What I learned from Lord of the Rings?

There are movies and then there are MOVIES. I am the kind of person who would rather re-watch a good movie than fill my time watching a bad one. And if I were to think of one movie I can watch again and again, it is the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Technically, it is three movies and not one, but it is one gripping narrative. 

Disclaimer: While this post contains no spoilers, it does have references to certain moments in the movie, which you may want to avoid if it is on your watchlist. However, I cannot guarantee you would not want to watch the movie after reading the post. 

My wife and I end up watching all three parts of the Lord Of The Rings (LOTR) trilogy at least once every year. We have watched it so often that we can complete verbatim many of the dialogues. We do not watch it for just nostalgia for a movie we saw in our teens. We watch LOTR because we both draw immense inspiration from the story. In most parts of this post, I refer to the story, more than the format. I have read the books and seen the movies and love them equally (which rarely happens). 

Unlike other stories of our childhood, LOTR remains relevant even now. Every time I watch it, I observe a new detail and resonate with it in a different way. 

In my teens, the movie was about valor and a victory of good over evil in my teens. The movie is full of moments of courage like Frodo nominating himself to become the ring-bearer, Sam sticking to his friend no matter the dangers, or the men and elves holding a brave front in the battle at Helmsdeep despite being outnumbered. Watching the characters making these choices inspires me to be brave. While the plot revolves around the traditional good versus evil storyline, it is, by no means, linear. On the contrary, it is memorable to engage with the twists and turns in the mythical world. No wonder, the flattering quotes on the back cover of the book.

In my twenties, I saw the connections to the idea of power corrupting even the purest of souls. The ideas of good versus evil became less black and white. Bearing the ring or even being around it long enough corrupts the beings with even the noblest of intentions. Seeing the transformation of characters from good towards evil reminded me how the greed for power and its effects impact leadership in our civilization. I learned that both good and evil exist within us and both manifest themselves through our choices. 

In my thirties, I see how inter-dependent and inter-connected our world is, and no one is spared from looking away from an act of injustice and hate against other living beings. It is why the elves, hobbits, dwarfs join forces in solving a problem that would initially impact only men. 

I can see many parallels between problems facing our world today with the idea of inter-dependence and inter-connectedness. A complex problem like climate change cannot be addressed without different countries and sectors joining hands. In the times of COVID19, the health system of the least developed countries impacts the health of populations all over the world. Sometimes I wish we didn't live in these times, but like Gandalf says, "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."

I have also learned from some of the many memorable dialogues in the movie, of which I am choosing three that I love the most:

Aragon: "What do you fear, lady?" 

Eowyn: "A cage. To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire."

This exchange between Aragon and Eowyn drives home my need to remain unshackled from the traditional expectations of society and carve my own path. The idea of being independent while being inter-dependent is a powerful ideal to live by.

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”

This line by Lady Galadriel teaches me that an individual's actions towards doing good matters, no matter how insignificant they may seem.  In my life, my greatest sparks for action come from seeing people stand up for what is right, and when people are compassionate and audacious in the face of adversity and oppression. 

This picture of a  pregnant, Black, female protestor at the #BlackLivesMatter protests deeply moved me (see source here)

SAM: I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something. Even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back only they didn’t. Because they were holding on to something.

FRODO: What are we holding on to, Sam? 

SAM: That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.

This is my most favourite dialogue from the movies. When things seem hopeless and impossible, which is most of the time these days, this is a dialogue reminds me of the need to stay put on the path. In most problems that confront us, we have to move mountains. We do it one pebble at a time. We have to stay put till others see our effort and join hands with us. We have to believe that these mountains will eventually move.

I wanted to write this blogpost because I wanted to capture some of the feelings and thoughts that I am left with every time I watch the movies. It was long overdue and I am glad I have finally put my reflection down in words. I know I will keep coming back and updating the post in the future as I see the story from a different vantage point in my life.

Till then, I will leave you with another quote from the movies on the power of your deeds:

PS: To the detractors of the story, I know it is dominated by white male characteristics. Peter Jackson did include female characters in the movie plots which were missing in the books to make up for their under-representation. However, one of the reasons I love LOTR is that it stays true to the books. The book was written in another time for an audience different from our generation and the movie couldn't drift too far away from it.