Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Extra Sci Fi - Part 1

[@extrahistory]

Do you think that the Peter Jackson film trilogy captures and presents these themes as well as the books do (if you've read them)? Why, or why not?

[@stephen_lilly_0495]

Extra Credits definitely

[@patriciaguerrero8375]

One of the best movies in my opinion that were made

[@patriciaguerrero8375]

HI

[@summonfish]

Extra Credits I'd say so. It obviously had to make compromises, but it keeps the most important themes of loyalty and friendship, and that's all that really matters. Unrelated, but the LOTR movies are probably the best visualization of a book's aesthetic ever.

[@epg96]

Can you please make video about My Hero Academia, Made in Abyss, or The Promised Neverland? Thx

[@apokalyps2547]

“J.R.R. Tolkien has become a sort of mountain, appearing in all subsequent fantasy in the way that Mt. Fuji appears so often in Japanese prints. Sometimes it’s big and up close. Sometimes it’s a shape on the horizon. Sometimes it’s not there at all, which means that the artist either has made a deliberate decision against the mountain, which is interesting in itself, or is in fact standing on Mt. Fuji.” -- Terry Pratchett

[@chaonis24601]

I would love a video on Pratchett :)

[@Rose-my6dc]

I have all of his books, god he was a great author.

[@BenjiQ575]

This is such a poetic and insightful phrase, that I'm going to give Terry Pratchett a first read, just on the basis of this phrase. If he came up with it, and meant it, the man has a way of conveying something he knows in very real poetic way.

[@countessofcats5549]

@@BenjiQ575Trust me, you will not be disappointed. You may want to look up reading order charts first, though.

[@Rainbowthewindsage]

Terry Pratchett always has such interesting insights about the fantasy genre and writting in general. It's small wonder that the man was knighted for his contribution to literature.

[@Humanlink1]

"what are we holding on to Sam?" "That there's still some good left in the world Mr Frodo, and it's worth fighting for!" *Gollum looks down in shame *I get teary

[@necro-retro915]

*sad*

[@39ocean]

I just wanted to call out David, the artist who‘s done such an amazing job illustrating this series, and especially with handling some of the more abstract concepts excellently! It’s such a pleasure to watch this series, and how complex themes are depicted.

[@FryingPan1812]

You know what is more deadly than the One Ring? *Samwise dishing out death with his frying pan.*

[@pnutz_2]

so deadly he had to leave it in mordor

[@Tie518]

Great... So much for sleeping tonight.

[@seth4607]

I'll use my trusty frying pan as a dying pan!

[@perfidiousprophet]

this comment thread is pure art

[@christophpoll784]

I think Sam would be a Monster-OP-guy in pubg !

[@chriswithee9408]

Two of my favorite things combined - extra credits and LOTR

[@GuiHarrison]

Yeeeees!

[@degenerate3288]

1 ring to return a consistent upload schedule

[@theallseeingtoaster5541]

Joseph Krakowski are you ever going to do an ad on tv

[@theallseeingtoaster5541]

It’s is me Joseph Krakowski with Trojan Condoms

[@ericmans215]

When Extra Credits moved away from Dan and to Matt as the Narrator I was a bit worried but he does such a good job. He has proved it over these seven months. Thanks for being awesome Matt and the rest of the Extra Credits team.

[@TheSmaugBaggins]

I have never clicked on a video of yours so fast. J. R. R. Tolkien and his works have been such a massive influence on my life and has kept me mentally stable through some of my most difficult times. I am so excited to watch these next few videos.

[@sapisjan]

Those opening lines always give me goosebumps. EVERY SINGLE TIME.

[@fjertoch]

I was (and still am) fascinated by the works of Tolkien because no matter how many times I read it, no matter how many videos of explanations, fan theories, etc. I see, there is always something new I didn't know or didn't think of in the next video/read. It would be great if you did a video series on the world and mythology behind it... or anything from Tolkien's work, really.

[@ralphjackson2518]

Personally, I feel any conversation of Lord of the Rings should start with an essay written by Tolkien: On Fairy-stories, where Tolkien lays down the groundwork for the themes and ideas he explores in all of middle earth, and criticizes a lot of the then-prevalent tropes in fantasy works.

[@BariTengineer]

So glad to see you guys jump into Tolkien. Excited to see your take!

