Tolkien fandom
Tolkien was discussed in science fiction fanzines and amateur press association magazines ("apazines"), both as single essays like "No Monroe In Lothlorien!"
[7] Foster attributes the surge of Tolkien fandom in the United States of the mid-1960s to a combination of the hippie subculture and anti-war movement pursuing "mellow freedom like that of the Shire" and "America's cultural Anglophilia" of the time, fuelled by a bootleg paperback version of The Lord of the Rings published by Ace Books followed up by an authorised edition by Ballantine Books.
[8] The "hippie" following latched onto the book, giving its own spin to the work's interpretation, such as the Dark Lord Sauron representing the United States military draft during the Vietnam War, to the chagrin of the author who talked of a "deplorable cultus" and stated that "Many young Americans are involved in the stories in a way that I'm not"[1] but who nevertheless admitted that "... even the nose of a very modest idol [...] cannot remain entirely untickled by the sweet smell of incense!
[10] This embracing of the work by American 1960s counter-culture made it an easy target for mockery, as in Harvard Lampoon's parody Bored of the Rings, where Tom Bombadil becomes "Tim Benzedrine", and Bilbo Baggins becomes "Dildo Bugger".
[11][12] The Lord of the Rings acquired immense popularity in the emerging hacker culture from the mid-1960s, and the technological subcultures of scientists, engineers, and computer programmers.
[14] Isaac Asimov, who had read The Lord of the Rings three times by Tolkien's death in September 1973, wrote a Black Widowers short story as tribute to the fellow author.
Filmmaker Ralph Bakshi succeeded in securing the rights to produce an animated feature film version, part one of what was originally planned as a two-part adaptation of the story.
A series of minor texts by Tolkien were edited in journals such as Parma Eldalamberon and Vinyar Tengwar, published by the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship since the early 1990s.
Notable points of contention in online discussions surround the origin of orcs, whether elves have pointy ears, whether balrogs have wings, and the nature of Tom Bombadil.
[26] The site is described in A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien as "the main source to start a review of the plethora of Tolkien-based online materials.
In 1998, Michael 'Xoanon' Regina and Erica 'Tehanu' Challis started a website related to the filming, including "spy" reports from Tehanu's visit to the New Zealand set.
This enabled the site to bring its readers exclusive news from the set, as when Peter Jackson emailed TheOneRing.net to get his side heard when a lawsuit threatened his chance to film The Hobbit.
[33] Over 1,500 "Ringers" (Lord of the Rings fans) came to the TheOneRing.net Oscar party at the Hollywood, American Legion on 28 February 2004, attended by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Elijah Wood and other cast and crew.
[34] On 2 September 2004, eleven commemorative kauri trees, paid for by TORn members, were planted in Willowbank Park in Wellington, New Zealand, Peter Jackson's home town.
In November 2008 and December 2011, TheOneRing.net and Red Carpet Tours staged a 14-night cruise between Auckland and Sydney, including excursions to film locations.
[42][43] Tolkienology is a term used by fans to describe the study of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien treating Middle-earth as a real ancient history, conducting research from an "in-universe" perspective.
This differs from Tolkien studies in that it ignores the real-world history of composition by the author, and assumes an underlying internally consistent Middle-earth canon.
By its nature, reconstructionism aims for a "canon" of "correct" standard Elvish (Neo-Eldarin), while the philological study of the evolution of Tolkien's conceptions cannot assume that the languages had ever reached a complete or internally consistent final form.
[60] Jenny Dolfen too has made paintings of scenes from The Silmarillion,[61] making the transition from self-taught fan art to becoming a recognised and published artist.
