M
Mr_Friscus
Guest
There are many things one can enjoy about the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I, myself, just finished watching the third installment, “The Return of the King”, earlier this evening once again. I find myself watching some of these series of movies at least once throughout any given year.
One thing I noticed in the past is that certain parts drummed up special, intense emotions inside of me. While there are stereotypical reasons for intense emotions at these specific parts of the movie, assigning these emotions to the true reason for their effect has escaped me, until now.
What parts? Let’s talk battle scenes. In “LOTR: Return of the King”, the forces of Mordor march on the city of Manisterith, of which the armies of men defend. They’re losing the battle, retreating inward within the city. Then, out of the blue, the assembled forces of Rohan arrive at the battlefield, and after a stoic entrance heroically charge into battle.
At first guess, one might surmise that I’m excited simply because of the violence and high-action content. However, I’ve never been one to be hypnotized by violence just for its own sake, although it’s a necessary element at times in telling a story.
So, what else is going on here that could possibly incite this emotion in me? How about the reasons for the army of Rohan’s arrival? A previously conflicted King Theodin, theoretically unwilling and wavering to assist Manisterith, much because the Steward of the city did not use his forces to assist Theodin when Rohan was in need, during the defense of Helm’s Deep. Eventually, Theodin, with heavy persuasion from Aragorn, overcomes this conflict, and answers the call for aid even though he received none in return, performing a true act of support, charity, and brotherhood! That certainly has something to do with a spike in emotion when the Riders of Rohan arrive at the battlefield, but isn’t the true cause either. That just wasn’t it.
Then, I p(name removed by moderator)ointed it. I connected a theoretical fantasy of mine to why I was so charged as the riders of Rohan sprinted into the legions of Mordor, taking it to them with the most brutal of justified force.
As I watched the entire LOTR series, it came to me how there is a certain luxury here for these men of Rohan, and all men in the trilogy; true evil is represented here in the flesh. Saron, and his armies of Mordor, are not men, and not made in God’s image. They needn’t receive any compassion or worth, and encompass only the concept of evil. In real life, even in times of war, the opponent is a human being, even if sworn to kill and defeat you. This conflict can truly question whether the right action is being made. It questions the absolute certainty of convictions to slay any human enemy or army.
Then, It hit me that evil in my own personal life is not in the flesh, or objectified whatsoever. I cannot lash out physically at evil, even if I may hate it. This yearning to pummel a physical representation of evil with every ounce of my strength is what truly spiked my emotion levels to the highs I speak of.
I wish it were that straightforward and simple in my life. However, it isn’t. I can swing my fist at “evil” as much as I want, and two outcomes can occur: I take an odd whiff at nothingness or injure my fist.
I sometimes imagine a scenario where one of the biggest forms of evil in my life, depression, were suddenly offered to me as a physical object. One object that came to mind, oddly enough, was a television set. Not only were “depression”, “lust”, “Lack of Trust in God” and “sexual impurity” encased within this mystical TV, but also written brashly on its exterior.
I approach this TV with a baseball bat, slowly, heavily breathing as I stand in front of the things that have caused me so much pain and guilt throughout my life. I see it, laying there, entirely helpless and vulnerable. One might think the urge to act instantly would win out, but this objectified nutshell of sin doesn’t get off that easy. No sir.
My face fumes, my eyes water, my nostrils flare with aggression, my breathing heavy and even restricted due to my rage as I circle this object, stalk it, and twirl the bat in my hand as I pace.
“So here you are, right in front of me” I say, and go on a tangent of charges against this cauldron of evil, Listing them one by one, and how they’ve effected my life. I lose my composure and maniacally scream at this evil*** “I HATE YOU! I… HATE YOU!” *** The screaming is a big release of exertion, and I silently gather myself, for a calm few seconds, a calm before the storm.
*“Now that I’ve said my peace, It’s time to make you pay for what you’ve done” *I decry. My hands tighten their grip on the bat. My entire life begins to flash before my eyes, and although it takes a long time, within 2 seconds I’ve charged, coordinated my approach in sync with my backswing, and delivered my first punishing blow to these vices that now are at my mercy. I scream again, “I HATE YOU!”, and deliver another blow, and another. Glass is shattered, plastic is split, Sin is being pummeled.
