Introduction
This is it, folks. The last in a long series of reviews. *listens to the sighs of relief and grins* I’m not going to bother with the suspense about which book/movie will get torn to moral pieces by me wordeses, but if you’ve paid any attention to the series you’ve probably picked up on what it will be. I’ve promised it a few times, not to mention already scattered hints about it in this post.
*coughs*
ANYway, behold: the introduction.
I’ve been trying to go through the five Ws for this series on discernment: what discernment is, he negatives of indiscernment (which is definitely a word, thank you very much, AutoCorrect), how to discern (I KNOW IT’S AN H BUT IT’S SUPPOSEDLY PART OF THE FIVE Ws GROUP!), and when and where you should discern. I didn’t think there was any way I could incorporate a “who” into this.
I was wrong.
*wipes forehead* There! I said it!
Anywho, the great Mr. O’Brian (find his blog here) pointed out that there is a who element behind discernment – our most holy Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word he’s given us. In his own words, “The best discernment comes when we… study scripture to filter what we take in through a biblical worldview, instructed by the Holy Spirit.” (*hopes it’s ok to quote you*)
And you know what?
He hit the nail on the head.
Discernment does nothing for you if you aren’t discerning with a biblical foundation behind it. Most human beings consider murder wrong, so when a protagonist (main character for those of you who don’t know writer gobbledygook) commits cold-blooded murder and it’s seen in a positive light, we would say that was a wrong action and this character has skewed morals.
But beyond that, Jesus says that “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22 ESV)
Ouch.
What about this one? ““You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28 ESV)
Double-ouch.
How many times have we read books or watched movies where the main character hates the villain with all of his being, who calls him an idiot for attempting to take over the world? Jesus says that this character we love so much and cry over and look up to is liable to the fire of hell.
Now don’t get me wrong – this is sometimes a good thing. After all, the vast majority of main characters are human and therefore fallen beings in a broken world. They’re going to do things wrong. Besides that, we’re ALL liable to the hell of fire no matter if it’s ’cause we insulted our bro or not. But when it’s considered admirable to hate is when things get rocky.
I know I’m kinda going on a rant here, but this is an important subject and I want to get one more thing off my chest before I go any further. After all, if I’m gonna lose followers, might as well be now instead of later. 😉
*hears the gulps*
Guys, besides just aligning your discernment up with the Bible, you need to also listen to the Holy Spirit. This is the “Who” behind discernment, the one who’s helping you keep things straight and making you jump in fear every time you think someone’s opening the door to your bedroom while you’re reading or watching something you know wouldn’t be approved of.
I’m not meaning to rail on anyone or send ’em on a guilt trip. I’m guilty of this too. So know that I’m preaching to myself as much as to the rest of you. 😉
I don’t want to tell you how the Holy Spirit will work in you. In the words of David, his ways are “too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” I’m just a little bit of dust with the breath of God flowing through my body and keeping me alive (y’all should take a minute and read Job 34:14-15 – it’s a really cool idea!), so who am I to know the way he works.
So.
Example.
Actually, two of those.
First of all, I’ll get the one out that’ll offend some of you (I’m sure).
Harry Potter.
How many Harry Potter fans are visiting this corner of the internet? *watches hands raise* Then prepare to get mad at me, ’cause I’m about to trash it.
Lemme tell you a story. King Saul was the first king over Israel. He was a pretty good king – led Israel to victory after victory, worshipped God, was apparently a really tall dude – but towards the end he did something that made God really mad.
He visited a diviner and talked with the spirits of the dead.
Creepy, right?
Yeah. Not a good idea.
I’m going to warn you that I haven’t read Harry Potter (and don’t want to, so don’t try and convince me), so I have no clue if there’s any spirit-talking and necromancy going on in there. But the whole story is about wizardry. Witchcraft. Evil.
I’ve also heard that the spells in the movie, at least, are real. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that creeps me out and makes me really mad that people are teaching kids that kind of junk.
*coughs*
Anyway, J.K. Rowling has admitted that she wrote Harry Potter via channeling someone named Janet.
Still like those books? Knowing that they’re written with the help of some dead person?
I’m not joking. This is serious stuff, guys.
[Later edit: I double-checked my source on this, and while the source is reliable, I couldn’t find anything on it. If you look for stuff with J.K. Rowling, pretty much every single video is either news about how she won’t have a cameo in the next movie, or people being annoyed with how she was against transgender stuff.So. Don’t take this for fact. It could very well be a rumor. All the same, I don’t want to read Harry Potter if people are even suspicious of that.]
Ok, moving on from that to the next example, a book I have actually read: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George.
