Expectations

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I expected to, first thing Monday morning, get on the internet and start singing the Academy's praises to the heavens. Instead I found myself getting so caught up in everyone else's joyous exposition that I... didn't have any immediate comments of my own. I think I do now;-).

I was so tired by the time the Best Picture was awarded that my joy was a rather delirious kind of joy. I was happy, but also very tired. It was much more rewarding to watch a clip of the award just this morning that I downladed from the wonderful, exquisite rakshi. I cried, I'll admit it (and then I squeed when I saw the hobbit actors. So cute;-). I'm filled with so much gratitude for the love and creativity that was put into the creation of these great movies. These have become universal movies, loved by all sorts of different people from varied walks of life and it is fitting that the highest honors possible have been bestowed upon it. I cannot honestly say that The Lord of the Rings has changed my life but it certainly has improved my life.

High art seems to have at its very core the ability to escape the bonds of this world while at the same time it allows us mere mortals the ability to come to understand ourselves and each other with more clarity and empathy. Lord of the Rings embodies in itself those exquisite characteristics; it is entertainment that teaches and uplifts and helps us see beyond ourselves. Rarely in heroic literature does one have exemplified a hero who conquers through surrender, who overcomes soley through endurance. We, as a people and a culture, idolize the strong and wealthy and successful and our cinematic art rarely showcases the strengths and struggles of the hobbits of the world. It's amazing to me that as I experience more of my own life I come to realize how much more human truth there is in fantasy then can be found in the popular fiction (either literate or cinematic) of our day. I, like Professor Tolkien, abhor that academic search for allegory in texts, I think a story is a story and should be appreciated as such. However, I do believe that stories explain and elucidate humanity and human events in ways that news articles are incapable of doing. The psychologist Carl Jung talked about the collective unconscious and it is story that taps into that dark, subconscious part of each of us and unlocks doors to understanding that otherwise would remain locked and unexplored.

I believe the reason that these movies are so popular and the reason behind the joy that erupted with the recognition of Lord of the Rings by the entertainment elite of that jaded industry is because, for that moment in time, it felt almost as if we were all winning. Rarely have movie fans and movie makers been so intricably entwined and now we've all won because of that. Peter Jackson stated, after the wins at the Oscars on Sunday night that, "One of the things that really motivated us was that we were absolutely terrified of letting you guys (the fans) down... We have, at all times, had total respect for the fans. I think that's very important, you've had respect for us and we hope we've returned it." (Taken from a transcript of sound bites by cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as stated at The Return of the One Party and found here. It was their creation but it has been a labor of love for all of us. What a wonderful night it was and what a wonderful experience it has been for all of us.

Wow, I didn't mean for that to go on for so long. I had so much more to say but I have to run off to class now. Just remember, history has been made and art has been recognized as such.