to break and despoil everything, but a rationalizing impulse to create order and harmony by command and surveillance. The suggestion that people lack the wisdom and willpower to act (even) in their own best interests seems very seductive to folks who want to imagine themselves Progressive.
As chance would have it,I have been rereading LoTR of late. And I was struck by how like the way Frodo interacts with the ring is the way we interact with our cell phones and social media.
It also occurs to me that hobbits, in general, do not like to be exposed. As Tolkien explains, they can slip into the countryside. And we see this early on, when Merry talks about seeing Frodo use the Ring to hide from the S-Bs - and then says he went on to hide himself in the ‘usual fashion’. Sam, too, is unhappy and embarrassed by the gaze of Galadriel.
Part of what makes Tolkien’s writing so important is that he tackles temptation and fall straight on. The Fellowship is not a collection of plaster saints, but flawed individuals who struggle.
Yes, I totally agree. He is often criticized for "flat" characterization, but I think that this is because he does not follow conventional characterizing of modern novels. They are morally complex.
Exactly so. And the morality is often subtle and comes out very slowly. It takes careful attentio n to notice, for example, that Merry is always the one taking care of things, quietly, and in the background - starting with having enough hot water for everyone to have a bath.
Yes! I love that about Merry. And then Pippin goes and makes a mess with the bath water.
Yes indeed! And, really, that whole section shows the innocent high spirits and friendship of the hobbits. The images of that section just pop into my mind without effort as well. It is part of an older style in which we can afford to take our time and really understand a world, and a set of people.
What a cool series of connections, John. I often go back to Foucault’s panopticon to think of power and surveillance. I like what some filmmakers do with this visually. Your read that Tolkien moves beyond this is compelling. And I was not expecting Prince here! What a treat.
The passage from LOT you chose reminded me of something I was looking at in Moby Dick today. Just before the final hunt, in “Symphony,” Ahab tries to talk himself out of the need to get the whale and is nearly persuaded also by Ishmael (I think, or someone else) to go back to Nantucket to their families. The compulsion to continue is power, it is a desire to master the unknown, and to seek knowledge, even if that knowledge is evil. But the irony is that there may be just as much, if not more, knowledge in their home place. Anyway, much more to say there, but the passages make a nice, unexpected pairing through your frame.
Thanks, Kate. Ah, yes… Ahab and Saruman have some things in common, come to think of it. And always expect the Purple One to turn up when you least expect him!
John,
Great connection with smartphones! I read the line about "to pin you" and I thought of these lines in Prufrock. :
"And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,"
Also, there is a publicly traded company named Palantir that does secretive surveillance for countries.
Here's the link from Yahoo to a description of what it does.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PLTR/profile
And I love the Prufrock connection—I hadn’t thought of that.
Thanks, David. It’s interesting that they offer a software platform called “Palantir Gotham,” combining two dystopian visions for the price of one.
I've always connected the Palantirs with smartphones somehow, not least because of the way miscommunications spring up so easily from the lack of face-to-face contact. It's similar to the way the Palantir only shows the viewer parts of a whole truth, leading to misinterpretation. Sauron used this to his advantage, as did Aragorn. Pretty interesting implications for our current era.
I also despise the whole spotlight Sauron Eye thing in the PJ films haha.. What a waste of potential. It just makes me laugh in derision every time (I still love the films, but certain things......).
I agree: there are things about the films that I like, but there are several big missteps that completely take me out of it.
#justiceforfaramir
I’ve got an image of Frodo trudging up Mount Doom (or through the Emyn Muil and among all those watchful corpses in the Dead Marshes), an iPhone hanging from his neck and weighing him down. Cast that phone into the fire – break the link to the all-seeing Apple – talk about a digital detox :-)
John, that's a great and funny link between the Palantir and smartphones – even more, I’d say, to the lure of the Ring itself. A big nod to you and Prince for highlighting surveillance capitalism (and the panopticon, which I've also been thinking about in another context). "Don't be fooled by the internet," says the Artist, "Don't let the computer get on you." Damn straight — except I'm more like poor Pippin, sleepless because of what I might see in the glowing screen.
Yes, I'm just like Pippin--lying in bed thinking, I wonder if they responded to that email? Let me just check... Then an hour later, I'm watching YouTube videos about songbirds.
The songbirds sound nice :-)
Ha! My YouTube viewing is almost exclusively songbirds, classical music, headphone and car reviews, and Prince. It's an odd concatenation.
Yes, but Google *knows* you and is no doubt training its Great Eye on you (and me) as we type.
No doubt!
Although there's a lot to complain about in the recent Amazon series, I kind-of liked the direction they took Sauron, which I think is an extension of what you're talking about here, John. Not as much of a malign will seeking to break and despoil everything, but a rationalizing impulse to create order and harmony by command and surveillance. The suggestion that people lack the wisdom and willpower to act (even) in their own best interests seems very seductive to folks who want to imagine themselves Progressive.