Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sepulchrave II" data-source="post: 9478483" data-attributes="member: 4303">I wish that the "Show don't tell" mantra had been extended further.The reason that I brought up the Miltonic Satan, is that I think that it is very hard to distill a character with real, evil gravitas into an - at least semi-relatable - protagonist without diminishing the mythic status. It is an ambitious project.Milton can execute it because of his perspective: an unconventional personal theology, a deeply poetic and insightful mind, and an encyclopedic knowledge of classical, Judeo-Christian and Gnostic literature; as well as his deeply-held anti-monarchist and disestablishment beliefs. The resulting character demonstrates great pathos but his evil is never really in question. Satan does not emote, or succumb to sentimentality.I guess I'm saying if I were to try to put Sauron on the screen, and elicit a sympathetic response from the audience, Milton's Satan might be a port of call for inspiration. As might American Psycho, for that matter.When we examine the various iterations of Sauron in Tolkien's writings, we have:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The fallen angelic spirit at the beginning of time</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The steadfast lieutenant who maintains Melkor's dominion during his captivity</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The cruel, shapeshifting lord of werewolves who beguiles and deceives with illusions</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The deceiver of the Elves and the forger of the rings</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The warlord who attempts to subdue Middle-Earth</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The corruptor who instigates Numenor's destruction</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A spirit, temporarily banished, who strives to reform</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A necromancer who corrupts the greenwood</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The final iteration, in LotR, who combines many of the previous elements to one degree or another</li> </ul>But at no stage is he personalized, with relatable characteristics; he is always "othered," because of his mythic status - literally, The Enemy. His "role" is always archetypal; as are, arguably, most of Tolkien's other characters.To invert that, and cast him in the role of protagonist, without jeopardizing the Sauron-gestalt is a very ambitious undertaking.I reject the notion that "modern audiences" require a morally grey character; I think better of them than that.</blockquote>

Verification