Why Tolkien Hated Cars

In this video we explore the beliefs of J. R. R. Tolkien on the subject of cars and industrialization, as well as their impact on the Lord of the Rings and Middle Earth as a whole!

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I do not own the footage, art or music within this video.

Any feedback is always welcome, I hope you enjoy!!

Below are the songs used in the order they are played:

Swans In Flight by Asher Fulero

Cafe Regrette by Asher Fulero

Ceremonial Library by Asher Fulero

Allégro by Emmit Fenn

Recollections by Asher Fulero

English Country Garden by Aaron Kenny

[InkandFantasy]

While watching this it may seem that his wish to portray industrialization and its destructive effects on nature is allegorical, and as you probably know Tolkien did not like allegories!

To address this, I would like to add that industrialization in the Lord of the Rings is not necessarily allegorical, but simply an aspect of evil. Evil according to what Tolkien believed to be evil, which partly is something that did not respect nature. Naturally his beliefs on this aspect of evil were influenced by his real world experiences, as is the case with everyone, but this does not make it an actual, conscious allegory for real world issues, regardless of inspiration here and there. Thanks for watching!!!

[michigan_propaganda]

6:50
Remember our city’s weren’t made for the car, they were bulldozed for it

[nilan]

A large part of why so many of us like fantasy is because it gives us an entirely new world, largely filled with the unkown for us as readers. This has always captivated me, and I somewhat agree with Tolkien that the world has become a singular thing, no longer so interesting as it once was.

[Nemo_Anom]

I actually got chills when you were discussing how JRRT thought that industrialization and cars was making the world smaller, more levelled, and more assimilated; that every locale and region was losing its distinctiveness. I'm a writer, worldbuilder, and conlanger (yes, being exposed to JRRT at 13 was a huge influence) and I only create what one can call "microworlds" for similar reasons. People create big planets or even entire galaxies, up to entire multiverses (at least in theory), but these are often incredibly shallow and don't have much depth or distinctiveness. My cardinal golden rule with regards to worldbuilding is "less is more". My current project is only about the size of Vancouver Island, and the amount of depth I've been slowly able to add is incredibly thrilling. I haven't published anything, but I read widely, and I struggle to find comparable works in modern fantasy, sci-fi, or other fiction. There is much to laud in small spaces, constraint, and the local.

[crusader]

The more I learn about Tolkien, the more I like him. 👍

edit: Wow. Thanks for the likes everyone. Holy crap.

[SendBreadPics]

This was decades before suburban hellscapes, stroads and the Katy Freeway.
He was truly ahead of his time.

[willcooper]

He’s not really wrong. Cars are undeniably helpful to the good of mankind in certain situations, but centering our entire civilization around the use of vehicles has had more negative impacts than could be counted in a lifetime.

[FlawedFabrications]

I'm from a small village southeast of Manchester in the heart of the Peak District National Park, so green fields and little villages were basically all I ever knew as a child. I will never, ever forget the first time I ever went to Manchester with my mother. It was a bright, sunny day in summer and we had to drive over a huge hill to get there and when we got to the top, we could see Manchester just sprawling out before us... And in the sky above the city there was just this huge, dark cloud of smog that was reaching down and enveloping a lot of the buildings. It looked so disgusting and unnatural, like something had stolen the sky. Absolutely cannot blame Tolkien for feeling that way.

[joshualedbetter]

I was born in the early 2000's, long after industrialization took control of the world. But even though I spent my entire life around cars, constantly growing towns, and a large focus on consumerism, I very much agree with Tolkien's perspective. I know that I probably wouldn't last long in the country, but I find comfort in the idea of living in a place like The Shire.

[DavidNewmanDr]

I live in Oxford, where our councils are trying to undo today the effects of car-centric development that Tolkein complained about. Our widened streets are now jammed with cars at time, when one bus on the same Cowley Road carries 50 passengers, but the cars only carry one person. I will share this video with the local Tolkein society when they meet in the Lamb and Flag.

Although Tolkein grew up in what was then countryside near Birmingham. That was what shocked him.

A small point: Berkshire is pronounced Bark - sher. In Tolkein's time everything to the west of the Thames was in Berkshire, with large towns like Reading. Although cars were made in Oxford at the Morris motor works.

[bannanaboy]

As an Urban Planner its so comforting to know Tolkien's beliefs on this subject. Tolkien Urbanism could really build very good communities

[canuckprogressive.]

I totally relate to Tolkien's love of nature and his concern about its destruction.

[biscuitsalive]

He saw it coming before many others.
Such a great man.

[dustinlattimore]

I have felt this ever since I was a small child. I was disappointed that these far countries that I read about in stories, almost fairy tale like in their alien-ness to me, now all had McDonald’s and blue jeans and cars.

Of course I’m not a fool. I realize the benefits to humanity of globalization, the advance in medicine and standards of living, the near eradication of famine, etc.

But something was lost. Some magic left the world.

[MichaelK.-xlqk]

"Car Wars, " is what my family called the struggle to stay on the road in rural Maine. Of course, by our lifetimes cars were almost a complete necessity for economic survival, hence a non-negotiable evil. As I leaned to fix them, what I came to despise even more was the planned obsolescence built into each new machine. Made from the start to be a depreciating investment that would leave you with the need for a new one, and all which that implies. Much preferable, to my mind, was the sturdy simplicity of the tractor. A machine made to deliver economical functionally over time, not the faddish and impractical engineering of cars. My ideal was to someday make a stainless or galvanized jeep-like thing which would have all legacy GM or Ford parts, making it cheap and durable to own and keep on the road for life.

[notreallymyname]

"Professor Tolkien, why did you make all your characters walk so far in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings? Couldn't they at least ride eagles and horses more?"

Tolkien thinking about cars while taking a massive pipe rip: "You wouldn't understand."

[AbexBroadcastingChannels]

Don’t understand how you don’t have more subscribers.

Love these deep dives into topics on your channel. Please keep them up!

[mr.wilson]

How can he hate one of Pixar's best movies ? Like wtf

[NicStride]

In the more recently discovered BBC archived footage and audio of Tolkien from the documentary where he was interviewed in Oxford, he said he loved cars. Loved riding about in them.

He also said that he thought there were too many, but that's not the fault of the car, but it's simply the evil of the multiplication table.


It's kinda impressive how much people want to conjecture about Tolkien's beliefs and how much people want to project onto him. The fact he was asked about it in a probing way implies it was even the case when he was alive. People assumed they knew what he meant rather than just ask the guy. :P

[jacobshore]

One has to wonder though about the Thematic inconsistency dealing with Gondor and Arnor. I mean, obviously they have big cities in them, and Tolkien never bemoaned their lack of virtue. But I’m guessing Minas Tirith might’ve taken almost as many resources to build as Isengard took when Saruman turned bad.