[@seanmurphy3430]

I've noticed that the "passing of the torch" theme is something that's become more and more prevalent in the last couple decades, both in terms of the number of stories using it, and in how much emphasis it's given within those stories. Harry Potter's adult characters mostly exist to antagonize, manipulate, disappoint, or fail the adolescent heroes as they gradually taken on more and more responsibility for the well-being of the world. The Legend of Zelda series frames its generational transition as a continuous cycle, with each incarnation of Link and Zelda inheriting the world from their parents and mentors, defeating the evils that their elders failed to defeat, then leaving their tools, and their stories, for their successors to find. A lot of the most popular superheroes right now are sidekicks or legacy heroes, characters defined on some level by their relationship to an older, more recognizable figure. Even the LotR movies put greater emphasis on this theme, with Frodo being much younger than he was in the books, the long-standing divisions between Middle Earth's various factions seeming more bitter and stubborn, and Aragorn spending a lot more time worrying about becoming the sort of king that his ancestors failed to be. I've actually been thinking about this a lot, lately - how most of the sci-fi and fantasy stories I experience seem to feature adolescent heroes grappling with legacy of their elders even as they steadily shape the world anew. Maybe it's just the influence of LotR, but personally, I think there is something more to it. Part of it's that the modern Hero's Journey seems to largely be a coming-of-age story for whatever reason, and coming to better understand the adults in your life and the world they live in is a fairly necessary part of growing up. Part of it is that I think my generation, in particular, has a very distinct feeling of being failed or even betrayed by the generations that preceded us - the economy sucks, climate change is on the verge of becoming apocalyptic, our country still actively persecutes anyone who isn't white, straight, and cisgendered, and the systems through which we might be able to solve these problems mostly seem outdated and ineffective. So there's some catharsis in watching our heroes figure out how to deal with problems that they're not in any way responsible for, both practically and emotionally, and in the adults being forced to clean up their mess.

[@joelsasmad]

So basically Tolkein incorporated a theme that would prove true in the legacy of his books. Lord of the rings would live on in countless new books of sci-fi and fantasy but there would be a lessening as these descendants would rehash tropes while losing touch with the soul of what made Lotor great.

[@AceDroo]

Wow. That was strangely profound. Nice work on that piece of analysis!

[@jacobottesen5279]

I wouldn't say it's COMPLETELY lost, its just that not enough authors are willing to put in the work for it: The only recent fantasy series that comes close to what Tolkien did (in my opinion) is the Stormlight Archive, written by Brandon Sanderson. The world in it is deep enough that each book so far totals over a thousand pages each, and it makes something new out of twisting and playing with conventional fantasy tropes.

[@Ayy_Doll_Fiddler]

What an interesting insight.

[@TheSkyRender]

Some of that is rose-tinted perception, some of it true. It takes great courage to do something new. Some part of you knows that you're "doing it wrong", that this isn't "how you're supposed to do it", but you do it anyway. Tolkien did that when he decided to write a richly detailed historical fiction and give it fantastic elements. That doesn't mean that nobody has made that sort of bold effort since, mind you. We just tend to notice more the ones who follow Tolkien's example by the letter instead of the spirit. I can assure you that there are other authors who have taken bold strides like that since. It's just that many times their efforts didn't pay off, or if they did, they were overshadowed by their predecessors who had made strides to change things before they did. It's easier to ignore something causing waves when you can say "yeah, but so-and-so made waves too x years before they did". Often this leads to the unfair assumption that these newer game changers aren't as important, but they absolutely are. It just tends to take a generation or two to appreciate just how big the impact really was.

[@TGNXAR]

I disagree. While there are many works of low quality today, the same was true in Tolkien's time. Those things which were not great (or even good, or mildly interesting) would not be remembered. THIS is why people yearn for "The Good Old Days (tm)." Not because they were better, but because they have forgotten the things which were not noteworthy and interesting (even if they were terrible).

[@metegunoven6125]

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow..

[@yevheniishyshko7961]

Where is the helm and the hauberk?

[@jalarasstudios414]

Lord of the Rings is probably my favorite book and movie series. So I just want to say thanks a lot for taking the time to talk about it and dive in depth into it. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series!

[@ned821]

I always thought that the lessening of generations was inspired by the contraction of the western roman empire. As Rome left it's provinces, the people there were left with just the memories of the great empire, and the crumbling architecture they left behind. It's a running theme in the arthurian legends, which also inspired a lot of fantasy authors, including J.R.R. Tolkien.

