In short, all I can ask is...what in the world is happening to our readers? I assume levels of ignorance such as this have existed throughout the years, but it seems to me that the ability to flaunt it has only increased with time. Aging, I suppose, like the stinkiest of fancy cheeses that connoisseurs think everyone should like, but really, everyone just wonders why it is they keep eating cheese that smells like feet...
So, we have this stinky cheese here. You'd think whoever wrote this would do some research before opening up his mouth (or rather typing away). You see some similarities between a book you read and a movie you saw? Hmmm, well, wouldn't it be interesting for you to go to google and type in the author's name, and see who it is who actually came first.
The archetypes and similarities between Harry Potter, for instance, and Lord of the Rings, could be listed with interest. Every book has something in common with something else-- it's the way stories go. For example, in "The Two Towers", Faramir calls Sauron "he who we do not name". Sound familiar to Harry Potter's "he who must not be named"? Some people could call this ripping off, but wait until you find out if J.K. Rowling even read Tolkien's works before she wrote Harry Potter. If she did, well, she was influenced. Perhaps she made a tangible choice to use something along those lines. Authors do it-- and don't tell me, if you're a writer, that you haven't read something or seen something or heard something and thought, oooh, I have to use something like that! Then usually you promptly forget and it shows up in your work anyway by subconscious decision and you think you came up with it all on your own until you see the original later and think dang.
Of course, there is always the possibility, also, that Rowling never did read Tolkien (which would be a great shame) and the similarities are merely coincidences or based on the cultural and psychological building block of fantasy that has been growing and evolving in this country since fantasy and fairy tales were created, both here in their own ways and abroad in their origins. They're nothing new-- go back to the ancient myths and legends and you'll find they have nothing to do with Disney princesses. You'll find fierce and beautiful Tuatha de Dannan from Ireland and decide you probably don't want to run away with a cute little fairy who is possibly going to eat you in the next second. You'll find Djinn from India and Kaonashi from Japan. Changelings and dangerous parallel worlds galore.
If Rowling never did read Tolkien, it's entirely possible that she made all these links and connections with his work completely oblivious. I've done this myself-- I thought I made up a name, or altered a known name into a different one, only to find years later that it was the exact name of a character in an Anne Rice book. I'd never read that book before, so I was making the connection backwards. I had not been influenced by Anne Rice, and I certainly did not rip her off. But the same name was used.
This person seen up above...I can't really quite comprehend. Not only does the writer not know that Tolkien wrote the Hobbit first (something the writer criticizes Tolkien for not doing) before continuing on to Lord of the Rings, and in good, long time before Rowling even conceived of Harry Potter, but he clearly doesn't know that Tolkien has been dead for 40 years. Hm. That will sort of put a damper on him making an appearance on the DVD.
Besides, many authors write prequels after their main series. What is so wrong with that?
But truly, I'm mostly constraining myself around the line "Tolkien, that unoriginal, stupid idiot"...
Deep breaths...
In a world where information is merely a click away (I remember having to do everything via encyclopedia, guys) how could you not cross check your information before doing a fail-rant against one of the most beloved storytellers and world-weavers of this century? Twenty years went into the writings of Lord of the Rings, and it's endurance and life in this new century attests to its power.
I rather think the words 'stupid idiot' could be reassigned, here...
Nicely Written. That review tends to make my blood want to boil and you've managed to come up with a brilliantly well-worded response, as opposed to my own wordless rage.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I was rather stunned upon seeing it, myself. And you just don't insult Tolkien. My initial reaction was a very complex face-palm combined with an "oh no you didn't!" ; )
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