The White Council

Re: The movies and the pop-culturization of Middle Earth

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : What we have not seen is Colonel Harlan Sanders giving advice to the Taco Bell Chihuahua on whether to toss the One Chulapa into the fiery Volcano while the Pizza Hut boy does battle with a horde of Orcs. That kind of media hype is yet to be seen. But Tolkien merchandising has been out there and you really don't have to have been involved in fandom to have seen it. There have been calendars, videos, games, figurines, comics, songs, movies...you name it. It's been done. It just hasn't attracted Pepsico's attention yet.

: I guess we really don't disagree. My question for everyone is: when Pizza Hut/Pepsico, and all the others notice Tolkien, and when everyone (I mean EVERYONE, tens of millions of people , not just the 20% or so of the public that reads books of any kind) is desperate to see the movies and buy the junk; will anyone else feel weird? I mean isn't it like having a secret getaway cottage in the woods, and next time you go there it is a mega-resort with it's own highway offramp? (I must admit, whenever I bring this subject up, I don't find anyone who thinks like me, I either get silence or just seem to confuse people!)

I understand what you're saying completely. But your fears have been raised before - even in the early 1960's. Readers who "discovered" Tolkien early on enjoyed belonging to a sort of secret club, where only a handful of fellow Tolkien lovers met and used Elvish words and names. A friend of mine used to write his girlfriend in Elvish (can't remember if it was Quenya or Sindarin script). So there was some trepidation about how popular Tolkien had become on campuses throughout the USA. The tide finally did wane a bit, though the calendars, figurines and games have continued - evidently being popular enough to make a profit. But once again we are on the verge of new wave - where multiple millions of dollars are at stake. Every major motion picture now defrays its cost with merchandising tie-ins. In some films that means the lead character is actually seen drinking a Coke or Pepsi on screen. Fortunately I don't think we have to worry about that type of sales pitch. But we can assume that major corporations will be invited to invest in the film. Who will join? Don't know. But Tolkien is still considered family entertainment and companies like that. Most major corporations will WANT to be linked to such a film if it is a smash hit. Will it be a hit? Well, that depends on how big the Tolkien fan base really is. The baby boomers are nostalgic, and many will want to see this film, even though they are not "active" fans - like us. I'm a boomer myself, and am sort of inbetween those who read Tolkien once - enjoyed it, but never read it again, and those that re-read it every few months and buy (and study) all the HoME books. I must admit I'm a bit turned of by the HoME series - with so many variations on the evolution of Tolkien's work. But at the same time I'm intensely interested in the gems that pop out for those who do read these books. So while I don't have the time or inclination to study Tolkien, I do appreciate those that do and share snippets of information.