Commentary: The Hobbit

Last Tuesday evening Barbara and I went to see "The Battle of the Five Armies" the third and final Hobbit movie. I first read the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit more than 40 years ago. It was my first journey into the world of Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits. I was enthralled then and continue to be enthralled. I have waited patiently through the past ten years to see these marvelous literary masterpieces brought to life on the big screen and now that the last of the Hobbit ...series is complete, I would hope that Mr. Jackson will look at the other writings of Tolkien such as "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, Farmer Giles of Ham, or perhaps even the stories of the Silmarillion for inspiration to keep bringing us stories of Middle Earth. I think Mr. Jackson, while taking great literary and theatrical license with the original stories, has brought us a great work which can inspire us to accept our differences, understand that often the greatest power comes from the least of sources, to stand for what is right, and to defend beauty, peace, and love from destruction by ever present and malevolent evil. I told Barbara yesterday that perhaps the best lines in the final film are these which pass between Thranduil and Tauriel near the end. Tauriel asks. "Why does it hurt so much" referring to the death of Kili and to her question Thranduil responds, "because it was real" referring to her love for Kili. Perhaps that is the secret to my love for the stories of Tolkien, it is because they are real to me and have became part of my very soul.