Ringers “Lord of the fans”

[Alkanoonion]

Ringers “Lord of the fans”

A friend of mine just sent me a documentary DVD film Ringers “Lord of the fans”

The film talks a lot about the start of the “Ringer” movement and how hippie culture influenced many people in the world to start reading and following Tolkien.

Also mentioned are a lot of famous musicians and actors who have been influenced by Tolkien, lol at one stage in the film you can see Leonard Nimoy performing The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins, I laughed so hard at the dancers and Nimoy that it hurt.

If you see the movie in the shop, get it.

[The Might]

Well actually if I remember correctly what I was once read, Tolkien wasn't very supportive of the hippie movement, I think he didn't like them, he became more and more suspicious of emerging fandom, especially the hippie movement.

[MatthewM]

I think "The Might" is right, I remember reading the same thing. I have the film, but I do not like it much. It's rather weird.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

He had rather mixed feelings about what he called his 'deplorable cultus.' In 1968 he wrote to his son Michael about

"the behaviour of modern youth, part of which is inspired by admirable motives such as anti-regimentation, and anti-drabness, a sort of lurking romantic longing for 'cavaliers', and is not necessarily allied to the drugs or the cults of faineance and filth."

All the same, he could still comment to Auden about fan-clubs,

"Real lunatics don't join them, I think. But still such things fill me with alarm and despondency."

In an interview, being diplomatic, he would nonetheless observe that

"Art moves [American youth] and they don't know what they've been moved by and they get quite drunk on it. Many young Americans are involved in the stories in a way that I'm not."

Late in life he would be even more forceful, commenting about "intelligent and well-equipped readers" at least not being

"a soil in which the fungus-growth of cults is likely to arise. The horrors of the American scene I will pass over, though they have given me great distress and labour (they arise in an entirely different mental climate and soil, polluted and impoverished...)"

[Lush]

*cough*

So, having watched "Ringers" recently, here's what I have to say:

Movies that are made "by the fans for the fans" are generally kinda tame. There's just not that much interesting stuff in "Ringers" specifically. There's lots of padding, in fact (I got the point when the hippie chick started dancing the first time around, goshdarnit).

I think a really cool film about Tolkien fans can be made, but it would have to focus on the good, and the bad, and the plain awkward. It would have to include flame-wars. It would have to include crazy people stalking Orlando Bloom (I'm totally not one of those people, stop grinning). It would have to be made by someone who can at least detach himself or herself from the scene. It doesn't mean they have to be a non-fan, or merely a clinical observer, but that they look at the project the way the people behind "Trekkies" looked at theirs.

You know what I'd pay for? To see a (metaphoric... maybe) cage-fight between someone like davem and one of my old academic acquaintances with a penchant for Tolkien.

As it stands, "Ringers" struck me as very sweet. It certainly achieves its own aims. But I am still waiting for that great documentary on Tolkien fans.

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Lush

You know what I'd pay for? To see a (metaphoric... maybe) cage-fight between someone like davem and one of my old academic acquaintances with a penchant for Tolkien.

You sort your end out and I'll sort davem out for it

I wrote a review (of sorts) of Ringers somewhere on the Downs. I was a bit disappointed by it, really. All those stupid linking sequences really irritated me (it was like watching a YouTube remake of an Austin Powers dance sequence) and I thought the film makers focussed far too much on the films. What was very frustrating was they'd plainly been to Oxonmoot to interview Colin Duriez and Chris Crawshaw but never bothered to talk to any ordinary punters there - did they think they were too boring or were they just frightened when they saw people doing the Springle Ring?

Still, it 'filled up the corners'. There can't be enough Tolkien documentaries really. The best one bar none is JRRT A Film Portrait of JRR Tolkien, which is completely superb but not available now for many years; there is also an old BBC Omnibus one which is also very good, and earlier this year was the BBC4 documentary on Tolkien and Peake which was decent, too. Not much that's great about Fandom though. However, Ringers was the first 'go' at this and maybe there will be more with the coming of The Hobbit film?

[MatthewM]

William - I have read these quotes before. What does everybody think Tolkien meant that "young Americans are involved in the stories in a way I am not"? That's kind of odd and I don't rightfully understand what he means by it. Does he mean the whole drug thing associated with the hippy movement?

Answers?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by MatthewM

William - I have read these quotes before. What does everybody think Tolkien meant that "young Americans are involved in the stories in a way I am not"? That's kind of odd and I don't rightfully understand what he means by it. Does he mean the whole drug thing associated with the hippy movement?

Answers?

Good question. I think he means the way that they created a 'cult' and basically acted like fanboys, wandering about wearing cloaks and pretending to be Gandalf.

He'd have a fit these days

Though I don't think he would have approved too much of the linking of his work with the less savoury aspects of the hippy years, and even though I'm a music fan, I'm not sure he'd have thought that much of Led Zep!

Does anyone else think he was a little uncharitable towards his American fans? Or was it just the grumbling of an aging man?