ATTENTION ALL FANS: Middle Earthians, Tolkienites, Ringers, and Tolkiendils alike!!!
As we all now know, it has recently been announced that Amazon has bought the rights to LOTR with the intention of making a television show based on events prior to The Fellowship of the Ring.
Now from what I understand, there are a lot of different opinions regarding whether or not this is a good idea. Some of us are feeling...
While others feel like...
And if you’re like me, then you’re probably feeling this...
Regardless of our different opinions, I think we can all agree that we are very much on high alert right now. Why’s that you ask?
Actually yes! Yes we are, because we still don’t know if this is a genuine attempt to make an honest story worthy of Tolkien’s approval, or just some money grabbing scheme to outdo Game of Thrones. Worst of all, we literally know nothing [Jon Snow] about what the show is even supposed to be about. Is it set pre or post the events of The Hobbit? Who does the story follow? How much source material will they be using? What sort of “artistic embellishments” will they be taking on the canon? How much will they change? WILL IT STILL FEEL LIKE THE MIDDLE EARTH WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE!?!?!?
IS OUR BELOVED STORY IN SAFE HANDS!?!?!?
These are the sorts of things we worry about as fans, and with good reason too. See, when it comes to adapting books onto the screen, the film/tv industry has kind of been lacking as of late... Sadly our fandom knows this all too well...
...and that is why we are afraid.
Not all is lost. There is still one important deciding factor that we need to consider here. US! That’s right, us; because thanks to Amazon, our fandom has re-awoken! And we come with HOPE
Now listen up, because here’s where we come into the mix. We as fans need to GET INVOLVED with this project, and we need to be adamant. We need to let Amazon and the whole world know that if they’re gonna do this, they gotta do it right, and that means CONSULTING WITH US - THE FANS! You know, the people who they are making these stories for?
This is where #ConsultTheFans comes into play. Let’s see if we can spread this hashtag all over the internet until the message is made perfectly clear that we need to be a part of making this show, if not all of us then at least enough to keep the writers in line. You know, in case they decide to get a little too creative with the show and the already existing canon of the books and films.
As a current film and drama student at university, I especially want to be a part of this project, and I’ll sign up for whatever job they have open - because I really don’t like the idea of leaving nasty corporations unsupervised with my precious fandom - Gollum! Gollum!
Now to make myself clear I DON’T WANT TO TELL ANYONE HOW TO DO THEIR JOB. This is Amazon’s property, and I will respect that, but it is also our fandom (something we fans are particularly protective about). Just like the dwarves, elves, and men of Middle Earth, I’m sure we can all be civil with each other in order to strive for a common goal: A Great Story.
Throwing all of my earlier hostilities aside, I do hope that #ConsultTheFans can encourage us all (Amazon included) to turn this dead horse into a re-living classic. In all honesty, I will feel a little more at ease if we can just achieve the following:
Avoid turning this Middle Earth show into a Westeros Themed Wonderland complete with R-rated violence and sexual content. As someone who has been watching the movies since they were four, this bothers me - because if the show is going happen, then I want it to be a show that I could potentially watch with my future kid(s), the same way my brother and I grew up watching the movies with our parents.
Avoid using the series as an excuse to spew out not-so-subtle political statements directed towards issues in today’s society. Well, I suppose it’s not as if Tolkien hated allegory right? OH WAIT! The reason his books are still timeless classics today is because their lack or allegory allows for various readers from different decades to be able to find content in it that they can relate back to their own lives and societal situations (it is not outdated that way). I shall thank you Amazon to do the same with this new show of yours. You don’t have to make it to prove any points, just make it to be good, and the points will prove themselves.
So how ‘bout it Amazon? Can we work together as a team? Can we get along and be friends? Can we join forces and make a show that can be looked back on with pride and love? As the dwarves like to say: “we are at your service.”