[@perfidiousprophet]

Excellent. Uploaded just when I got really invested into the LOTR series.

[@rsmith5606]

I love LotR and Tolkien, many thanks for doing this episode! Ai Elbereth Gilthoniel!!

[@Wowguy233]

I’ve waited for a solid lord of the rings mythology series from Extra Mythology for a while now. Glad to see you guys making these! :)

[@mrwilliamjoel]

This sort of ties in with your previous video about world building. The scale of the whole mythos back through the silmarillion emphasizes these themes, and the world building that comes through in the Lord of the Rings organically adds to that melancholic sense of the passing of time. Really I'd love to hear you talk about things like the Lay of Lethian and the Song of Durin or ideas like the Doom of the Noldor and the Gift of Illuvatar, which pretty well illustrate what you're talking about

[@jerrycampbell9376]

"...and in the darkness, bind them...." I have a recording of Tolkien reading that passage. Still gives me chills!

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Gandalf bobbing intensifies

[@JimVonSchmittou]

Kim Jong-un I hate what you did to your country

[@TheBackyardChemist]

epic sax guy intensifies

[@JimVonSchmittou]

AlphaChocolateTruffle I’m 12 it’s gonna be some time

[@dannypockets]

It's probably not the real Kim Jong-un.

[@benjaminheadlee8485]

@@dannypockets emphasis on *probably* haha

[@frozenchikin6321]

Hey dol! merry dol! ring a dong dillo!Ring a dong! hop along! Fal lal the willow!Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!

[@z-beeblebrox]

Truly the greatest villain ever put on a page

[@Mr0Anonymous0]

Such a jolly character

[@JoaoPedro-qp9cw]

Loved the take on Tolkien's themes, different from what people usually mention but still spot on and a new fresh air of interpretation

[@stephen_lilly_0495]

The Lord of the Rings are my favorite books

[@lornemiller3489]

The hobbit is the best

[@Automaticstudioss]

Lorne Miller Yeah

[@jamesrobbins1756]

They both are fantastic

[@Pro_Butcher_Amateur_Human]

@The Real Arbiter That is the correct answer.

[@JoseAngelC]

Lol passing of the torch in Star Wars from Luke to Rey as if that's what Ryan Johnson wanted. Loved your video guys! I hope this becomes an excuse for a new Extra Fantasy show soon

[@keepperspective]

Best analysis of Tolkien I’ve heard in my entire life studying Tolkien!

[@KoreanDan310]

God every since you guys started "Extra Sci-Fi" I was hoping you'd touch on Fantasy and thus LOTR, thank you so much and keep up the good work!

[@chillmadude]

ever since you guys first mentioned taking a look at lotr on this show i wondered why, but now that you have explained it, it makes sense

[@CactusJackIV]

I found and subbed to your channel around 2-3months ago. Burnt through all the EC History, in a day maybe 2 days. Then discovered all the sweet Syfy, and gaming content. EC has to be; if not my favorite, in my top 3 favorite KZbin channels.

[@MaskHysteria]

Hard to mention Tolkien without also mentioning Dungeons and Dragons and the spawning of an entire new genre of games - the role playing game. While a number of game designers had attempted similar concepts, it was Tolkien-influenced D&D that capture the imagination of generations afterward.

[@owengar3117]

History and Science Fiction/Fantasy are my two favorite things, and Extra Credits has them both!

[@Asmonix]

Whoaaaa! Such quality video :O those visuals are amazing

[@martinlowther278]

I love the Lord of the ring books but it took me 5 years to get through the first 200 pages as it was so slow at the beginning but finally getting through that opened a rich and inviting story

[@Mitsovitch]

I can't like this enough! I will never see LOTR again in the same way after all these aspects you brought up... This was a well deserved thumb up

[@deirdregibbons5609]

Very nice analysis and good food for thought. I've heard that E R Burroughs influenced some of Tolkien's thinking with the Barsoom tales. Don't know if that is true, but it is certainly a valid point you have that Tolkien has been an influence on science fiction with the dying world and lesser generations theory. I could see that being applied to the earlier books in "The Dragonriders of Pern" series. These first books had an overarching theme of a small group of Pernese people from a decaying society that is possibly facing extinction who first save and then improve their society through rediscovering their space colonist heritage and the special more eco friendly technology of their ancestors that had been forgotten.

