Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > Entertainment Discussions > Movie Talk
Reload this Page >

"Repressed hobbit homoeroticism"

Movie Talk A Discussion area for everything movie related including films In The Theaters

"Repressed hobbit homoeroticism"

Old 12-11-03, 04:53 PM
  #1  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 3,818
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
"Repressed hobbit homoeroticism"

I've read just about every ROTK review posted on the internet so far, and a handful of them have mentioned, in an otherwise serious context, the "homosexual" undertone of the hobbits. Here is one example, and I've seen it mentioned in about 3 or 4 other reviews.

Ok, I understand how it's sorta funny to imagine the scenario in a purely facetious way; those diary entries posted here a few days ago really cracked me up. But I just can't believe professional movie critics are putting this bullshit in their reviews. Maybe it's just society's current fascination with, and hyper sensitivity to homosexuality. If two men have a close relationship, they're obviously gay, right? Peter Jackson's intentions were NOT to hint at a sexual relationship between Sam and Frodo, and I'm pretty ****ing sure it wasn't Tolkien's either. But in this day and age, people can't seem to accept that two males can have a close, loving relationship purely as friends. Tolkien's purpose for the hobbits was to represent purity, innocence, and friendship. Making ridiculous statements like this in a professional review totally undermines the work of both Jackson and Tolkien.

I'm finished.
Old 12-11-03, 05:26 PM
  #2  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Kal-El's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Fortress of Solitude
Posts: 7,992
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Reading the Mount Doom chapter of the book clinched my position on this.
Old 12-11-03, 06:51 PM
  #3  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
This isn't a symptom of society's current obsession with homosexuality, but rather the opposite. It's a relic of the days when homosexuality was hushed up, and so being able to find secret signs of it in the media (real or imagined) appealed to the adolecent side of all of us that finds sexual secrets luridly fascinating

Now that discussion of homosexuality is commonplace in the media, you'd think that reviewers would be able to move beyond the "I know a secret" s******ing and admit that not every single important relationship between human beings has to be primarily sexual.

(Do gay reviewers yammer on about the "repressed hetroeroticism" between the main characters of Will And Grace? Just wondering.)
Old 12-12-03, 12:16 AM
  #4  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: City of the lakers.. riots.. and drug dealing cops.. los(t) Angel(e)s. ca.
Posts: 54,199
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
damn.. if only I had my photoshopped image.
Old 12-12-03, 01:29 AM
  #5  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
Giantrobo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,126
Received 1,748 Likes on 1,093 Posts
We talked about this in a big thread between FOTR and TTT....
Old 12-12-03, 05:32 AM
  #6  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Buckeye State
Posts: 768
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can't believe this is being discussed.
Old 12-12-03, 11:00 AM
  #7  
DVD Talk Hero
 
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: Somewhere between Heaven and Hell
Posts: 34,032
Received 708 Likes on 516 Posts
Well, towards the end of ROTK, there are 3 scenes in which I kept expecting Frodo and Sam to smooch.
Old 12-12-03, 11:30 AM
  #8  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Sitting on a beach, earning 20%
Posts: 9,917
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Originally posted by dcswirl
I can't believe this is being discussed.
Why?
Old 12-12-03, 12:15 PM
  #9  
DVD Talk Legend
 
DeputyDave's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,080
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Re: "Repressed hobbit homoeroticism"

Originally posted by caiman
I've read just about every ROTK review posted on the internet so far, and a handful of them have mentioned, in an otherwise serious context, the "homosexual" undertone of the hobbits. Here is one example, and I've seen it mentioned in about 3 or 4 other reviews.

