Watching the Hobbit movies while working today (working from home is great, by the way!) and I hit on another reason why I’m not overly impressed by Peter Jackson’s interpretation. Besides the cheeky “love story”, jumbled chronology, or Legolas being added in, I have two deeper reasons I wanted to discuss today.

The portrayal of Thorin

In the films, Thorin Oakenshield is portrayed as a rugged hero, selflessly trying to free his home from the tyranny of Smaug. He is the introspective leader of a lost people, mourning for a nation displaced by chaos. Basically, trying to be the Aragorn that was portrayed in the LOTR films.

But the problem is that Thorin is not Aragorn and the story shouldn’t be crammed to fit into that mold. Thorin is, at his core, a thoroughly shitty person who is driven only by his greed.

Look, the Dwarves are all about greed. They’ve always been the race most likely to sit on hoards of riches, more so than men even, and still seek more. The Seven (the Dwarven Rings of Power) only accentuate this. Like the other Rings of Power, they amplify deep desires and instincts (Men want power, so they get it, and get corrupted by it for example). Dwarven rings enhance this greed.

Thrain, Thorin’s father, was the last bearer of one of the Dwarven rings. In the years after they left the Lonely Mountain, Thrain became prosperous again but went mad because he wanted the riches of Erebor not just what he already had. Thorin grew up in a household completely obsessed with gold and riches. If you did not have them, or if someone had more, then you had no succeeded.

During the journey, Bilbo and the others are fairly expendable as long as he can use them to get his gold back. He doesn’t really give a damn and sends Bilbo into harms way multiple times without regard for Bilbo at all.

So, surprise, Thorin is killed in his pursuit of his goal. It’s basically Tolkien’s 2nd biggest point of the story, the dangers of unchecked greed.

The crowding out of Bilbo

More importantly than Thorin’s errant portrayal is Bilbo’s absolutely unforgivable push out of the central storyline. He’s still there, doing things and putting on the ring but the storyline is not about Bilbo; it’s about Thorin.
This point is related to my above problem with Thorin’s portrayal but at its heart, “The Hobbit” is a story of Bilbo’s personal change. It isn’t about retaking a mountain or the killing of a dragon; it’s about Bilbo going out into the world and discovering something about himself. It’s a coming of age story and that story has been put firmly on the back-burner by Peter Jackson.
I actually don’t have much problem with the on-screen portrayal with Bilbo. Martin Freeman has been great and his writing has been solid. Where I DO have the problem is with how that portrayal fits into the rest of the film. His portrayal should be central. 
“The Hobbit” is a character piece and should not be treated as cheap action fodder. It cheapens the work and cheapens the artistry.

The films are fun to watch but don’t mistake them for the books on-screen, perhaps an “Inspired by the works of JRR Tolkien” disclaimer would be more appropriate.

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Published by Adam J

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