[@flibbernodgets7018]

I recently was struck by the notion that I will soon have to give up this world to the next generation. I'm not that old, but I was contemplating how much my own parents have done for me, and what lengths I am willing to go for my own kids, when I have them. I was suddenly struck with an immense sadness for all the opportunities I had missed, knowing that I had dreams that would amount to nothing. Even so, I felt a strong desire to teach my kids to be better orangutans than I ever was, and to give them the means to accomplish their dreams. Even though they aren't born yet, and I know it's impossible, I still want to try to give them everything. It was really eye opening

[@danilooliveira6580]

LoTR was the first real DnD campaign (at least since the Odyssey). so I say it influenced sci-fi and most adventure focused stories way beyond its simple themes.

[@Ghost3210]

The journey of the hobbit friends to Bree will always be my favourite part in the books.

[@boosmith1576]

Alot can be learned and applied from this book to our modern day lives

[@coineineagh]

You gave me a better understanding of the books than I got from reading them, thanks! It makes lots more sense, also the movies.

[@arisan4480]

My favourite video on this channel ! Great job guys.

[@WraythSkitzofrenik]

Oooooh the intro gave me chills!

[@jordanmutlow108]

I'm a simple man. I see extra credits and I like. I see lord of the rings, I comment about my simplicity.

[@lizageorge8923]

4:22 "There are things worth fighting for"

[@lizageorge8923]

OMG I SAW THE TITLE AND NERDED OUT SO MUCH OMG I'M SO EXCITED!!!

[@thenamesydney854]

Yay! I love Lord of the Rings! Also I really love your channel! Sooo... Keep it up you’re doing great!!❤️❤️

[@kevinconrad6156]

That last bit, just brilliant.

[@mhovar101]

I LOVE THIS CHANNEL MORE THEN EVER

[@Jacksiloution]

That music, ITS AMAZING

[@kittipobkunkloy2966]

Now I know why I love history. Thank you good sir!

[@jamestucker4792]

I have a feeling this particular series is going to have a tremendous impact further down the road.

[@Vulcanwoman]

That drawing of Sauron as a dog is funny.

[@ambarrose]

I follow you almost religiously since I've found you but this was made before that. And my favourite. Algorithms just showed it to me after supposedly 5 years of being made.

[@cholloway0046]

didnt even scratch the surface with tolkien... Great Video!

[@tenaciousrodent6251]

Entropy! It's always entropy!

[@zenithquasar9623]

I hadn't thought about the passing on the torch aspect before!

[@DYNO64]

Great cant wait for the rest

[@ViveLRoi]

LOTR having an elegiac sensibility fits well, since as a scholar Tolkein was one of the main proponents of Beowulf as an elegy, and he drew from that (and many other works of European heroic poetry) to craft his story.

[@Theo_Caro]

"Elegiac?" Now there's a five dollar word!

[@karadahlman8184]

Pleeaaassseeee I need more of this!!!

[@Darknight4434]

Oh boy waited so long for this

[@PyroX792]

I find it fitting that LOTR has seen a huge revitalization and boom in popularity among the Millennial generation. I believe this is in part because these themes, especially the "lesser" generations having to solve the problems of the "greater" ones, really speak to us as Millennials.

[@calin6327]

Can we just take a minute and acknowledge the amazing graphics? Holy dayum boi

[@Guydude777]

Glorious. Thanks for the lovely video!

[@theoperator3712]

The Lord of The Rings goes very deep into archetypal narrative. It tells many stories that have been told throughout history in a condensed format. Though at times you have to look hard for some of them.

[@DallasCrane]

Glad I found this channel!

[@DiracComb.7585]

TOOOOOLLLLLLKKKKKIIIIIIEEEEEEENNNNNNN 👍 Still waiting on the series for the history of agriculture

[@davidpeck3316]

ive got back into reading a little because of this series, checking off on some of the classics ive missed/you've mentioned.

[@CristopherCutas]

wow never really thought about it like that. That is a really good take.

[@holosmoss]

wow thanks i kinda needed that reminder

[@sunnyinamorata6574]

you can never have enough lord of the rings content in youtube.

[@jroden06]

Loved this!! Great content as always guys :)

[@vincent4724]

*Sees Lord of the Rings* Me : Oh hey, it's a fantasy! *Sees "Extra Sci Fi"* Me : _HOW COULD YOU_

[@thakillman7]

Sci Fi and Fantasy are fairly close to each other, and often overlap. Star Wars is more fantasy than SciFi, for instance.

