the_gneech (
the_gneech) wrote2002-01-23 11:03 pm
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Antiheroes and Everymen (Everymans?)
I think I've nailed down just what it is that bothers me about hobbits.
In this earlier entry I mentioned how cool I thought it was that the warriors in LotR got to run around and kick butt, but there's more to it than that.
What bothers me about hobbits, meek scholars forced to adventure against their will, and grim anti-heroes, is that they set our sights too low. Heroes should be big, not small. We don't need Everyman as the hero, because every man already CAN be a hero, if you see what I mean.
Rather than elevate us to the level of heroes, what the current trend does is to diminish heroes to the level of "ordinary people." Sort of the literary equivalent of the phrase, "When all else fails, lower your standards."
See, I think heroes should be larger than life, and should do great things, precisely because it is outside the realm of ordinary experience -- it gives us something noble and wonderful to aspire to, a higher calling that can enrich our lives and give us a purpose to work towards.
This is what bugs me about hobbits; this is also what bugs me about "true crime" dramas, gangster movies, and chick flicks. Some people look at such things and take comfort in the fact that these "heroes" are just like them, but to me, that's just depressing. I want to be inspired to be better than I am!
This is why I am so fascinated by Conan, I suppose. I realize that it was an important element of the Baggins family that they weren't run-of-the-mill hobbits ... but even a enchanted-sword wielding, dark lord-defeating epic hobbit is no Cimmerian. ;)
-The Gneech
In this earlier entry I mentioned how cool I thought it was that the warriors in LotR got to run around and kick butt, but there's more to it than that.
What bothers me about hobbits, meek scholars forced to adventure against their will, and grim anti-heroes, is that they set our sights too low. Heroes should be big, not small. We don't need Everyman as the hero, because every man already CAN be a hero, if you see what I mean.
Rather than elevate us to the level of heroes, what the current trend does is to diminish heroes to the level of "ordinary people." Sort of the literary equivalent of the phrase, "When all else fails, lower your standards."
See, I think heroes should be larger than life, and should do great things, precisely because it is outside the realm of ordinary experience -- it gives us something noble and wonderful to aspire to, a higher calling that can enrich our lives and give us a purpose to work towards.
This is what bugs me about hobbits; this is also what bugs me about "true crime" dramas, gangster movies, and chick flicks. Some people look at such things and take comfort in the fact that these "heroes" are just like them, but to me, that's just depressing. I want to be inspired to be better than I am!
This is why I am so fascinated by Conan, I suppose. I realize that it was an important element of the Baggins family that they weren't run-of-the-mill hobbits ... but even a enchanted-sword wielding, dark lord-defeating epic hobbit is no Cimmerian. ;)
-The Gneech
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