Vaderisnothayden said:
I've already made it very clear that I'm not talking about that kind of sending a message. I spelled it out repeatedly in three posts.

Got it.

Also note, getting offended by a supposed work of art being turned into a preachy political pamphlet is not about whether you're offended by the message itself, it's about being offended by that being done to a would-be work of art with any sort of message.

I wasn't speaking of you directly, by the way. I'll edit my post accordingly.

Preaching is not what art is about.

That's the artists' choice to make. It's our choice whether to listen or not.

For the record, I agree with your position on being preached to through art. I don't dig it either. In fact, I find an artist's assumption that I'll sit captive, without the ability to respond, to be insulting. It's for that very reason that I did not go see District 9. I also stopped watching Family Guy for that same reason (although I was never really a big fan anyway). An occasional dig, fine. Bully pulpit, absolutely not - regardless of my stance on the issue. I have no interest in one-sided conversations.

Also, just so I'm clear about this - I don't have strong feelings one way or another for Tolkien or his work. He was certainly free to classify his work however he wanted to. He knew for sure. The truth is, however, that nearly all of it has been a stand in for early 20th Century England - whether it was his intent of not - because it lends itself to it very well.

Personally, I find his work tedious to read. Everything has a new and unnecessarily complex or vaguely familiar name. It's like reading an Ikea catalog - it's not a lamp, it's a Vorkning.

When I was a kid, The Hobbit & Lord Of The Rings were The books to read. You just Had To. An early indicator of my distaste for being bullied or pressured - I didn't read them until many years later.