August 22, 2002

The Mind of a Fan: To Faramir the Brave
Goldie-Locks

Hello Faramir, this is in response to your fan clarification article. My intention wasn't to 'snub' your opinion, it was merely to disagree with your argument in defense of those who might feel a little intimidated by the more knowledgable fandom that tends to linger around these sites. However, now that you've specified a little more about what you meant, I can indeed see the reason behind it. Those little cackling 12 & 13 year old girls who only wish to once more look upon Legolas cannot be fans of Tolkien. They are fans of 'whatever-his-name-is' that played Legolas.

Faramir, you are correct in your assumptions about me, but I am only a fan of the Trilogy, and I love and respect Tolkien for writing such a work. I have yet to discover any real beauty in the Simarillion or the Hobbit. They both bore me to death, and have lead me to ignore other works of Tolkien. Forgive me. The Trilogy is enough for me. I had never read it until May of 2001. I walked into a very large movie theater that month to see a much anticipated let-down called 'Pearl Harbor.' They had the usual slew of trailers before the movie, which for the most part I ignored, yet there was one that came up that litterally dropped my jaw. Yes, it was the fellowship trailer, the one in which we hear Gollum's voice. I was captivated, I was moved, and I was terrified. Something inside me turned over and over, restless, and the movie that followed seemed as though it had not even happened. The Fellowship trailer was far better than the 2 & 1/2 hour epic sleeper of WW2.

The very next month I found a copy of LOTR and began reading it. Needless to say I couldn't stop. It was an unquenchable thirst. As my lungs needed air, I needed to read that book. Legends from my childhood about a book that I could never understand now stood before me in reality, becoming a part of my life, becoming a part of me. Something I knew that was loved by millions was now unveiling itself before my very eyes, not only in written word, but in film also.

Film. This is true art in all its forms, placed together as one. Photography, artwork, painting, acting, music, theater, ...all into one single peice of work. The most complex and intricate peice of art to construct.

So in a way Faramir, I am a fan spawned by the advent of the film Trilogy, yet I know that it was a mere bridge for me to discover the books, and to re-discover something that was denied me during childhood in fear that I might misunderstand it. I read the books in one month, and am still going back and re-reading. They are arguably the best books ever written. Even on the technical side, when compared to other authors, none can instil the same type of fear and emotion in his reader that Tolkien can.

Some of the changes were drastic, but I accepted them. It's exciting to see this event in history unfold itself. A film trilogy that's 6 years in the making. It's wonderful. And although the books will always remain better in my heart, it comes down to this: They are books, and this is a movie, which are two separate entities. They expose one another. In time perhaps those "little" fans or those cackling 12 year olds drooling over Legolas will come to discover exacltly what I have..... True magic.