Thread by @The_Tolkienist

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi One of those threads that hold no provocatively debated issues, points of contention, highly divergent perspectives ...

SEXUALITY, TOLKIEN & LOTRONPRIME.

Strap in, a cis het middle-age white male is going to splain.*

[Damn it, I am good.
Obnoxious pun right at the start.😜]

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi * SERIOUSLY?

Do you really think I am going to tackle the topic of "sexuality & Tolkien" on Twitter?

The place where people yell at each other for next to no reason at all?

This is complex.

I am not going through twelve volumes of "The History of Middle-earth" with you,

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi LETTERS by Carpenter, etc. etc.

I'll tell you what the OP is getting wrong, imho.

Or what it seems to insinuate, willing or no.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi "Tolkien's exploration of sexuality in the Second Age."

There is none.

Oh boy, am I going to get blasted for this statement! Yup. I know.

But please do consider for a moment the differences between Tolkien, the novelist, and the films and series of today.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Apparently, he never felt the need to "describe" sexuality as "we" seem to experience it. YMMV.

Frodo doesn't doink Sam in the book, Galadriel and Celegorn aren't seen banging, and Fëanor does manage to have offspring, seven of them, without the act being described.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Tolkien wrote his stories without explicit sex scenes.

Your dirty, dirty imagination fills in the blanks, every time you read them. If you like.

And I know a lot of you people out there do.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi The incredibly irritating adage "show, don't tell" in films and series led to some rather outrageous scenes with GoT, I am told. I read the books (more than once), saw a couple of the first episodes (I assumed it would be successful but it didn't spike my interest),

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi but popcultural osmosis certainly sent pictures and rants on this through the ether.

If you are adding sex without a story-related reason it simply is sloppy writing.

Or the simple wish to cause outrage => media attention.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Whatever the reasons may have been, the comparison between GoT and the upcoming LotRonPrime series seems to be quite a natural fit, right?

If GoT was the most successful series evuurrrr, LotRonPrime has to be even more successful, right?

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi And it would need to copy all the things that made GoT a slamming success, right?

Wrong.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️
"Show more Hedonism"

What does that even mean????

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi I needed to look up the term because philosophy never was my strong suit.

And let's face it, most people have a very odd understanding of even the most basic concepts of human existence.

Doomscrolling will show you that - every - single - day.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi If you are looking forward to "Gil-galad nakkkkedddd!*" & "Sauron and Ar-Pharazôn are SO getting it on!*", well sure, why not?

There are some excellently wonderful people who show everyday that all of LotR is gay, so what?

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Sexuality is not the point in this. "Hedonism" is not the point, either.
---
*You know who you are.

Love you, don't ever stop loving those stories!
People inspired by Tolkien's stories to become creators are awesome!

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Which leads me directly to the either shittiest or most provocative hashtag ever: #FidelityToTolkien.

#FidelityToTolkien

Yup. There is SO MUCH TO UNRAVEL.

And no, I am not chasing down #GatekeepingLane or the #ThereIsNoCanon or whatever term one could use when there is.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Give us a good story.

Let yourselves be inspired by the vast ocean of ideas, visions, characters and places this man came up with.

And let them place you firmly in the wide seas of Arda.

By the way: There is SO MUCH SEXUALITY in Middle-earth my eyes are WATERING RIGHT NOW.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi But do not forget that how Tolkien conceived his stories was not "slap, slap, bang, bang, fuck, fuck*"

They are full of empathy, kindness, friendliness, simple gestures, words of affection, simple touches, a hug or two.

--
* Original sound effects taken from GoT, S6EP6MIN6.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi All of those things that are so important to love and friendship and fellowship.

Sure, people fuck. They always have.

We're human and we make mistakes.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Remember: Tolkien's tales represent the pinnacle of trust, built from fighting the long defeat.

Of caring for one another. Deeply.

Sometimes for the wrong reasons, sometimes for the right ones.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi The only thing I want from this series is:

GIVE US GOOD ART*,**.

*stealing that from a certain writer.
** and gorgeous sex scenes, if necessary.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi P.S. Yeah, I skipped:

"how Amazon's series could be nothing like the films"

It is not going to be like the films or the people behind this venture are total amateurs.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi Let's not talk about people happy with playing with billions of dollars but the writers' room having to cough up this series.

They are certainly not amateurs.

Not by a long shot.

But WHAT they are going to go for...?

I am looking forward to it with all of my heart.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi P.P.S. Y'all can kill me now for the crap I have written.

I have very, very clear ideas of what Tolkien means to ME.

I would never dare presume to speak for others.

However, I am quite willing to correct fallacies, mistakes, misconceptions - or be corrected.

Any time.

@theoneringnet @Quickbeam2000 @Dr_Dimitra_Fimi So, @theoneringnet,

PLEASE STOP THIS NONSENSE.

Become the community-driven, exceptional place you used to be, people.

Much of the stuff you do on Twitter is crap.

Spent three hours on this. Damn it.*

*[Elvish hash left the building.]