[@paulchapman8023]

I forget who said it, but someone said that fantasy is about what is impossible, while sci-fi is about what might be possible under the right circumstances, and that the difference basically boiled down to a judgment call.

[@Carewolf]

@@thakillman7 Even relatively hard sci-fi like Dune or Hyperion can have a lot of Fantasy elements.

[@Theo_Caro]

Yeah, but Extra Speculative Fiction doesn't sound quite right.

[@Moilly2]

And I remember Neil Gaiman saying that all fiction is fantasy. It's one of those Double Meaning words like 'Theory' or 'classical music'.

[@EliteLenny223-Main]

Been a while, EC!!! Yay!!!

[@nowhereman6019]

Sauron looks like a Jojo Stand in the thumbnail.

[@mateobajdak19]

Is this a jojo refrence

[@renaldiroekanto789]

But it is me DIO

[@sirius6738]

Frodo's Bizarre ring: Stardust fellowship

[@karlmarx7333]

BUT THATS JUST A THEORY, A FILM THEORY

[@ilejovcevski79]

Never figured to see LOTR in a SF themed series, but if it means we get to talk more about Tolkien.......i'm in!

[@frankharr9466]

That makes sense. And given his own history and what was going on around him, it would make sense. I wonder if that's part of why I like Decomposing Composers.

[@WolfGr33d]

I read somewhere that Tolkien viewed the concept of history as one massive spanning defeat. Kind of pessimistic, but I'd argue Tolkien wasn't saying the future is hopeless. He seemed to treat the 'defeat' with a kind of bittersweet attitude.

[@shadoww4818]

much more nuanced argument of Tolkien's view of time than what Philosophy of made

[@huh-h1n1]

I love Extra credits thx for the sci fi series

[@quintu5]

I've never seen LotR in that way. Awesome video guys!

[@sortof3337]

I love this channel.

[@shanestevens5352]

So starts the greatest story ever told

[@summonfish]

Excited!!!

[@C0365086]

Love lotr. SO EXCITED FOR RED MARS TRILOGY!

[@ChineseMapping]

Great video! I would love to see some Game of Thrones videos from this channel also.

[@jamesrobbins1756]

That is a fantastic idea Maybe they could connect that to the war of the roses

[@sandran17]

Awwwe he called us all precious!

[@adachi5928]

can you guys do a segment about books? like extra books and if you do can you do things like the outsiders harry potter etc

[@Matthew_Murray]

This isn’t all to surprising once you take into account that Tolkien lost his boyhood home due to industrialization, or what some argued was “progress.” It’s not hard to see how to Tolkien the world he saw in his daily life was degrading.

[@neroh5708]

Best video ever (except the one with Justinian)

[@JefferyEpsteinOfficial]

Lord of the rings is my favourite sci-fi stories

[@lautbiru2884]

LOTR, love it. Extra Credit, love it. LOTR in Extra Credit, auto like :D

[@Rider-ju9vg]

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOU GUYS

[@mansijpal8180]

Extra Credits+LoTR= 100% Entertainment

[@GaysianAmerican]

I love that they know about the song of the Ainur

[@marcusalm7350]

You get a like for that intro!

[@NihlusKryik]

Seems a bit lacking not to mention Tolkin’s dislike of allegory when allegorising his work.

[@Theo_Caro]

What allegories are mentioned in this video?

[@fhengal]

NihlusKryik , you're not wrong that Tolkien disliked allegory as a general rule, but would mentioning that have been necessary to the topics covered in this video? Tolkien also disliked critical theory and is known for writing, “We must be satisfied with the soup that is set before us and not desire to see the bones of the ox out of which it has been boiled.” And yet, here we are, watching as Extra Sci Fi examines some of the bones of Tolkien's work to us. Not everything true is relevant to the message.

[@darthparallax5207]

@@fhengal it's weird. I think it -is- relevant, but in the end, eh, ''pressed for time'' is the usual cop-out teacher's excuse for not doing all the proper rabbit holes.

[@solidreactor]

The "degeneration of generations" reminds me of the Dark Souls series lore. The degenerating cycle of kindling the ever weakening fire, the fire of hope and future

[@malcomalexander9437]

Those are rather different TBH. With LoTR it has time gradually degrade things, with Dark Souls it has constantly staving of entropy causing thing to get worse.