… continued on next post…
One thing I noticed in the past is that certain parts drummed up special, intense emotions inside of me. While there are stereotypical reasons for intense emotions at these specific parts of the movie, assigning these emotions to the true reason for their effect has escaped me, until now.
What parts? Let’s talk battle scenes. In “LOTR: Return of the King”, the forces of Mordor march on the city of Manisterith, of which the armies of men defend. They’re losing the battle, retreating inward within the city. Then, out of the blue, the assembled forces of Rohan arrive at the battlefield, and after a stoic entrance heroically charge into battle.
At first guess, one might surmise that I’m excited simply because of the violence and high-action content. However, I’ve never been one to be hypnotized by violence just for its own sake, although it’s a necessary element at times in telling a story.
So, what else is going on here that could possibly incite this emotion in me? How about the reasons for the army of Rohan’s arrival? A previously conflicted King Theodin, theoretically unwilling and wavering to assist Manisterith, much because the Steward of the city did not use his forces to assist Theodin when Rohan was in need, during the defense of Helm’s Deep. Eventually, Theodin, with heavy persuasion from Aragorn, overcomes this conflict, and answers the call for aid even though he received none in return, performing a true act of support, charity, and brotherhood! That certainly has something to do with a spike in emotion when the Riders of Rohan arrive at the battlefield, but isn’t the true cause either. That just wasn’t it.
Then, I p(name removed by moderator)ointed it. I connected a theoretical fantasy of mine to why I was so charged as the riders of Rohan sprinted into the legions of Mordor, taking it to them with the most brutal of justified force.
As I watched the entire LOTR series, it came to me how there is a certain luxury here for these men of Rohan, and all men in the trilogy; true evil is represented here in the flesh. Saron, and his armies of Mordor, are not men, and not made in God’s image. They needn’t receive any compassion or worth, and encompass only the concept of evil. In real life, even in times of war, the opponent is a human being, even if sworn to kill and defeat you. This conflict can truly question whether the right action is being made. It questions the absolute certainty of convictions to slay any human enemy or army.
Then, It hit me that evil in my own personal life is not in the flesh, or objectified whatsoever. I cannot lash out physically at evil, even if I may hate it. This yearning to pummel a physical representation of evil with every ounce of my strength is what truly spiked my emotion levels to the highs I speak of.
I wish it were that straightforward and simple in my life. However, it isn’t. I can swing my fist at “evil” as much as I want, and two outcomes can occur: I take an odd whiff at nothingness or injure my fist.
I sometimes imagine a scenario where one of the biggest forms of evil in my life, depression, were suddenly offered to me as a physical object. One object that came to mind, oddly enough, was a television set. Not only were “depression”, “lust”, “Lack of Trust in God” and “sexual impurity” encased within this mystical TV, but also written brashly on its exterior.
I approach this TV with a baseball bat, slowly, heavily breathing as I stand in front of the things that have caused me so much pain and guilt throughout my life. I see it, laying there, entirely helpless and vulnerable. One might think the urge to act instantly would win out, but this objectified nutshell of sin doesn’t get off that easy. No sir.
My face fumes, my eyes water, my nostrils flare with aggression, my breathing heavy and even restricted due to my rage as I circle this object, stalk it, and twirl the bat in my hand as I pace.
“So here you are, right in front of me” I say, and go on a tangent of charges against this cauldron of evil, Listing them one by one, and how they’ve effected my life. I lose my composure and maniacally scream at this evil*** “I HATE YOU! I… HATE YOU!” *** The screaming is a big release of exertion, and I silently gather myself, for a calm few seconds, a calm before the storm.
*“Now that I’ve said my peace, It’s time to make you pay for what you’ve done” *I decry. My hands tighten their grip on the bat. My entire life begins to flash before my eyes, and although it takes a long time, within 2 seconds I’ve charged, coordinated my approach in sync with my backswing, and delivered my first punishing blow to these vices that now are at my mercy. I scream again, “I HATE YOU!”, and deliver another blow, and another. Glass is shattered, plastic is split, Sin is being pummeled.
… continued on next post…