Other Minds and Hands, Episode 1

MithLuin

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The first session of Corey Olsen's newest podcast aired on Feb. 23, 2022. He intends to have Maggie Parke join him as a co-host in future sessions. The podcast will appear weekly on Wednesdays.

Here is the link to the YouTube video:

In this first episode, he discussed Tolkien's famous letter (#131) to Milton Waldman about a 'mythology for England,' in which he mentions the role of 'other minds and hands wielding paint and music and drama.' Tolkien discusses how great stories enter the hearts and consciousness of people enough to be taken up by others. The Arthurian legends have been told and retold. One of the areas of Tolkien's own work that is 'lightly sketched' is the Second Age material. Corey Olsen discusses the method of creative engagement with a text, in which someone who loves a story then goes on to make something creative based on it. And, in fact, this was Tolkien's preferred method of engaging with his own professional academic interests. What does this passage mean? Let's tell a story where we find out. And so Tolkien was himself quite familiar with the act of creative engagement with others' work.

Example: Coast Guard in Beowulf --> Hama admitting Gandalf to Theoden's halls

What is Adaptation? Let's ask Maggie Parke later. If you are not interested in the process of adaptation, that's fine - it's not for everyone.

Cautions when Discussing Adaptation
Corey Olsen raises his own cautions when approaching a discussion of adaptation of literary work.

1) Avoid CritFic. Avoid stating that the person's intention is what is wrong with the material while failing to reference the material. Rooting comments in observations of the material under review (rather than speculation as to what was in the mind of the author or other creative type) will have more merit. We can keep the discussion rooted in the actual material, rather than what we think the material might be about. The origin of this caution is C.S. Lewis' essays on literary criticism. 'CritFic' is Corey Olsen's term.

Example: A statement that someone is 'pushing their politics on you' does not say much about the content of the material under discussion.
2) Faithfulness to 'What Tolkien Wrote'. As we know, Tolkien's corpus of work is hardly an internally consistent monolith. He worked on his stories of Middle-earth over the greater part of his life, and his ideas adapted and changed over time, sometimes radically. So, knowing when Tolkien wrote something is important when bringing in material from outside Lord of the Rings, and acknowledging that Tolkien did change his mind on many issues is important. There is not always going to be one clear 'canonical' answer to a question. Especially since, rather than discard an old idea, Tolkien tended to retcon the idea back into the story in another form.

Examples: 'It is said' that dwarves come from stone. Yes, it was said. By Tolkien, in an earlier conception of dwarves. But by the time he got to The Lord of the Rings, he decided it was not the case. And who is Gil-galad's father, by the way?

Common Fears linked to Adaptation in light of the Amazon show

1) Tolkien's Legacy - Will people still love Tolkien's books if an adaptation is terrible and makes a travesty of Tolkien's stories?
Perspective can help lend some encouragement here. Bakshi's Lord of the Rings was pretty terrible, visually. Peter Jackson's Hobbit films were not good movies. Even Jackson's Lord of the Rings films, which were good movies, had some rotten adaptation choices. And yet...here we are. Plenty of people still love, read, and engage with Tolkien's books regularly. Tolkien's legacy seems to be robust enough to endure iffy adaptations of his work.​

2) Star Wars Effect - I loved Star Wars, but then it got ruined. And now I can't even enjoy the original trilogy any more.
This is a different situation. George Lucas was involved in both the original trilogy and the prequel. So, when the creator of the world introduces the bad ideas later...it taints the original in a different way from 'other hands' creating a travesty in a different medium.​

3) Jacksonian Kneejerk Effect
Some of the visceral reactions to visuals are a response to differences from Jackson's depiction of Middle-earth, rather than a response to Tolkien's text, which may touch only lightly or not at all on some topics. There is an opportunity for refreshing new perspectives on Tolkien that could serve as a 'corrective' to some of Peter Jackson's adaptation choices.​

Examples: Short haired elves, non-bearded dwarf women...but also the opportunity not to have elves speak sooo slowly.

Corey Olsen then told the story about his reference to Dwarf-beards in the IGN interview.

Exciting Opportunities

1) Experience Untold Stories
Who was High King Gil-galad?​
What is the story of young Galadriel?​
Give us a reason to love Celeborn!​
But what if they ruin it?! Well, we can then ignore it. But what if it's really fun?​

2) The Wonder of Anticipation
These next six months are golden. We get to think through the implications of the choices they might make. We get to engage with these stories creatively ourselves.​

3) Experience the Original in New Ways
This is true whether the adaptation is good or bad. Peter Jackson's Gollum is a really well done character, even though his story is a bit different than the story Tolkien told. Faramir is also...very different in the Peter Jackson films, though in an awful way. Both experiences help viewers to articulate what they think about Tolkien's story.​


For Episode 2....introducing co-host Maggie Parke, and also with a special guest! Next topic (March 9th): The Parentage of Gil-galad
 
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Much love and respect to corey! I admit i have had my little problems and quarrels with him on and off but taking up the glove in these difficult times... gotta honor that! ❤✌
 
I’m listening to episode 6 now. I have to say I’m so very grateful that Corey and Maggie are doing this. It’s such an important thing they’re doing, such an act of love bringing sense and perspective to the chaotic discourse going on out there.
 
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Corey, please ask your guest in Session 6 (if she is going to guest again) to drop the "Neo-Nazi" term when referring to people who disagree with her. If she must characterize "the opposition" could she please use a non-pejorative term. Other than that, she was illuminating. Thank you.
 
Thank you for the writeup! Helpful if we need or want to point people to a summary, rather than linking to 2-hour videos and expecting people to engage with them
 
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