Originally posted by: C3PX
I don't think Tolkien gave a flying donkey for the rules of story telling. But as for Bombadil being the Jar Jar of The Lord of the Rings, keep in mind that Bombadil lasted for little more than one chapter, not the entire story. And for the time he was in the story he contributed a great deal by aiding the traveling Hobbits. Unlike Jar Jar, who is merely just there and contributes nothing to anyone but yet manages to be in nearly every scene of the film. I never heard too many people complaining about old Tom until after the movies came out, then suddenly he became a gay and annoying character that was cool to hate. Tolkien often side tracked and spent some time on a side character, or sometimes on a character that has nothing to do with the story at all, such as the moments where he goes into a tangent about some historical figure. If you are not into that sort of thing, you can't truely appreciate the brilliance of Tolkien's work, that is why I always say Tolkien is not for everyone. He doesn't conform to the rules of story telling, he probably breaks just about every one of them, but yet his works never goes out of print and have held a huge fan base ever since the very beginning.
Lucas broke plenty of rules too, and in all fairness, his work has a pretty decent sized fan base too. Though I am very interesting to see how SW is fairing in ten - twenty years.
Originally posted by: MJR80
Given, other storytellers, such as Tolkien, have broken this rule as well (such is the case with Tom Bombadil, who I believe to be the Jar-Jar of LOTR). Tolkien was a master storyteller, but the character of Bombadil has been criticized much since his appearance. (Thank God Jackson cut him from the film.)
Given, other storytellers, such as Tolkien, have broken this rule as well (such is the case with Tom Bombadil, who I believe to be the Jar-Jar of LOTR). Tolkien was a master storyteller, but the character of Bombadil has been criticized much since his appearance. (Thank God Jackson cut him from the film.)
I don't think Tolkien gave a flying donkey for the rules of story telling. But as for Bombadil being the Jar Jar of The Lord of the Rings, keep in mind that Bombadil lasted for little more than one chapter, not the entire story. And for the time he was in the story he contributed a great deal by aiding the traveling Hobbits. Unlike Jar Jar, who is merely just there and contributes nothing to anyone but yet manages to be in nearly every scene of the film. I never heard too many people complaining about old Tom until after the movies came out, then suddenly he became a gay and annoying character that was cool to hate. Tolkien often side tracked and spent some time on a side character, or sometimes on a character that has nothing to do with the story at all, such as the moments where he goes into a tangent about some historical figure. If you are not into that sort of thing, you can't truely appreciate the brilliance of Tolkien's work, that is why I always say Tolkien is not for everyone. He doesn't conform to the rules of story telling, he probably breaks just about every one of them, but yet his works never goes out of print and have held a huge fan base ever since the very beginning.
Lucas broke plenty of rules too, and in all fairness, his work has a pretty decent sized fan base too. Though I am very interesting to see how SW is fairing in ten - twenty years.
I wasn't criticizing Tolkien; I was merely attempting to state that all storytellers sometimes break the "rules”, including the masters. I love Tolkien's work.
I should have been more articulate in what I was trying to say, but no harm done.
