Lord of the Rings: Motivations for Fandom

New blog on the kid: Tolkien's Politics · I Thought That Decree Was by Franco · Why I am Not Capitalist or for Unrestricted Free Market · Assorted retorts from yahoo boards and elsewhere: Tolkien Supported Franco's Side in the 36—39 War · Prince Caspian · Lord of the Rings: Motivations for Fandom · Tolkienophobes, Buzz Off! · Tolkienophobe Identified? · J D Vance-Phobes? · Crooks' (or Yearick's?) Body Gone · Sharing On The Shooting

Question: How many times have you watched all three Lord of the Rings movies? What is the reason for watching them multiple times?
https://www.quora.com/How-many-times-have-you-watched-all-three-Lord-of-the-Rings-movies-What-is-the-reason-for-watching-them-multiple-times/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl-1

Hans-Georg Lundahl

avid reader back when I had better sleep than now

13.IX.2024

I’m a fan of the books, far less of the films.

I haven’t seen The Two Towers at all.
I have seen The Fellowship and The Return once each, in someone’s home (and I missed parts when going to the toilet) and then on cinema, when it was released in Sweden.

Now, what is the reason for reading the books multiple times?

As with the Seven Chronicles of Narnia, they (and prequels) basically embody my ideal of the literature called Fantasy. While I like Lloyd Alexander too, I have felt less urge to reread him.

To the question, more directly, beauty. Beauty of landscapes, of morals, of outcomes (unexpectedly good outcomes when hope seemed lost). The opposites, ugliness of each, is there too, as a contrast.

And wisdom. Someone else has quoted “He deserved death? I dare say he did. Many who are dead deserved to live, can you give them back their lives? If not, do not be eager to deal out death” …

Or “right and wrong are not one thing yesteryear and one this year, nor are they one thing among men and one among elves” … (or, from the same dialogue, the pointing out that real things, like earth, are the matter of legends, “legendary” doesn’t automatically mean fictional).

Or, with my hatred of certain modern crooks, the words of Gimli to Saruman “in Orthanc, help means ruin and friendship means slavery” … fancy words and ideologies of “care” don’t change the grim realities of certain interferences.