Join Books.org — it's free

Science Fiction & Fantasy Films
From Hobbits To Hollywood by Ernest Mathijs β€” book cover

From Hobbits To Hollywood

by Ernest Mathijs (Editor), Murray Pomerance
Available on Bookshop Write a review

Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

Log in to track your reading progress.

Overview

Peter Jackson's film version of The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) is the grandest achievement of 21st century cinema so far. But it is also linked to topical and social concerns including war, terrorism, and cultural imperialism. Its style, symbols, narrative, and structure seem always already linked to politics, cultural definition, problems of cinematic style, and the elemenal mythologies that most profoundly capture our imaginations.

From Hobbits to Hollywood: Essays on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings treats Jackson's trilogy as having two conditions of existence: an aesthetic and a political. Like other cultural artefacts, it leads a double life as objet d'art and public statement about the world, so that nothing in it is ever just cinematically beautiful or tasteful, and nothing is ever just a message or an opinion.

Written by leading scholars in the study of cinema and culture From Hobbits to Hollywood gives Jackson's trilogy the fullest scholarly interrogation to date. Ranging from interpretations of The Lord of the Rings' ideological and philosophical implications, through discussions of its changing fandoms and its incorporation into the Hollywood industry of stars, technology, genre, and merchandising, to considerations of CGI effects, acting, architecture and style, the essays contained here open a new vista of criticism and light, for ardent fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, followers of Jackson, and all those who yearn for a deeper appreciation of cinema and its relation to culture.

Contributors:
Martin Barker, Jennifer Brayton, James Buhler, Tom Conley, Ian Conrich, Sean Cubitt, Cynthia Fuchs, Krin Gabbard, Ken Gelder, Ruth Goldberg, Tom Gunning, Douglas Kellner, Kostis Kourelis, Sarah Kozloff, Ernest Mathijs, Lianne McLarty, Jerry Mosher, Murray Pomerance, Kirsten Moana Thompson, Steven Woodward.

Murray Pomerance is Professor in Sociology, Ryerson University (Canada)
Ernest Mathijs is Assistant Professor of Film and Theatre Studies, University of British Columbia (Canada)

Synopsis

Peter Jackson's film version of The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) is the grandest achievement of 21st century cinema so far. But it is also linked to topical and social concerns including war, terrorism, and cultural imperialism. Its style, symbols, narrative, and structure seem always already linked to politics, cultural definition, problems of cinematic style, and the elemenal mythologies that most profoundly capture our imaginations.

From Hobbits to Hollywood: Essays on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings treats Jackson's trilogy as having two conditions of existence: an aesthetic and a political. Like other cultural artefacts, it leads a double life as objet d'art and public statement about the world, so that nothing in it is ever just cinematically beautiful or tasteful, and nothing is ever just a message or an opinion.

Written by leading scholars in the study of cinema and culture From Hobbits to Hollywood gives Jackson's trilogy the fullest scholarly interrogation to date. Ranging from interpretations of The Lord of the Rings' ideological and philosophical implications, through discussions of its changing fandoms and its incorporation into the Hollywood industry of stars, technology, genre, and merchandising, to considerations of CGI effects, acting, architecture and style, the essays contained here open a new vista of criticism and light, for ardent fans of J.R.R. Tolkien, followers of Jackson, and all those who yearn for a deeper appreciation of cinema and its relation to culture.

Contributors:
Martin Barker, Jennifer Brayton, James Buhler, Tom Conley, Ian Conrich, Sean Cubitt, Cynthia Fuchs, Krin Gabbard, Ken Gelder, Ruth Goldberg, TomGunning, Douglas Kellner, Kostis Kourelis, Sarah Kozloff, Ernest Mathijs, Lianne McLarty, Jerry Mosher, Murray Pomerance, Kirsten Moana Thompson, Steven Woodward.

Murray Pomerance is Professor in Sociology, Ryerson University (Canada)
Ernest Mathijs is Assistant Professor of Film and Theatre Studies, University of British Columbia (Canada)

Reviews

There are no reviews yet. Log in to write one.

Book Details

Published
July 1, 2006
Publisher
Rodopi
Pages
428
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9789042020627

More by Ernest Mathijs

Similar books