Hi there #1!

Well I don’t know who is dissing Frodo, but I’m certainly not one of those people, as in the books he is one of my favorite characters. I think Frodo had tremendous strength, and a very strong spirit. No one else could have carried the burden so long, and he tried the best he could to complete his task.

I’m assuming that being only 12, that you most likely have not read The Silmarillion, but really Frodo is kind of a Third Age instrument of Eru (the one God, also known as Illuvatar), and take my word for it, that says a lot about his character. Frodo was part of Eru’s divine plan in the ultimate scheme of Ea (the World, the material universe).

The “weakening” if you will, on Frodo’s part was necessary for Tolkien not only to show the incredible corrupting power of The One, but also for Tolkien to illustrate the human condition. Had Frodo been some sort of a “super Hobbit” impervious to the will of The One, the story would have never worked. We need to see his faults, his struggles, and his weakness at times, because that’s how we as humans relate. We all have our own faults, struggles, weaknesses, and choices in our lives that each of us must face, and that’s something Tolkien so brilliantly conveys in his writings, and is a large part of why his stories have been so successful, and have touched so many people.

Having been around this site for a while (and on other’s where people aren’t as nice as they are here, and say all sorts of nasty things about a lot of my favorite character’s), I think you will find that probably the reason that people dis Frodo, is because they think he whines too much. Kind of like how a lot of people I know can’t stand Luke Skywalker in EP4 “A New Hope”, and in EP5 “The Empire Strikes Back” because he comes off as such a whiner. However, I tell those people all the time that in Luke’s case, it was necessary to show his transformation from a snotty nosed kid who really didn’t know anything, into the ultimate Jedi Master he becomes. The same is somewhat true for Frodo (in terms of transformation), just in a different fashion, and under different circumstances.

Don’t let it get to you too much if people bag on Frodo, just realize that it’s only their opinion, and they’re entitled to feel that way if they want. After all Frodo is a Ring-Bearer, and in Tolkien’s world, that’s one of the highest honors one can receive. In addition, Frodo was one of the few non-Elves who ever got to go to the Undying Lands, and there aren’t many people who can say that.

Elfstone and Valedhelgwath have got it right #1ElijahLover, it is the movie Frodo that is wussish, only due to the time restraint of developing a character's inner feelings and strengths on film.

In the book Frodo is strong and remains so until he gets to Mordor when due to the nearness of Sauron, The Ring becomes more powerful and overbears Frodo's innate incorruptibility and grinds him down. Even then he isn't a wuss, just a poor hobbit that has had a great burdensome task laid upon him, that he can only complete with the help of his friend and his mirror image, that being Sméagol/Gollum.

That some people also don't like Sam is just their being contrary and/or their following the pack of naysayers. Try to ignore them, or at least don't take them seriously, and never let them get to you. You have a right to your views and beliefs as do they, and we can remain a happy family if no one is put down for their views and beliefs.

i adore the frodo from the book and forever will, for he was first and he was just differant from the movie. but i cannot deny,ethier,that i do not have a little soft spot for the movie frodo.but as you all have said and are right, the book is forever better.[even though the movies are kool]

sincerely:#1ElijahLover

(o! and ElfStone i have read the begining of Sil, in 5th grade, but stopped beacause i found it a bit difficult. )

Yes I agree with Val #1EL, it’s probably best to wait till you get a little bit older before you have another go at reading the Sil. However, when and if you’re ready, you’ve got a serious treasure waiting for you to be harvested.

Anyway, as Val and Grondy (and others) have rightly pointed out, it’s really the movie version of Frodo that other people have issues with. I purposely tried to steer clear from mentioning the movie Frodo, because obviously you’re a huge E.W. fan, and I didn’t want to throw water on your fire in anyway. Personally I’m not that big on E.W. (maybe if I was your age, and female that might be different, but I’m a 32-year-old male, so it’s Liv, and Miranda that I have a tendency to swoon over), but I have nothing against him, and I do think he’s doing an admirable job portraying Frodo. He doesn’t write the lines, so it’s not really his fault that P.J. and Co. are making him appear vastly different than the book Frodo at times.

Also, as Grondy said, just ignore the naysayers. There is always going to be people out there that will bash on something just because (even though when you call them on it, 95% of the time, they can’t ever articulate an intelligent response), especially in this case, because there are so many young girls out there like yourself that are into E.W., and O.B. Try not to let it bother you.

Nor did I for that matter #1EL. To me Elijah was the perfect person to play that role. Like I said, he brought Frodo alive for me. He was just as I had always imagined Frodo to look. My only problem was with the length of the film. It would take hours to properly develop the Ring's hold over Frodo; something they did not have. Unfortunately, like I pointed out above, this is one of the drawbacks films face compared to the books they are taken from.

