Of Thorin Oakenshield and The Hobbit - a perspective from across the Tasman

Re-post "On Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" - Richard Armitage defines Thorin Oakenshield"

On Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” – Richard Armitage Defines Thorin Oakenshield (via Xenite.Org)

Having now seen “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” I must say that I loved the movie. Sure, there are changes from the books, additions to the storyline, and some rather inexplicable logic that puzzles me — but overall I give the film an 8-out-of-10 rating. While Martin Freeman deserves considerable…

The Hobbit - a philosophical review | British Psychological Society

Following is an excerpt from an interesting review written by Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson. Read on ....

The Hobbit - a philosophical Review

"Much of the early discussion of Peter Jackson's new film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, has focused on Jackson's use of the latest 3D technology by shooting at 48 frames-per-second. Some viewers complain that the picture quality is so eye-poppingly clear that it becomes distracting and even disquieting. Jackson himself has remarked that it may take the average filmgoer half the movie before he or she feels truly comfortable.

Comfort, in fact, is a major theme in the film, as it is in the classic children's book on which it is based. Bilbo, 'a Baggins of Bag End', spends a good portion of the film praising, then longing for the comforts of home. On the first page, author J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that Bilbo's home meant 'comfort'. For French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, the 'house allows one to dream in peace'. Without a house, 'man is a dispersed being'. In the climactic scene of the film outside Gollum's cave, Bilbo finally commits himself wholeheartedly to the quest, telling Thorin that because he likes his home so much he wants to help the Company take back their own home from the dragon who made them refugees.............."

Read the rest of the review here: The Hobbit - a philosophical review | BPS.