A.I.I. Tolkien

Door Jam: October 26, 2024

Oct 26, 2024

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The Door Jam is a place to squeeze in relevant articles written about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, their work, adaptations of their fantasy worlds, and other potentially interesting news, information, and articles. Unless otherwise stated, I’m not necessarily endorsing (or criticizing) any of these, but merely sharing them with you.

Today is my birthday. I’m not quite 111 like Bilbo, but I feel closer every year. In lieu of gifts, I will accept subscriptions to this newsletter, upgrading to paid if you are already a free subscriber, and shares on social.

But, seriously, thank you to those who have subscribed, shared my articles, and recommended the newsletter. I feel grateful for you today. To paraphrase Bilbo, “I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I appreciate you all only half as well as you deserve.”

Today’s top story looks at J.R.R. Tolkien and A.I. But really, it’s less of a story and more of a rant related to a story. In other news, we have the budget of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia, and it’s substantial. One star of a Tolkien adaptation watched his movie the night before he died. One star of a new adaptation wasn’t familiar with Tolkien when he started his project. There’s some hefty nerd news this week, including on the upcoming Spider-Man 4 and Star Wars movies.

Top Story

Screenshot from the AI-generated trailer

Erik Kain, a reviewer at Forbes, really disliked The Rings of Power. In and of itself, that’s nothing exceptional. Kain believes the show “ran roughshod over everything Tolkien’s work was about, from its timeline and chronology to the author’s values and beliefs.” I disagree, but I understand the desire to stick more strictly to the lore.

Someone disliking The Rings of Power is not worth the top story for the week, but someone relentlessly lambasting the show as a violation of Tolkien’s worldview and then writing a piece praising an AI-produced fan-made trailer is worth comment.

Again, I understand not appreciating The Rings of Power’s take on Tolkien’s work, but, if you praise AI-created art, you fundamentally misunderstand Tolkien beyond anything The Rings of Power (or even The Hobbit movies) could do.

The Catholic Tolkien viewed his work in creating Middle-earth, as an act of sub-creation within God’s creation. We reflect back His image when we sub-create works of art. But this quite obviously can only come through those of us who are humans, created in His image.

It does not matter that the AI trailer follows more closely to the narrative Tolkien constructed. The very fact that it was not made by humans means it violates the core identity of Tolkien’s work.

Yes, Tolkien would probably dislike The Rings of Power. He hated Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs because of how it characterized dwarves. Most likely, he would disprove of any and all adaptations because they aren’t exactly what he envisioned, and he was a lifelong perfectionist. This isn’t about his preferences but his perspective.

If you see anything praiseworthy in AI-developed “art,” then I feel like I can discount your opinion on any Tolkien adaptation, no matter how well you know the facts of his legendarium.

Not Safe But Good

C.S. Lewis quote of the week

Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.

Mere Christianity

Tumnus’ bookshelf

A book by or about C.S. Lewis

When Lewis wrote his spiritual autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he spent the majority of the book on his childhood. Yet, most biographies move quickly past that period. Harry Lee Poe, however, goes deep into Lewis’ younger years in the first entry of his in-depth biographical trilogy, Becoming C. S. Lewis: A Biography of Young Jack Lewis (1898–1918).