Fangirling and Writer-Nerd Chaos

@lotrweek day 4: gifts, burdens and choices

I think my favorite book-to-film change is the addition of Sam saving Frodo from letting go of the cliff and falling into the lava. And the reason why is the brilliant sound design; I wanna point this out for anyone who hasn’t noticed.

When Frodo is first shown dangling, we hear the Ring calling him. An eerie, high-pitched noise, almost a whistle, begins as the Ring first lands on top of the lava, and permeates the soundtrack as Sam looks over the edge and that expression of despair crosses Frodo’s face as he realizes what he failed to do. Just then we assume Frodo’s POV. We’re hearing what he’s hearing; the Ring is beckoning him to let go and follow it.

But then, when Sam says “give me your hand!” and it cuts to another closeup of Frodo’s face, looking up at Sam, suddenly the Ring’s whistle just … stops. Abruptly. There’s another cut to the Ring as it starts to glow and melt. It is clearly still calling Frodo, but suddenly Frodo (and we) can’t hear it.

Even the music quietens and the loudest sound we hear is Sam’s voice.

Then Frodo looks down as his hand slips, and then makes eye contact with Sam again. And then the music/chorus slowly grows louder as Sam practically whispers, and yet it almost sounds like a shout, “Don’t you let go…”

Then Frodo makes his choice. He chooses Sam, and grabs his hand.

The soundtrack just by itself reveals the true power of the love these two share. The sight and sound of Sam, pleading and pleading with all the adoration in his heart, finally beats the Ring for good. Suddenly Frodo can’t hear the Ring anymore. He can only hear his Sam.

The stronger force prevails.

the lack of compassion that a good portion of lotr fans show for frodo ("why can't he fight or do simple tasks" "why is he so weak" "why does he always need help / to be rescued") mirrors the lack of compassion of people for those who bear the burden of invisible disabilities. he's struggling against an immense weight at every step! something that actively tries to destroy him, worsening at every moment! his heroism is in just continuing to walk his path, step by step. his bravery is in just existing as himself under the debilitating weight of the ring. but because the influence of the ring is invisible, it is forgotten, and frodo is written off as a weak, cowardly, and/or useless character, much like disabled people irl. in this household we do not stand for frodo slander!!!

actually i am still thinking about this. in the movies especially the frodo & sam scenes are hard to watch, especially when contrasted to the quippy, active, external heroism of the three hunters. the road to mordor feels like a heavy, depressing slog; even the colours reflect this. frodo's feebleness setting in the longer we spend with the ring hurts to watch; it makes us cringe away from it. we don't want to look because frodo's sort of internal heroism is not glamorous. we don't like to fantasize ourselves as the protagonists of it. and it can hit quite close to home. but that's precisely why they are such good scenes! and why we must not look away, or shrink from the discomfort, or misunderstand frodo as a character. that would be a disservice to the narrative.

Yes. YES. YES!!!!!!!!! I will scream this from the housetops. Frodo is not glamorous! He is not meant to be glamorous!!

Every day I take the Ring (Invisible Disabilities, Chronic Pain, Mental Illness) to Mordor (School, Work, Daily Life)

I LOVE how Faramir just straight up called Sam and Frodo ugly. King behavior

Sam: Elves are the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen oh my god they are unbelievably perfect nothing on earth can compare

One of the Big Folk: Well you’re not beautiful enough to be an elf

Sam: Don’t care didn’t ask I hope you choke

the movie really undersells the fact that frodo spent half a year planning to make his departure from the shire as inconspicuous as possible and merry and pippin and sam saw him doing that, figured out he was leaving the shire and that it had something to do with bilbo’s ring, and then spent nearly as long preparing to go with him. icons

worth nothing to people who havent read the books: they didnt tell him they were planning to come with him until the very last minute when he’s finally about to spill the beans, and merry’s just kind of ”yo frodo you have the worst poker face in the shire and you constantly walk around saying shit like ”oughhh i do wonder if i shall ever look down this path again oughhwh woe” out loud for everyone to hear” and frodo just sits there like

