How I Read The Hobbit as a Socialist Story (And Completely Missed the Point)
As a child, I saw Tolkien’s world as gloriously secular—no churches, no God, just folklore creatures the Church opposed. Bilbo’s anarchic society without government or hierarchy seemed like progressive utopia. Only later did I discover Tolkien was a conservative Christian medievalist — oh well.

Despite improvements in writing and longer story segments, this series struggles to overcome its inherited plot issues. While not as bad as feared, it remains slow and unengaging. Poor lighting in dark scenes further detracts from the experience. Overall, it’s hardly compelling, but curiosity may keep some viewers watching.

Amazon’s Tolkien series initially looked dreadful in trailers, but won me over with stunning visuals, excellent dialogue, and first-rate acting. The epic dwarf mines and elvish scenes felt authentically Middle-earth. While the diverse casting works well, the Harfoots (hobbits) feel out of place and annoying. Early promise exists, but success depends on maintaining quality and delivering a satisfying conclusion.

Tolkien’s Letters Reveal a Cantankerous Conservative at Odds with His Own Work

Tolkien’s correspondence shows an erudite but misanthropic author who was perpetually behind on commitments and harsh toward translators, publishers, and fellow humans. Politically, he favored hereditary monarchy over democracy and supported Franco’s regime in Spain. His reactionary views clash ironically with readers who found progressive themes in Middle-earth, revealing the gap between author and interpretation.

Orwell easily opposed the Nazis as a socialist modernist, using his writing for propaganda and later warning against totalitarianism. But Tolkien and Lewis faced a dilemma: both medievalists interested in paganism and mythology—the same sources the Nazis were exploiting. This forced them to retreat into coded fantasy worlds, possibly harboring syncretist beliefs they couldn’t openly express.