tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post4795769777467141067..comments2024-03-10T20:46:19.274-04:00Comments on In the Middle: Murderous HobbitsCord J. Whitakerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06224143153295429986noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-74760246321866635082009-06-26T11:56:39.861-04:002009-06-26T11:56:39.861-04:00It is interesting that the Iranian government is s...It is interesting that the Iranian government is showing the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy in Iran. After all Tolkien was an acknowledged admirer of Ferdowsi and his masterpiece "Shahnameh". You can also find a modern comic book version of his stories at http://www.theshahnameh.comcameronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06872545702837738964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21165575.post-77430843082696657242009-06-26T07:00:42.692-04:002009-06-26T07:00:42.692-04:00But art, being in excess of what is strictly neede...<em>But art, being in excess of what is strictly needed, being a thing of wants, and hence desires, never stays put. It travels, and causes us to travel from the commonplace, giving us new ideals while also calling our attention to the gap between our individuals lives and these ideals. And then it calls upon us to repair this gap, to remake this world to match the dreams art brings us.</em><br /><br />I love that formulation, and the short quote from Zizek on art's necessary lack of historical context is also quite provocative.<br /><br />It's too much to hope that The Scouring of the Shire, <a href="http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/lord_of_the_rings_feature.htm" rel="nofollow">absent from the Jackson adaptation</a>, might take place after the TV broadcast...Jeffrey Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17346504393740520542noreply@blogger.com