"If you were to play dungeons and dragons for 12 hours straight, eat a wheel of brie and knock yourself out with a hammer, your dreams might look something like this."
Old 12-12-03, 02:47 PM
  #10  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 6,830
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally posted by Inverse
(Do gay reviewers yammer on about the "repressed hetroeroticism" between the main characters of Will And Grace? Just wondering.)
Excellent! People need to get over the gay thing. Homophobia still dominates so many people it's insane.
Old 12-12-03, 02:57 PM
  #11  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Kal-El's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Fortress of Solitude
Posts: 7,992
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Originally posted by DonnachaOne
Why?
Perhaps because it's so obvious so as not to even merit discussion?
Old 12-12-03, 03:01 PM
  #12  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Buckeye State
Posts: 768
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally posted by DonnachaOne
Why?
Because everyone knows they are close friends. Is there something wrong with that? Sam is in love with Rosie anyway, so why is this even being discussed? Ridiculous.
Old 12-12-03, 03:35 PM
  #13  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Kansas City, MO
Posts: 3,818
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Originally posted by dcswirl
Because everyone knows they are close friends. Is there something wrong with that? Sam is in love with Rosie anyway, so why is this even being discussed? Ridiculous.
No, everyone DOESN'T seem to know they are just friends. That's my whole point with this thread. Yes, common sense tells us that Sam and Frodo are just friends, but there are many critics who seem to think there is some hidden undercurrent of homosexuality. That's why we're discussing this.
Old 12-13-03, 03:07 AM
  #14  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Buckeye State
Posts: 768
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Who are these supposed critics you speak of?? I guess Merry and Pippin are lovers too now. Oh wait, didn't Aragorn and Legolas touch each other on the shoulder and look into each other's eyes? I guess they're in love too.
Old 12-13-03, 10:07 PM
  #15  
DRG
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: ND
Posts: 13,421
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
They're no gayer than Siegfried and Roy!
Old 12-15-03, 07:00 AM
  #16  
DVD Talk Ultimate Edition
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Little Rock, AR
Posts: 4,086
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Gee ... this seems like familiar ground. It's a mixture of friendship/bond between two guys, and people seeing/reading what they want to.
Old 12-15-03, 07:44 AM
  #17  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
Giantrobo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: Gateway Cities/Harbor Region
Posts: 63,126
Received 1,748 Likes on 1,093 Posts
Originally posted by DRG
They're no gayer than Siegfried and Roy!


...or Gandalf
Old 12-16-03, 05:44 PM
  #18  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Join Date: Jul 1999
Posts: 18,009
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Everyone knows that in order for two guys to express their love for each other in a hetereosexual way they need to beat each other up...
Old 12-21-03, 12:52 AM
  #19  
DVD Talk Reviewer
 
Rogue588's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: WAS looking for My Own Private Stuckeyville, but stuck in Liberty City (while missing Vice City)
Posts: 15,094
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Old 12-21-03, 12:59 AM
  #20  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Philly, PA
Posts: 1,754
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
You should try reading the book. "gay" and "queer" are in like every other paragraph..
Old 12-21-03, 09:40 AM
  #21  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 464
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Intentional or otherwise, every interaction between Merry and Pippin in this movie was loaded with homosexual subtext. Not the kind of behaviour that explicitly confirms (or denies) that they're gay, but the kind of behaviour that makes it really, really easy to write slash fanfiction. (You guys are aware of the huge Lord of the Rings slash fanbase, right?)

I didn't really feel the same way about Frodo and Sam *shrug* I can kinda see it I guess, but it doesn't jump out at me the same way it did with Merry and Pippin. (As a side note, thanks to ROTK I finally know which one in the movies is Merry and which one is Pippin XD)

All these threads, and this is the only one I can be bothered to comment in It was a great movie, I think I'm still on too much of a high from it too much to comment on how much I liked it...
Old 12-21-03, 08:24 PM
  #22  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Chicago, IL
Posts: 9,334
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I agree, all of the scenes in all of the movies between Sam and Frodo seem very homoerotic to me. And it just isn't me, all my friends said the same thing.
Old 12-21-03, 09:13 PM
  #23  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
The Antipodean's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Posts: 6,636
Received 164 Likes on 117 Posts
I think people who see homoeroticism in LOTR are revealing a lot more about themselves than they are about the movie.
Old 12-21-03, 09:38 PM
  #24  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
fumanstan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Irvine, CA
Posts: 55,349
Received 26 Likes on 14 Posts
Originally posted by chanster
I agree, all of the scenes in all of the movies between Sam and Frodo seem very homoerotic to me. And it just isn't me, all my friends said the same thing.
Same here. It's fine if you don't see it, but its obvious that more then a few people do get a hint of homosexuality between them.
Old 12-21-03, 09:48 PM
  #25  
DVD Talk Legend
 
gcribbs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Sacramento,Ca,USA member #2634
Posts: 11,975
Received 2 Likes on 1 Post
I do find it sad that loving and caring relationships between people equal sexual interest.

I guess Peter Jackson could have filmed the characters being indifferent towards each other as a way to prove they were not gay.

Fade in.
Frodo leaves the fellowship and Sam stands on the shore.

Frodo: Sam. Don't. you can't swim!!
Sam: You're right Mr. Frodo. Good Luck in Mordor.

Sam exits stage left.

Fade out.

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.