Visualizing Middle-earth by Michael Martinez

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- Visualizing Middle-earth

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- Visualizing Middle-earth

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by Michael Martinez

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Collection of essays about J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and online fandom. Most of the essays are taken from the weekly Tolkien and Middle-earth topic at http://www.suite101.com/. Where necessary the information has been updated, and many corrections have been made, so these are not just reprints of the Web site essays.

A few essays were published elsewhere, including Xenite.Org, my domain. The longest essay is a research paper, "Understanding Magic in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth", written for the online gaming community in early 1999 in anticipation of the now discontinued Middle-earth Online game. At the time the original development team was soliciting comments and suggestions from prospective gamers for possible design criteria.

A list of the essays follows:

Welcome to Tolkien's Middle-earth...online (August 10, 1999)

My first article for Suite101, this essay provides some background information on me and a general introduction to Tolkien resources on the Web.

Can Middle-earth survive the commercialization of Tolkien? (August 27, 1999)

A discussion of the impact that commercial licensing has had and may have on the perceptions of generations of J.R.R. Tolkien fans.

What Can We Expect From the Upcoming Movies? (September 3, 1999)

Before there were spy reports there were wild predictions. This essay explores some of the themes in Tolkien's book and how they might be portrayed in Peter Jackson's films. This was my most popular article at Suite101 up through early 2000. I actually peppered the essay with a few hints about things I had discussed with an artist at WETA Ltd. about a year before.

Garn, Garn, It's an Orc's Life for me! (September 10, 1999)

Another article inspired by the upcoming movies, this essay looks at what it may be like to be an Orc in Tolkien's imagination, in the online gaming world, and in the movies.

Hey guys, how's the weather down there? (September 17, 1999)

After rereading Paul Kocher's book, The Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien: Master of Middle-earth, I decided to look at how weather, one of the themes Kocher discussed, might affect the movies. This was another very popular article.

Where are the Aragorn and Arwen Web Sites? (September 23, 1999)

This essay was outdated almost as soon as it was published. Stuart Townsend left the production soon afterward and Viggo Mortensen replaced him. I decided not to change the names, but to leave the essay intact and just insert a note at the beginning. The essay discusses the dearth of fandom for Aragorn and Arwen, how that should change after the movies are released, and what sort of information fans may want to know about the two characters (from the books).

Dear Gandalf... (October 1, 1999)

This essay looks at Gandalf's early career, which is undocumented by Tolkien. By examining the history of Eriador and Rhovanion, as well as what little Tolkien wrote about the Istari, it is possible to make some guesses at who might have known Gandalf. Concludes a humorous epistiary section with imaginary correspondences between Gandalf and kings of Arthedain/Arnor.

Would Sandra Bullock be a good Mrs. Isildur? (October 8, 1999)

Not so much about Sandra Bullock as about the never-named wife of Isildur, this essay tackles the difficult question of what sort of story might be constructed about the mother of Valandil who was widowed more than a year after the War of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men ended. I drew upon many sources to build up a picture of what the family of Elendil must have experienced, and where Isildur's wife may have ended up.

Tolkien's Middle-earth doesn't look like Medieval Europe (October 15, 1999)

One of the more controversial essays in the collection, this article examines Tolkien's depiction of Middle-earth and the Rohirrim and challenges the widely held view that Middle-earth is intended to be a pseudo-medieval setting.Next Page