I loved this book and its counterparts the first time I read it. Galen, Rose, the plot, the setting – all of it was vibrant and stimulated my imagination like no book I’d ever read before.
See, but what I didn’t get at the time was how… off this book is. First and foremost, witchcraft is considered a good thing. In fact, the main character learns a bit of witchcraft so he can stop the villain.
🤨
Another thing is that it was an action/adventure-romance, which means that the main characters fell in love and all this mushy stuff happened and blah blah blah. The whole plot focused around the villain luring twelve princesses into his kingdom to be brides for his twelve sons (it’s based off of the fairy tale of the Twelve Dancing Princesses). Not going to go into the details, but basically the queen mother wanted kids so bad that she visited this wizard so he could do magic on her and get her pregnant. He wanted brides for his sons, so he made sure that they were girls every time.
More than a little creepy.
Beyond that, though, any time someone mentions reading this book I get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I get scared, honestly. And I’ve learned not to ignore that feeling.
To be completely and totally transparent with you, I wouldn’t touch that book again to save my life. The feeling’s that bad. I have it now as I write this.
I’ve felt this a few times before, usually when I’m doing something wrong. I don’t think it’s just me or my imagination. I’ll wager several of you who’re reading this know what I’m talking about. Don’t ignore it.
Anywho. *sigh* I guess this introduction ended up being more of a main body. XD Fitting finish?
*glances at your skeptical, bored looks*
But now that that’s over and done with, time to move on to the critiquing!
If you’ve guessed that I’m gonna review J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, you’re totally right! *bell dings* *hands you a chocolate milkshake as a prize* But the bigger question is this: am I gonna review the books or the movies?
You may have noticed a pattern during this series. The first review was of KOTLC, which is a book. Then there was The Croods, a movie. Then The Wingfeather Saga – book – and Pirates of the Caribbean. Movie.
“Aha!” you say. “I see the pattern! It’s books, isn’t it?”
Well…
No.
That was the original plan, but as I got closer to my deadline *cough* today *cough cough*, I realized that I didn’t have time to re-read the series and make sure I have my facts right. Neither do I have time to re-watch the movies.
So I’m going with what I remember more – the movies.
The Lord of the Rings produced by New Line Cinema
(Also, there might maybe be spoilers in here. So beware. I’ll make sure the spoilers are alerted, but just sayin’.😉)
These are some of my favorite movies of all time. Not gonna lie, they did scare me the first time I watched them. Mostly ’cause Peter Jackson, the director, did such a good job making it all realistic and flowy and real and terrifying and realistic (did I mention that one already?). Not to mention I have a vivid imagination. (MORIA AHHHH!!) *coughs*
But, all in all, I still marvel at Tolkien’s ingenious plot. I’ve learned a lot about the writing craft over the years, and with each new piece of information I have more and more jaw-drops as I look at the books and the movies.
That said, there are some nasties here that should be mentioned.
(Also, keep in mind that I haven’t seen the movies in over six months and I’ve only seen them like three times. So this is probably incomplete.)
Content
Pros:
No language that I can remember. There may be a few British cuss words here and there, but nothing serious.
No other religions outside of Christianity.
Cons:
Violence. Oh my word the violence. Yeah, I get that this is a war. But did it have to be that… bloody? With those sound effects? Maybe I’m just squeamish – never mind, I take that back. I AM squeamish. 😉
Sexual junk – mostly just some kissing and implications, along with a love triangle. There are some great messages on love that I’ll get to later, but I’ll just point out that one of the most pure species on Middle-earth is kissing quite a bit before she’s married.
Magic. I mean two of the main characters are wizards. However, there are valid arguments both for “this is bad” and “this is good”. To summarize those, it’s bad because the Bible is clearly against witchcraft (SKIMMERS! Go read the introduction!), and good because Tolkien himself said that they aren’t actually wizards, that’s just what the people of Middle-earth named them. Plus they’re getting their power from the Valar (angelic-like beings) instead of demonic sources. *shrugs* Everyone has their own opinions on this.
There is some drinking and smoking. To be fair, back in Tolkien’s day smoking wasn’t considered bad or harmful. So. But there is a scene in the extended version of the movies where Legolas and Gimli have a contest to see who can down the most ale and still be standing. (Spoiler: Gimli loses)
Messages
Pros:
Resist temptation – this is probably the most obvious one. The One Ring tempts Frodo non-stop throughout the story and he has to resist it in order to survive. We see the results of giving in to its temptation in Gollum and Bilbo, (SPOILER ALERT!!) and internally (or externally, in my case) groan when Frodo succumbs to the same fate. (SPOILER END!!) The message is clear and powerful.
