August 31, 2002

Elitist Fans and Waiting for the Special Edition
Lughaidh

Gina and "Faramir the Brave" need to find their own 'fan' room. There can be movie fans to whatever degree they wish to be and have never read the book. If a 'fan' is someone who's read the book and seen the film but thinks others who have not gone through the same indoctrination are not fans, then I'll just not call myself a fan any longer. I'll become a lunatic. I haven't read the books twice; I can't remember exactly how many times I've read the trilogy. I do know that I've read it once per year since 1973, so I guess it's at least 29 times. Do I read other stuff? You bet! Do I lord it over others? Heck no! If it takes an excellent movie adaptation of my favorite book to make a 'fan' out of someone who's not read the book, I say "great"! The more the merrier! Why would anyone actually be angry because they go to a website where someone has seen the movie once, not having read the book, and acts as though they love Tolkien? More power to them! They've found a new love and are sharing their enthusiasm! I feel saddened when I read these elitist notes. Come on, guys; learn to share!
One of my employees was telling me just yesterday that his daughter loved the movie and is anxious to start reading the trilogy. He told me that she wants him to buy the DVD so she can watch the movie more frequently. I said, “Great! You can pick one up fairly cheaply.” He told me he didn’t want to buy one now, that he wanted the full-blown epic with all the other “stuff” as he calls it. Now, I know he’s never read LotR, but he thought the movie was awesome. What I’d like to know is why he, and others that post here, would wait until the special edition comes out to buy the DVD? What is that all about? I had both pre-ordered from Amazon as soon as I could! Could I have gotten it at midnight at the grocery checkout? Sure! Could’ve saved a couple of bucks too, but I was content with Blockbuster’s copy until the mail came. Big deal! Just buy it!