Lord Of The Rings Popular Culture Analysis

The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) is undoubtedly one of the most notorious and successful tales ever told. The trilogy has grossed around three billion US dollars and been nominated for more than 800 film awards winning 425 of them, 17 of which were Academy Awards (Wagner 2007). This astronomical level of success has made Lord of the Rings a pop culture staple. The following will discuss the trilogy through the premises of the three main theories of popular culture; popularity, modes of production and transmission, and self-expression. Firstly, the film’s adaptation into popular culture will be explained through its large pre-existing book following, constituting popular culture as popularity. Secondly, the films creation team using newly discovered

Classifying its importance through the second theory of popular culture, one which is through its methods of production and transmission (Takacs 4). Outlining that the mode of production of pop culture is one which is commercial and industrial (ibid 5). Thus, commodities are produced to make a profit (commercial) and produced on a massive scale (industrial). Additionally, the principle, states that the transmission is over distances so that everyone can have access to it (ibid 5). Notably, the initial creationary transmission used in the adaptation of the films was what separated and helped solidify the success of the franchise (Shefrin 264). The goal of the ‘culture industry’ is to allow technicians overseen by businessmen to maximize profit potential (Takacs 5-6). Completed through the culture industry's reliance on templates and formulas to appeal to all (ibid 5-6). However, this was not Peter Jackson’s decision, he created new templates. As at the time there were 100 million loyal international Tolkien fans who would want a film that mimicked the books (Shefrin 265). Conveniently, the late 20th century was a revolutionary time for computer technology and aided in the construction of the films (ibid 266). Initially, Jackson conducted an online interview in 1998 based on the creation of the film and any concerns people had via a 20-question questionnaire, receiving a total of 14,000 submissions (ibid 266). Again in 1999, another online interview was conducted (ibid 266). Once more through a set of 20 questions, focusing on the portrayal of characters, intercutting of storylines and themes (ibid 266). This initial dialogue presented Jackson with how best to maximize economic profits but portray an accurate depiction of the novels (ibid 266). Furthermore, this served as an advertisement, all this discussion through the internet led to news of the films to