Stand against evil – oh man I love this message, and LOTR is one of the greatest examples of this other. As the wise gardener Mr. Gamgee put it, “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” … Enough said.
Be loyal to your country – time after time it’s the hope of saving the Shire that keeps Frodo moving one step forward at a time. And when (SPOILER ALERT!!) Frodo and Sam face their deaths in Mordor after the deed is done, it’s the Shire they think about. (SPOILER END!!) It drives them to victory… or not. *wink*
Work hard – Ok, for any of you who have seen the movie, you know how much work this monumental task Frodo has took. You see his dirty face, his tears and laughter, and how his weary muscles just can’t go any further. If you’re like me, you’re inspired by his perseverance.
Hope – There is always hope. In the darkest circumstances, most evil places, in face of the most horrible, bone-chilling, hopeless situation, there’s still hope out there. Somewhere. Never give up.
Cons:
Since I couldn’t for the life of me figure out any con messages (although I know there’s probably at least one), I’m gonna use this slot to see how much you’re paying attention. If you are, type the word bobance (which is a real word, I found out) into the comments. 😉
Morals
Pros:
Courage – man oh man oh man is this a big one. I gotta say that I would be the type of person to completely lose it and scream my heart out (quite possibly literally) in half of the situations the Fellowship get themselves into. *coughMoriaShelobPathsoftheDeadcough* Yet the characters display a resilient bravery that has me in awe of their guts. Not to mention the battles they race into without a moment’s thought.
Persistence – Samwise Gamgee (my personal favorite, although Aragorn cuts a close second) has a whole speech he gives Frodo about how you only hear about heroes who win because the heroes who give up never get their stories told. He’s constantly urging Frodo to keep going, to not give up. And they don’t. Even when Frodo literally cannot walk another step he crawls. Now that’s commitment.
Kindness and courtesy – aside from the villains, really the only person who’s mean is Gandalf, and his words are half-jokes anyway and usually meant for comic relief. True, Sam is less-than-kind to Gollum, but who can blame him? On that thread, though, Frodo shows amazing kindness and mercy to a creature most of us would kill the instant we laid eyes on him. That’s one of the most honorable traits I see in the entirety of the movies.
Loyalty – Samwise. Need I say more? Although, there is that one scene where Merry and Pippin plunge headfirst into a dangerous mission – quest – thing – without considering the consequences first, just because they want to go with Frodo. *applauds*
Sacrifice – although not as obvious as some of the others, two someones at some points gave up their lives to save some other peoples’ in a final act of heroism. I really hope y’all understood my code. XD (SPOILER WARNING!! Hint: one’s name starts with a G, and the other with a B. SPOILER END!!)
More – not getting into the specifics, but here’s few more I saw: love, compassion, gentleness, responsibility, and diligence.
Cons:
Erm… Drinking? Does that even count in this section? *shrugs and points up to the Content: Cons part*
Meanness – I can’t think of another word for this right now, so I’m going with it. 😀 Anyway, Sam is really kinda cruel to Gollum/Smeagol throughout the whole story. He calls him names, treats him with disrespect, and even hits him once or twice (though with instigation – he keeps a pretty tight rein on his temper for the most part). Gandalf is mean in a funny way to Pippin, who takes it humorously.
Impurity – Aragorn and Arwen aren’t married, but they still kiss. A lot. It’s obvious that they love each other, and anyone who read the extra info in the books (and understood it – not me XD) knows that they held off for 50 years – YEARS – after “falling in love” to get married. But still. *frown*
Wrap Up
LOTR is a great story. The ending to it (which I won’t spoil) is probably my most favorite ending to any story of all time. The plot is probably the most worthy of amazement (especially once you know the dos and don’ts of writercraft), although his worldbuilding is seriously impressive and his characters in-depth.
So yeah. Read the books and watch the movies. I would suggest reading the books first, though. 😉
Also, thanks so much for sticking with me through this loooooooonnnnnggggg series (and thanks again to Catherine the Thwapling for the idea!). I enjoyed each and every moment and not having to come up with a topic for the next week’s post. XD All of your guys’ support means so much to little ol’ me, so thanks for that! (On a side-note, we’ve reached 40 followers! *parties*)
Another thing I should mention is that I’ve been thinking about sending out two posts a week – one on Monday about writing, and one on either Wednesday or Saturday that is a story. Think that’s a good idea or are you sick of me? XD
And, as a final word, I’m so so so so so sorry about getting this post out a day late. Someone *cough cough* who shall not be named *cough cough* went to bed last night thinking she’d hit the publish button, then got up this morning and realized she hadn’t. So. Ahem.
Anywho (yay, four paragraphs in a row that start with A!), take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth. 😉
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