AND and. frodo's like don't try to stop me from leaving!! i must go!! and the girlies are like SILLY BILLY we mean to go with you!! and he's like NO NO you don't get it i'm probably gonna DIE!! and they're like no no YOU don't get it we KNOW!! you think we'd let you march off to your doom alone??

okay but don't forget fredegar "fatty" bolger...the one hobbit who was like "I see you're going on some sort of quest...have fun with that, I'll stay here and housesit" and then the freaking NAZGÛL come visit while he's housesitting

Me, ready to remind everyone about Fatty Bolger: I knew there was a reason Adib and I are friends.

But seriously, my boy Fredegar volunteered to deal with nosy Brandybucks and MAYBE Lobelia, and ended up with a Nazgûl drop in and then got thrown in jail for resisting Saruman.

#TRUE FRIENDSHIP#from everyone including Fredegar#who managed to ESCAPE the Nazgul#by running out the back door#he stayed behind in Frodo's house as a DECOY and it WORKED#time the Nazgul didn't know Frodo had left the Shire was lifesaving#they made it to Rivendell by the skin of their teeth as it was#a couple extra hours *mattered* - from @cygnahime

he wore Frodo's clothes for this which probably made no difference given the data the Nazgul had to work with but it sure does show his commitment to the body doubling bit

Me: *strapped to a chair in a cold interrogation room with a middle aged man pacing back and forth*

Him: *projects a picture of Sam and Frodo on to the wall* What is their relationship?

Me: Their ship is valid and very cute, but we should also consider the idea that their admiration and respect for one another is a deep, platonic bond. Love doesn't always have to be romantic, and it is important for men to be able to express their platonic care for one another in a way that toxic masculinity doesn't currently allow.

Him: Okay *projects a picture of Legolas and Gimli* what's their relatio-

Me: They're fucking.

Frodo: Sam hates Gollum, but that is what I shall become once I have lost myself to the ring… he’ll despise me… 

Sam if Frodo did turn into a Gollum: That’s a very nice fish you caught with your bare hands, Mr. Frodo, and its very smart of you to eat it raw, saves us the trouble of starting a fire. I knitted you a sweater in case you get cold running around in that loincloth of yours. Is the sun hurting your eyes? I’ll kill it if it’s bothering you. I’ll kill the sun

The more despair I endure in life, the more I love Frodo. I'm just. I'm so glad that Tolkien wrote him like that. He was a hero and it broke him. He was given too much to carry. The circumstances were dire, everyone was doing the best they could, and Frodo tried so hard, for such a good cause, and he...broke. And the narrative has pity for him, the characters show him kindness. Even after victory, his hurts did not heal, and it isn't considered his fault. He must go to the undying lands, to seek out peace there. In universe, he is forgiven for being human - don't be pedantic - and his great torment is recognized. He fell. He could not have done it alone. He is still a hero.

And, I think that's important.

Happy Birthday, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins! And Happy Hobbit Day!

Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring (2001) | dir. Peter Jackson 

hmm ok so in the two towers the narration strictly changes from frodo’s pov to sam’s pov, and we continue to see things from sam’s eyes from there almost to the very end of the return of the king, and i have 2 theories of why that might be:

Theory 1, plausible but not very funny: during the two towers frodo begins to get corrupted by the ring and would therefore be unfit as a narrator. through sam’s pov we can see from an outside perspective how frodo gradually changes, which is a very important part in his character development, and from frodo’s pov that wouldn’t work. perhaps frodo also loses himself to the ring more and more and sees himself more from an outside perspective than from an inside, bc of the ring’s corruption. this theory is further supported by the fact that we go back to frodo’s pov after the ring has been destroyed

Theory 2, funny but not very plausible: frodo was the one that wrote the fellowship of the ring and sam wrote the two towers and the return of the king. when frodo gave sam the red book at the gray havens and said that the last pages were for him, he actually meant like, 800 pages,

@quendians this is the same dude who procrastinated leaving his house for weeks after learning that satan’s servants were out to kill him and he had to flee the country