The Journey To Middle Earth -

When I think of a well-known public event, I can't help but reminisce on the 3 years of celebration and excitement that was the Lord Of The Rings trilogy - the films that later became iconic for New Zealand identity. Even though it only feels like yesterday, it was ten years ago this December that the first part of what was to become the highest grossing trilogy of all time, was being released. As a 13 year old sci-fi fantasy fan I was simply over-joyed, this was really a dream come true. The whole of New Zealand had been chosen by the kiwi director Peter Jackson to be the setting. These films would not only showcase New Zealand to the rest of the world, boost the tourism industry, and invest hugely into the local economy, but more importantly would really instill New Zealand with a sense of unity and pride, together as a nation flying under the banner that was the journey of a little hairy footed Hobbit.





The excitement was not limited to just New Zealand however, the whole world had developed a passion for the films and throughout the world and thousands were flocking to premiers in London and New York. Different media outlets took hold and further promoted the brand; hundreds of articles from major publications like the 'Premiere' and 'Entertainment' magazines began circulating.

The covers from the 'Lord Of The Rings' trilogy I own

From a young age I had a developed a love for Tolkien's work after my Father read 'The Hobbit' to me as a bed time story, and from that cherished memory I developed an urge to  explore the realm of infinite fantastic beauty that was Tolkien's imagination. I managed to unearth some dusty and tattered volumes of one of the original 'The Lord Of The Rings' and never looked back.


I would be foolish to think that I was alone in having such a passionate love, dare I say 'obsession', for Peter Jackson's masterpiece. The whole nation was alive with the 'ring fever' and I was not any different. 
My Father and I decided we should make the trip down to Wellington; the 'middle earth' of New Zealand, for the Premier of 'The Fellowship Of The Ring'. I remember the buzzing of anticipation as we got off the plane and into town, watching in awe at the official looking people with ear pieces dashing in and out of the labyrinth of elves, dwarves, and various other beasts who had dressed up for the occasion. At the red carpet due to access restrictions and the sheer weight of the crowd my Father and I could only sneak a quick look at the front of the crowd, just in time to see Liv Tyler, in all her glory, drive past.

When it came time to watching the actual film we were lucky enough to have tickets reserved for two days after the red carpet premier. The whole day we were quizzing each other on the finer details of Tolkien's work, and finally the time arrived where we had to contain our excitement long enough to take our seats in the cinema. For a long time we had been teased with trailers and exclusive previews on television and on the internet, but I don't think people really could have ever been prepared for what a masterpiece it was. The sheer enormity of the film 'The Fellowship Of The Ring' completely blew us away. It was as if Jackson had managed to capture screen shots of Tolkien's imagination and put them to film. The attention to detail was incredible, down to the very last boot on the very last Ork, everything was better than we could have imagined.



Today my Father and I still exchange fond memories of our trip, he is getting a older now but still possesses the bright spark of adventure in his eyes. I can only look forward to our next journey to middle earth in December 2012, where Peter Jackson will no doubt again leave us in awe with his next installment of Tolkien; The Hobbit.

The Journey To Middle Earth - CRITICAL REFLECTION

On reflection on this piece of writing I initially struggled to link it to any one of the conceptual frames. However upon rereading and re-editing the blog a remembered an concept that Maureen Turim spoke about, she believes a juncture is wrought between present and past and two concepts are implied in this juncture: memory and history (Turim, Maureen, 1). Although she is speaking more specifically about film, in this circumstance I believe it applies to my blog; the current memory I have of the event is a positive and accurate representation of the actual historical event. My blog is a flashback – my own remembered interpretation of an historical event.

Turim goes on to say that in its most general sense, a flashback is simply an image that is understood  as representing temporal occurrences anterior to those in the images that preceded it (1). In my ‘The Journey To Middle Earth’ blog I use a number of images that represent key moments in my memory, these images convey the thoughts and feeling I have both now, and during the time of the flashback. This is due to a number of factors; because the event was a widely publicized affair, many different forms of media (e.g. film footage, text articles, photos) are made readily accessible over the internet and each sharing a similar nostalgic significance. There was never any moment that implied any negative feelings in my memory, and no amount of research I did ever suggested that the accurate historical event was any different.

My flashback is constructed with two media formats: text and still images. The images in the blog serve as a representation of the accurate historical event, while the text represents the remembered experience from the point of view of me as an individual. This backs Turim’s idea that flashbacks often merge on two levels of remembering the past, giving large-scale social history (8); the images, and the subjective mode of a single individuals remembered experience; the text.

The narrative aspect of the text creates a less distinct or abrupt effect than that of the physical image, but it can ease the temporal shifts through the sustaining power of the narrative voice (7). In the blog the ‘pictures speak a thousand words’ but for those who are unable to relate to them on an intimate level because they are unfamiliar with the event, in order for them to fully appreciate the images they must first be ‘eased through the temporal shift’ of the narrative voice.

My blog is a good example of memory and narrative form. Using Maureen Turim’s theories of memory and history I have shown the links between images and text, and how they can be applied to my own personal flashback. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Turim, Maureen.. Flashbacks in Film: Memory and History. New York: Routledge, 1989.