Gollum in the Lord of the Rings (Evil Explained)

In the Lord of the Rings evil is an ever-present part of the story. Sometimes, it has been said, that Sauron is a "distant villain," in that he never truly threatens the protagonists themselves, choosing instead to track and attack them via his minions. However, I find this not to be the case; I feel many have a complete misunderstanding of what "evil" actually is in Tolkien's writing, and because of such, they believe that the evil of the LotR only consists of Nazgul, orcs, trolls, and violence. However, as we see with the character Gollum, evil is ever-present in Middle Earth, affecting even the smallest of folks; the physical hand of Sauron isn't even necessary to bring about great evil and misfortune to the people's of the world.

In this video, I spend a little bit of time in the woods talking about the character Gollum and how evil wrapped this flawed man into becoming the horror that we know him as today. From the continuous talking to himself, his lust for the ring, and more - I talk about how evil's goal is to isolate and to drive its claws deeper into a persons set of values and beliefs. This is a topic I want to discuss more in future videos; I just wanted to begin with Gollum.

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[ginajohnson]

I love that you are not afraid to show who you are.

[winterwolf]

Beautifully done--and something you can just throw in the background while you carry on at work. Coworkers like "that guy must me listening to something inspirational..." F*** yeah, I am--listening to Nixxiom.

[matt]

This kind of video is why ive stuck around for years now Nixxiom. Thank you for surprising me, I genuely enjoyed this.

[Pedro-muuy]

Dude, that was beautiful <3 I relate so much. Ty for those thoughts

[Spicycat_]

Love this kind of insightful content dude

[TheMizymod]

This was greate, I waiting for more. Thanks Nixxiom ^^

[fenrisulfr]

This was deep and informative Nixxiom, thank you for teaching & talking about this; the fact that Tolkien’s world and moral views can help bring people into the perspectives of Christian Catholic teachings.

[thewalofsleep]

This is what I've been hoping for from you, Nixxiom. I'd love to see more of these dives into the characters and themes in Tolkien's work. I've enjoyed hearing you talk about these topics in your streams and videos.
I mentioned this once on stream a year or so ago, but if you're ever comfortable with it, I wouldn't mind hearing more about your spiritual journey. I got the impression a number of years ago that you were exploring the Norse heathenry but that is clearly not the case now. I wonder if my impressions were wrong and you were just delving into the mythology and aesthetic due to your interest in history and poetry, or if I was correct but you have since stopped following that path and returned to Christianity (I saw your confirmation photo in the office tour video, the cross around your neck, I remember you mentioning missionary work as a youth, etc.). I am personally not a follower of any particular faith (organized or pagan), but am very interested in spirituality and philosophy. If this isn't something you feel like going into details about publicly, I get it; it's a very personal topic.

[macwecek]

Amazing video Nixxiom!
To everyone reading this: whatever your “ring” is, whatever evil you’re struggling with, there is a way out. You can find God’s compassion and forgiveness. Go to church, find a priest for confession, say what you did wrong, that you’re sorry and TRY (you don’t have to succeed, what matters is that you want to try) to be better and the priest, who embodies Jesus, who died so that you can be freed of sin, will have you forgiven for everything. Doesn’t matter if it’s the first or the hundredth time, God is waiting for you in a confessional with compassion and forgiveness!

[lollylula]

I enjoyed this so much. Gorgeous forest. I found it interesting and really appreciated your insights & reflections. I'm currently reading A Course in Miracles, it's based on Christ/Holy Spirit/God but not in a traditional Christian religious way, one of the main points/teachings throughout the book is about how God is whole but the ego wants to separate, and how the ego tries to separate us from others in so many ways and it always leads to suffering.