Although it is a magical world created by Tolkien, many realistic projections of Western culture can be found in "The Hobbit"—especially the cultural elements of the Christian Bible, which are still lurking in the soil of Middle-earth. : The main story of The Hobbit is the legendary experience of the wizard Gandalf, the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, and 13 dwarves on a journey to defeat the dragon and restore the dwarven kingdom (Dwarf Dragon Slaying Team) It consists of 13 people, which is a symbolic number in Christianity). Tolkien’s dwarves are almost a copy of the Israelites described in the Bible. The dwarf kingdom at the foot of the Lonely Mountain was originally a “land flowing with milk and honey” piled with gold and gems, until the dragon appeared. The entire kingdom was destroyed, and the dwarves were displaced and had to live under the fence of other races, but the ideal of restoration in their hearts has been burning and never extinguished-how similar is this to the experience of the Israelis (Jews)? In the beginning, the impulse to take risks drove Baggins to join the expedition, but later, he made it clear that he loved his home deeply and associates this feeling with the dwarves, so he devoted himself to helping the dwarves. In the battle for national restoration-when the Americans helped Israel establish a state, it is estimated that this kind of psychology was common (at least they had to propagate this way), and Baggins, who had just started to stay out of the matter, was also adhering to the isolationist policy for a long time. A true portrayal of Americans with "nothing to do with oneself, high up".
At the same time, we can clearly see the figure of contemporary Americans from Bilbo Baggins: this happy bachelor with the bottom of the bag, before Gandalf appeared, has been living a substantial bourgeois life, far away from hatred and killing. , Living a leisurely and tasteful life-compared with the rude dwarf intruder, Baggins is so educated. In fact, "The Hobbit" is the first novel published by Tolkien. Although Tolkien and the famous fantasy writer C·S·Lewis have a deep friendship for more than 30 years, the two have been together for a long time to discuss ancient languages, Myth and fantasy literature inspired each other and modified the creation, but the writing of "The Hobbit" was also influenced by the novel "Babbit" published by another Lewis, American writer Sinclair Lewis in 1922. Babbitt, the protagonist of Babbitt, is an affluent American middle class. His dull and dull life makes him feel emptied. In order to find the "real life", Babbitt began to roam outside. This is similar to Bilbo Baggins’s The mentality and experience are very similar, and in an interview, Tolkien also made it clear that the word "Hobbit" he coined was directly influenced by "Babbitt."
With the cultural background and the deep social mentality of the tunes, it is completely logical for Hollywood to create "The Hobbit" (of course Tolkien is British), and Peter Jackson has basically faithfully restored Tolkien's original work, but "Hobbit" "Bitman" originally has the characteristics of a distinctive young blood legend. The content is only about male friendship, resistance and growth, and basically has nothing to do with love. There are even few female characters (the movie deliberately adds a soy sauce female elf) , It is estimated that a part of the box office of female audiences will be lost (it is worth mentioning that the several fantasy literary clubs that Tolkien has joined successively exclude female members from participating). But for the adventurous male audience, "The Hobbit" is enough to give them blood-they can't experience the story themselves, at least they can share other people's legends in the movie theater.
When I get old, I hope I can also become a person with a story-like Bilbo Baggins to tell children stories, tell my own story.
(Published in "Southern People Weekly" 2013 Issue 6)
View more about The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey reviews
