An Unexpected Journey

This movie season is one I have been anticipating for a long time. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will finally be hitting theaters on December 14th and, boy, am I relieved! I first heard about the possible project being spearheaded by Peter Jackson maybe a year or so after The Return of the King was completed, but then began the long convoluted drama between Jackson and New Line Cinema. I wondered - along with hundreds of thousands of others - if this movie would ever be made.

The wait is over! The movie will be out this December and it gets better: it's going to be released as a trilogy! Oh happy day!

When The Fellowship of the Ring came out, I had yet to read any of Tolkien's works. I was in high school and was going through my uppity, I only read serious fiction, phase (thank God I grew out of that!) and really had no time or patience for fantasy novels.

That all ended the moment Bilbo slipped the ring on at his (111th!) birthday party and disappeared before our very eyes. I was hooked! I must've seen that film a dozen times in the theatre, at least, since it eventually and conveniently made its way to our local $2 theatre, making it a nice way to kill an hour or forty five minutes before moving on to other adventures.

As a sophomore in college, I finally picked up the books and over the course of four months, I spent every available second reading The Lord of the Rings. It only took me so long because I was a Biology major and, unfortunately, had to delegate much of my precious free time to studying. An education in Middle Earth was much preferable, but I was shelling out quite a bit in tuition and had to make an effort, though during my study breaks, I was right there with Frodo and Sam.

I discovered a whole new world of orcs and hobbits, elves and ents, of how good can triumph over evil, of the imposition of modernity and technology against living a simpler life and that you can't always stop change, and what true friendship looks like. The Lord of the Rings opened my eyes to worlds and themes beyond my previous reckoning and, most of all, introduced me to myself.

From there on, I became a fantasy nerd. And thank God for that! Let's face it: the LOTR was pure escapism for me. Why sit through the drudgery of molecular biology texts when you can instead be enthralled by Tom Bombadil? But I found true happiness in these books. I became insatiable, devouring book after book. After LOTR, I read the Hobbit (yes, out of order, but that's okay), then the complete Chronicles of Narnia. And shortly thereafter? Harry Potter. Trust me, that one did not come easy either, but I'll save that for another post.

My mom and I outside The Eagle and Child pub where the Inklings (including JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis) held their meetings.

Eventually, I found my niche, my community, and even my calling in the fantasy genre. I never knew how much I needed whimsy and magic in my life until I found myself in these books. Looking back, it's hard to imagine what life was like prior to LOTR; it's become so ingrained in who I am now that I have to remind myself this wasn't how it's always been.

Many, if they're lucky, find their way into the fantasy world eventually. Some get there by means of a wardrobe, or a police box, or through Platform 9 3/4. For me, Tolkien will always hold a special place in my heart as my gateway drug into fantasy.

I may love Harry Potter a great (great!) deal, but I was an elf in Rivendale long before I was ever a first year at Hogwarts. When life starts getting to be a little bit much, I'm so thankful that I'll be given three more opportunities to dive back into Middle Earth, let Gandalf the Grey's magic restore me, and be ready to slay the metaphorical dragons coming my way.

I leave you with these two wonderful trailers for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and hope you share in my unadulterated glee in watching them:

(P.S. I'm fairly certain I shouldn't find Richard Armitage good looking in his hairy dwarf costume, but I can't help myself.)