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Why D&D is not (just) Tolkien
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<blockquote data-quote="Sacrosanct" data-source="post: 7264802" data-attributes="member: 15700"><p>I agree with lowkey13. I mean, let's look at the timelines. The Hobbit was written in 1937. The LoTR in the 50s. They were out a long time before the resurgence of the 70s*. Sci-fi/fantasy started to sharply gain in popularity in the 60s, and hit a high in 70s. That means that the fantasy resurgence of the 60s/70s would have happened even if Tolkien never existed. Guys like Michael Moorcock began writing in 1950, before LoTR, and were inspired by S&S authors like Howard.</p><p></p><p>So even if Tolkien never existed, there were still authors like Howard, Lieber, Lloyd Alexander, Moorcock, etc. The fantasy resurgence of the 70s still would have happened. Tolkien is simply the most popular, that's all. And seeing as how the SCA and Tékumel started in the 60s (before the resurgence of the 70s), it stands to reason that RPGs would have been created even if Tolkien never existed, and would look very much like they do now. Maybe not halflings or Balrogs, but those are actually pretty small contributions compared to the whole game. As I (and others) have pointed out in the other thread, many of the things people are crediting Tolkien for creating (flying eagles, lycanthropy, etc) he didn't create, but took right out existing myth. So they still would be here without Tolkien.</p><p></p><p></p><p>*When I talk about the resurgence of the 70s, I'm talking about how Tolkien, despite the books being decades old, didn't get mainstream popularity until this decade with the rise of sci-fi/fantasy in general, and he really became mainstream with the Hobbit animated film in 1977. Which actually proves that D&D would still be popular without Tolkien, because D&D took off <em>before </em>Tolkien suddenly rose in popularity with that movie. Prior to the movie, he was no more popular than the aforementioned authors.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sacrosanct, post: 7264802, member: 15700"] I agree with lowkey13. I mean, let's look at the timelines. The Hobbit was written in 1937. The LoTR in the 50s. They were out a long time before the resurgence of the 70s*. Sci-fi/fantasy started to sharply gain in popularity in the 60s, and hit a high in 70s. That means that the fantasy resurgence of the 60s/70s would have happened even if Tolkien never existed. Guys like Michael Moorcock began writing in 1950, before LoTR, and were inspired by S&S authors like Howard. So even if Tolkien never existed, there were still authors like Howard, Lieber, Lloyd Alexander, Moorcock, etc. The fantasy resurgence of the 70s still would have happened. Tolkien is simply the most popular, that's all. And seeing as how the SCA and Tékumel started in the 60s (before the resurgence of the 70s), it stands to reason that RPGs would have been created even if Tolkien never existed, and would look very much like they do now. Maybe not halflings or Balrogs, but those are actually pretty small contributions compared to the whole game. As I (and others) have pointed out in the other thread, many of the things people are crediting Tolkien for creating (flying eagles, lycanthropy, etc) he didn't create, but took right out existing myth. So they still would be here without Tolkien. *When I talk about the resurgence of the 70s, I'm talking about how Tolkien, despite the books being decades old, didn't get mainstream popularity until this decade with the rise of sci-fi/fantasy in general, and he really became mainstream with the Hobbit animated film in 1977. Which actually proves that D&D would still be popular without Tolkien, because D&D took off [I]before [/I]Tolkien suddenly rose in popularity with that movie. Prior to the movie, he was no more popular than the aforementioned authors. [/QUOTE]
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