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rewatching Lord of the Rings
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<blockquote data-quote="Clint_L" data-source="post: 9231144" data-attributes="member: 7035894"><p>In defence of Tom Bombadil.</p><p></p><p>I agree that the whole TB episode feels like it comes out of left field, and by normal storytelling measures should have been cut. But here's the thing: I think LotR fails by normal storytelling measures in a <em>number</em> of ways. So, for this one singular text, I start to think that those flaws might just be features.</p><p></p><p>Yes, its characters are mostly archetypal, which lends it the weight of myth. Yes, it's expository, which grants it the depth of history. Yes, the dialogue is often declamatory, but that emphasizes the importance of what is being said. And sure, Tom Bombadil seems extraneous, but that contributes to a sense of a real world with a vastness that goes beyond the plot of this one epic story. In his existence, Tom Bombadil kind of explodes the boundaries of a simple Good vs. Evil, biblical narrative, and implies infinite possibilities. I think he opens the world up for the reader's imagination: if there's also a Tom Bombadil who can wander by, what else might there be?</p><p></p><p>In RPG terms, Tom Bombadil makes LotR a bit more of a sandbox environment. And I think that is a big reason why it has been so foundational to fantasy, and to fantasy RPGs in particular. He suggests the possibility that <em>there is more than one story</em>. And that got our attention, and started our own creative juices flowing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Clint_L, post: 9231144, member: 7035894"] In defence of Tom Bombadil. I agree that the whole TB episode feels like it comes out of left field, and by normal storytelling measures should have been cut. But here's the thing: I think LotR fails by normal storytelling measures in a [I]number[/I] of ways. So, for this one singular text, I start to think that those flaws might just be features. Yes, its characters are mostly archetypal, which lends it the weight of myth. Yes, it's expository, which grants it the depth of history. Yes, the dialogue is often declamatory, but that emphasizes the importance of what is being said. And sure, Tom Bombadil seems extraneous, but that contributes to a sense of a real world with a vastness that goes beyond the plot of this one epic story. In his existence, Tom Bombadil kind of explodes the boundaries of a simple Good vs. Evil, biblical narrative, and implies infinite possibilities. I think he opens the world up for the reader's imagination: if there's also a Tom Bombadil who can wander by, what else might there be? In RPG terms, Tom Bombadil makes LotR a bit more of a sandbox environment. And I think that is a big reason why it has been so foundational to fantasy, and to fantasy RPGs in particular. He suggests the possibility that [I]there is more than one story[/I]. And that got our attention, and started our own creative juices flowing. [/QUOTE]
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