The Irony of Technology in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Title: The Irony of Technology in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Every family has its holiday traditions. One of ours is binge-watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In between opening presents and devouring the Christmas ham, we spend 12 hours with Frodo Baggins as he struggles to take the ring of power to Mount Doom and his friends battle Uruk-hai and Orcs.

As we watched this last Christmas I was struck again by an irony at the heart of these magical movies. They use sophisticated modern technology to romanticize a simpler, low-technology past.

JRR Tolkien, the English author who wrote the novels the movies are based on, came of age as automobiles and tractors were starting to replace horses. That distressed him. Tolkien has been described as a man who loved trees and hated technology.

Director Peter Jackson’s movies are faithful to Tolkien. Horses and trees are revered, manufactured things disdained. At one point in the second film, “The Two Towers,” walking, talking trees called Ents destroy an evil wizard’s primitive factory.

Yet to bring the war for Middle Earth to life, Jackson used computer-generated imagery, motion capture and other state-of-the-art filmmaking technology. The three movies were ahead of their time; they hold up well today despite all the technological progress filmmakers have made in the decades since.

That millions of viewers have been mesmerized by the technological effects while embracing the anti-technology story line says something about the species homo sapiens. We are creatures of first-rate intelligence, assuming the test is F Scott Fitzgerald’s “the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind.” We fantasize about the simpler past while appreciating high technology and the good things it bestows on the present, including great movies.

Many of us perform these kinds of mental juggling acts. They may be a defense mechanism, a way of coping with the breathtaking speed of technological change. Dizzied by that speed, we long for the past in spirit while accepting the material benefits technological change brings. That’s understandable; the benefits of technology are many and slyly seductive.

In the end, for good or ill, once a technology is invented it tends to get used. We accept the downsides of innovations because we want the upsides. We tell ourselves, with some justification, that there are downsides to not using technology, too.

But that doesn’t stop us from daydreaming about a mythical less-complicated idyllic past, especially when it’s served up as only high-tech filmmaking can deliver it, complete with memorable effects, fascinating plot twists, great acting, stunning scenery and a haunting score.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy continues to captivate audiences with its blend of high technology and anti-technology sentiment, reminding us of the complex relationship we have with innovation and tradition.