A team of academic researchers from the University of Waikato (New Zealand) and Ryerson University (Canada) is currently conducting a major international research project exploring audience engagement with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey prior to the film’s release. The survey will remain open until the TH: AUJ general release begins to roll out on December 12.
You can help them out by completing their anonymous survey! (They say it takes around 30 minutes, and I discovered that was fairly accurate estimate.) Continue reading “Your views sought on Hobbit research project!”
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You may recall Emil Johansson as the brains behind the LOTRProject, which documents Middle-earth in numbers. Since Emil was eleven years old he has been passionate about J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. He’s also a photographer and engineering student. Here he performs a TEDtalk about how LOTRproject was a catalyst for his creativity and why people should pursue their geeky projects. Continue reading “LOTRProject creator gives TEDtalk”
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British artist John Cockshaw creates the most amazing artwork of the landscapes of Middle-earth using his imagination, and a love of landscapes and macro photography. TheOneRing.net spoke with John about the techniques and inspiration behind his moody and evocative pieces in this extended interview. Continue reading “The amazing Middle-earth art of John Cockshaw”
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The question of Tom Bombadil is one of the longest-running debates in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Of all the possible answers that have been thrown around, the suggestion that he could be Aule the smith — and Goldberry therefore Yavanna — seems to have unusual tenacity. Steuard Jensen, maintainer of the The Tolkien Newsgroups FAQ, explains in this detailed essay why it is a flawed theory.
This essay is an extension of his original essay What is Tom Bombadil? that specifically addresses the flaws in the Aule theory.
As Jensen himself writes:
In my full essay “What is Tom Bombadil”, I categorize the idea that he is the Vala Aule as a “theory with fatal flaws”. Although I believe my arguments there to be more than sufficient, many readers have considered them too brief and dismissive and claim instead that Gene Hargrove’s detailed and well written essay “Who is Tom Bombadil?” makes a compelling case that I have not refuted.
I have a great deal of respect for Hargrove’s writing; indeed, the desire to improve on his conclusions while doing justice to the quality of his article was one of my own motives in exploring the topic. I intentionally did not frame any portion of my essay explicitly as a refutation of his article because that felt far more negative and adversarial than I wanted to be. But as his flawed theory has continued to be very popular in the ten years since my essay appeared, it seems to be worth confronting the claim that Bombadil is Aule in detail. I will begin by collecting all of my arguments against it in one place (many taken directly from my full essay), and then I will address Hargrove’s arguments in its favor.
Essay: Why Bombadil cannot be Aule
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
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Welcome to our collection of TORn’s hottest topics for the past week. If you’ve fallen behind on what’s happening on the Message Boards, here’s a great way to catch the highlights. Or if you’re new to TORn and want to enjoy some great conversations, just follow the links to some of our most popular discussions. Watch this space as every weekend we will spotlight the most popular buzz on TORn’s Message Boards. Everyone is welcome, so come on in and join in the fun!
Continue reading “TORn Message Boards Weekly Roundup – November 4, 2012”
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As part of their series on fandom, Vulture has profiled our one and only Tehanu. They talk to her about the founding of TORn, her famous banning from the sets, the resultant meeting between TORn and the movie makers, her views on The Hobbit films and what she’s doing now.
You can read the whole article here
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A team of academic researchers from the University of Waikato (New Zealand) and Ryerson University (Canada) is currently conducting a major international research project exploring audience engagement with The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey prior to the film’s release. The survey will remain open until the TH: AUJ general release begins to roll out on December 12. 