Can Middle-earth survive the commercialization of Tolkien? - Page 3
© Michael Martinez
When the inevitable commercials start slipping into our television sets and radios, will we revile Middle-earth the way the Pre-Empire Republic has been castigated? Will a whole new generation of fans grow up knowing Middle-earth only from Jackson's movies and whatever associated books and magazines accompany them? Will The Making of Middle-earth become the bible for a new generation of researchers and experts?
Inevitably fandom is headed for a new round of Tolkien wars. For years purists have been chiding gamers for using Iron Crown Enterprises' game materials as a basis for discussing Tolkien's world (ICE advises their customers to refer to all the Tolkien books as the final authorities on any Middle-earth topic). Fans of David Day and Ruth Noel reel in shock when they mention their fondness for these authors' unauthorized books only to find themselves silenced by the overwhelming criticism and rebuke that purists hold in reserve for any mention of the Forbidden Names.
It is difficult to distinguish between hard-core fans and casual fans when it comes to Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings has been published in more than 30 languages and has sold more than 80,000,000 copies world-wide. If I'm walking down the street and I start chanting "XE-NA! XE-NA!" people may still look at me like I'm weird, but if I yell out, "Are there any hobbits in the crowd?" many people will know precisely what I'm referring to. Xenites think Xena is big. Tolkien is bigger. Science fiction and fantasy fans think Lucas stole the thunder with STAR WARS, but Tolkien owns the thunder and it's still in his pocket.
Everyone pays homage to Tolkien in some way. I was sitting in a fast-food restaurant's children's area one day and heard a man call his daughter over to him. "Arwen!" He couldn't help but notice my surprise look, so I asked him if she was named for the character in the book. "Sort of," he told me. "My wife is Welsh and Arwen is a Welsh name, so she was willing to accept the name." It's a small Middle-earth after all.
When people try to strike up a conversation with me about fantasy and science fiction, and they have no real interest in the genres, I often hear some comment about dragons and elves. Now, Tolkien didn't invent them, but he seems to be the first author since the poet who composed "Beowulf" to have something new to say about dragons. All modern dragons seem to owe something to the Chinese culture, Beowulf, and Tolkien.
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