You are so right about not being able to judge a book by it cover. I personally like long hair and and a beard on a men. I think it is sexy. If I had a business, I would hire you in a heartbeat. lol Especially after all of your wonderful posts here. Alas, I can't help you out. Good luck on the job hunting

Well Once again I must thank you for your kind words, and the vote of confidence Mellie!


Yes it’s not the ladies that ever seem to have a problem with my hair; it’s just the employers! Although I’m a happily married man (the wife and I just celebrated our one year anniversary in May), it certainly never seemed to hurt my chances when I was a single lad.


Alas, I can’t really complain, the situation I’m in is just temporary. I’ve actually been really lucky (probably part of my problem) the last couple of years. I started my own business 2 ½ years ago, so I’ve enjoyed the benefits of being my own boss. Plus I have a lot of positive things on the horizon in the not too distant future. In about 3 to 6 months from now I’ll be back to being my own boss again.

That’s part of what makes it so tough right now though, after not having to work for anybody else for the last 2 ½ years, I soooo don’t want to work for anybody else again (unless it was really worth it), but sometimes we all gotta do what we gotta do! Anyway something will turn up.

Anilorak my friend, I have some small words of advice if I may. I’m sure Ross is a nice guy when he wants to be (just kidding), and he’s a Tolkien purist, and a defender of the faith, which I immensely respect, because so am I, but he absolutely loathes P.J., and the movies, and you will be wasting your time debating anything about the films with him. There is nothing that you, or I, or anyone else on this site (or in the world for that matter) can do to possibly change his mind even in the slightest bit when it comes to P.J. I think it’s quite possible that Ross is the person that despises P.J. the most in the entire world!

Don’t take it personally, and don’t let it get to you. If you spend enough time around here (and I hope you do), you will ultimately realize that that’s just Ross being himself.

No offense intended Ross; I can respect the way you are. At least you’re honest, and true to yourself. I wasn’t happy with P.J. and Co’s portrayal of Faramir in TTT in the least bit either, but I’m willing to give him the chance to redeem himself in ROTK. However, if Faramir still comes off looking like he did in TTT, I won’t be happy!

Thanks for the kind words Val I appreciate it! I definitely do have some big, bright lights at the end of my tunnel, and that certainly helps me to stay positive, and focused on the big picture.

I made my own bed with this temporary situation I’m in anyway. As I’ve stated on this site a few times before, music is my main thing. I’ve had tons of friends that have all had major label record deals, and every single one of my friends, and their bands have gotten screwed over by the bigs.

Seeing first hand how lame most major labels are, I decided to go it on my own. With my current project, my partner and I play acoustic blues (traditional, and originals), and I have completely financed our first album (coming out next month) on my own. The problem is that I used my cash flow from my business to finance the album, and the process has taken a little bit longer than initially expected (I originally thought I would have the album out about 8 months ago), so it’s really just a short-term sacrifice (and completely worth it). As soon as the album comes out, and we sell x amount of copies, I will recoup my cash, and be back to being my own boss again. This process should only take a few months. Plus we have a bunch of gigs coming up, so that will help put some scratch in the old back pocket.

We’ve got some people with serious contacts that are excited, and very into what we’re doing. When our album comes out, its going out to a lot of people at specifically smaller labels that cater to blues artists, and some radio stations, and magazines, so who knows we may even end up getting some sort of a deal. Although it would have to be something that would be to good to pass up, because I’m more than content to finance our records, and promote us on my own (I manage us as well).

There’s definitely some exciting things on the horizon!




Anilorak, I was also severely disappointed with that aspect of the film, but we can take some solace in the fact that the extended edition of TTT, is going to have tons of additional footage with Treebeard, and the Ents, so we should be a lot happier with their treatment when that comes out in November!

My apologies to all PT members, and to the Council for this thread straying a bit off topic recently. From this point on, I’ll try to take all non-Frodo related discussion elsewhere.

hopefully there will be some scenes in the extended DVD that will put right the wrongs to some of the charactors in ttt, as PJ said in the fotr ex DVD about the fotr theactrical version of the movie, they had to keep the movie *ring* orientated and cut anything that moved away from that, but there were many bits, like the gift giving, that he was loathe to cut, but had to, but we'll see won't we.

Yes, so we must wait to see Shelob in December, unless we actually luck out and she is included on a LotR: RotK trailer in the November release of the LotR: TTT Extended DVD.

Her just biting Frodo will be ample for me; I'm uncomfortable near spiders, automobile sized ones even more so!

[Edited on 5/7/2003 by Grondmaster]