How Tolkien Revolutionized Fantasy

In today's Foundations of Fantasy, we explore how Tolkien changed the fantasy game--for the publishing industry, for critics, and for storytellers of all kinds.

[walterl]

"The author has indulged himself in developing the fantasy for its own sake." How is that not a compliment??

[wvhoipolloi]

Tolkien's strength is that he genuinely loves language, and the material that inspired him to write a mythological love letter to the Anglo-Saxon people. Tolkien's command of the English language, and the way he wrote, it's truly BEAUTIFUL. A work of art.

[themeatpopsicle]

Tolkein's template of Human, Wizard, Elf, Dwarf, Goblin, Dragon, Demon is absolutely pervasive in in the fantasy game world, and from there it's the standard in fantasy video games, anime, and manga.

[thomaskalinowski]

Something the LotR has in common with Huckleberry Finn is that both are sequels to children's books, but are not children's books themselves.

[thomaskalinowski]

10:00 A writer named Jo Walton once said, "The books won't be judged by what the critics say about them; the critics will be judged by what they say about the books."

[paulwilliams]

Regarding the accusations of LOTR as childish, I’m reminded of John Rogers’s comment in 2009:

“There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs."

[allisongliot]

I love seeing how his publishers took a risk with the Lord of the Rings even though they didn’t know how it would fit anywhere or if it would sell, and as a result it sparked a whole new genre and way of storytelling. Just goes to show how publishers (and authors) have to be willing to take risks every now and then for us to discover new classics.

[walteroakley]

As an aspiring fantasy writer (debut is with an editor as we speak) I have to acknowledge that Tolkien and LotR are still the standard that all other fantasy is compared to. If you even mention that you write fantasy most people will usually say "Oh, like Lord of the Rings". In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that. He did a lot that I liked, but also some things that I didn't like. So I write my story accordingly, and acknowledge his influence.

[andrewbutler]

Thank you so much for featuring the Mount Fuji quotation (that I had not previously encountered) from Sir Terry Pratchett - I miss him even more now...

[movalodh]

"The Earthsea Trilogy", by Ursula K. LeGuin seems to have been influenced by Tolkein. Also, Michael Moorcock's Elric books took place in a masterfully crafted world, with a detailed pantheon of gods, and a lot of history. It is a world of demons, sorcerers, and swords. One could possibly argue the same for Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, set a million or so years in the future in a world rich with geography, vast ancient history, magic and sorcery, and bizarre creatures.

[Ned_of_the_Hill]

As always, very thoughtful commentary. I think one additional factor to consider is how genre fiction in general has become more mainstream with time. With the partial exception of mysteries, a lot of genre fiction was dismissed as adolescent trash for decades. I know it was when I was in high school in the very early 1980s. By the time I was in grad school, I was attending conference presentations on "Dune" and Machiavelli, 1950's alien invasion films, and the politics of "Star Trek". One panelist even presented a paper on the social allegories in "Gilligan's Island". Academic books on the Planet of the Apes and Godzilla soon followed. I even teach my own course on science fiction now. Fantasy, science fiction, supernatural horror, and superheroes are no longer relegated to the cultural fringe. I think you are absolutely right that Tolkien and Tolkien fandom helped all this happen. Thanks again for another great video!

[Augustus_Imperator]

"Couldn't be argued that since its publication works have come out that eclipse Tolkien's?"
"No"
Great video anyway 😆

[iannicholson]

My neighbour knocked on the door today with an unexpected diagnosis of throat cancer. I bought her some roses later because I honestly didn't know what to do. Thank you for you essential compassion. I have found in life, however much lucky in love, that a man should always remain a gentleman. You are clearly a lady and I follow you with best interest and astonishment. Today this offers some relief from an unfortunate horror which has been less than rewarding. Thanks for what you do. The internet can be a dreadful thing but equally can offer a charming, if occasional repose. With best wishes madam and thank you. You are a lady and deserving of the respect of what I have always been, Happily an Englishman . I shall quietly respect you as a gentleman should.

[sourisvoleur]

I would love to hear your thoughts about how the original fandom evolved through the decades before the movies, and then with and after the movies.

[tomhedger]

Brilliant. Really looking forward to the Discworld episode.

[profile]

I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on the works of Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and H.P. Lovecraft. Their work also resurfaced in the late 60's among the hippy-ish circles, probably riding the Tolkien/fantasy train that got moving again at that time.

[richardmather]

In addition to his talent, no other author ever had the tools that Tolkien had. The early 20th century college education. The expertise in languages and the early stories of Northern cultures. Then you add that he worked on his world in his head and on paper for, what, fifty years? He is in a class by himself.

[chibip]

That quote from Terry Pratchett is GOLDEN

[dustinneely]

Well done, and yes you are only scratching the surface.

I don't think Robert E. Howard & Edgar Rice Burroughs get the credit they deserve for world building.

Long before Peter Jackson Tolkien broke into pop culture. In the 70s you got Led Zeppelin's Tolkien inspired lyrics, Rank & Bass' "The Hobbit" & Ralph Bakshi's "Lord of the Rings".

The 80s was a decade of Sword & Sorcery with Dungeons & Dragons, films like Conan the Barbarian, Excalibur, Krull, Legend, The Dark Crystal, Labyrinth & Highlander.

The Japanese started producing Manga like "Berserk" & anime like "Record of Lodoss War" & "Ninja Scroll". Blind Guardian's concept album "Nightfall in Middle-Earth" inspired by the Similrilian came out in the 1990s along with the impact of Square Soft with the Final Fantasy video games, Chrono Trigger & Secret of Mana.

If people are borrowing from Tolkien it is only fair to point out that he "borrowed" quite a bit from Celtic, Welsh & Germanic myth.

I would be lying if I didn't think Arthurian Literature & Richard Wagner's "The Ring Cycle" had something to do with LOTR.

[GoranXII]

It says a lot that Martin has yet to answer himself some of the questions he asks about Middle Earth. For all his work on Westeros, he has yet to provide anything more than the basest idea of currency.