The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

12/07/22 • 57 min

In many ways, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring perfectly demonstrates most of the tropes of a "Chosen One" type: An ordinary person chosen for an extraordinary task, guided by a mentor-type figure, and aided by a loyal support system. But who is the chosen figure in this film? Is it the hobbit, Frodo, or Aragorn, the king to be? In this episode we debate who has been chosen, and what biblical imagery may be present in our two potential chosen one characters. We also look at two of the primary influences on JRR Tolkien's writing: his Catholic faith and his experiences of trench warfare during the First World War (1914-18).

Episode Credits:

Many thanks to Dr Marian Kelsey and Dr James Connolly for their time and expertise.

Dr Kelsey is a Teaching Associate in Hebrew Bible at the University of Nottingham. Make sure to look out for her chapter, "Retellings of Biblical Narrative in Science Fiction and Fantasy" in the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of the Hebrew Bible in Contemporary Fiction and Poetry. You can find a full list of Dr Kelsey's publications on her website, or follow her on Twitter @MERKelsey.

Dr Connolly is an Associate Professor of Modern French History in the School of European Languages, Culture and Society at University College London. You can find him on Twitter @DrJamesConnolly.

A full list of books, articles, and other resources can be found on our website: godsandmoviemakers.com

Subscribers will gain access to extra content after each main episode broadcast. Become a subscriber at https://plus.acast.com/s/godsandmoviemakers.

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Episode Credits:

Many thanks to Dr Marian Kelsey and Dr James Connolly for their time and expertise.

Dr Connolly is an Associate Professor of Modern French History in the School of European Languages, Culture and Society at University College London. You can find him on Twitter @DrJamesConnolly.

A full list of books, articles, and other resources can be found on our website: godsandmoviemakers.com

Subscribers will gain access to extra content after each main episode broadcast. Become a subscriber at https://plus.acast.com/s/godsandmoviemakers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The Terminator (1984)

We kick off our "Chosen One" season in the last years of the Cold War to talk about James Cameron's second-best film in the Terminator franchise, The Terminator (1984). Is it a sci-fi nativity play, ushering in hope for a new future? Or are we witnessing a Revelation-style final battle? Come join us as we learn about the nuclear-anxiety film genre, why apocalyptic stories are all about looking backwards, and which character Arnold Schwarzenegger originally was intended to play.

Episode Credits:

Many thanks to Dr Michelle Fletcher for her time and expertise.

Dr Fletcher is a Research Associate on the Visual Commentary on Scripture, an editor of Bloomsbury’s Scriptural Traces series, and Secretary of the British New Testament Society. Make sure to check out her book, Reading Revelation as Pastiche. You can find her on Twitter @NTRight.

Subscribers will gain access to extra content after each main episode broadcast. Become a subscriber at https://plus.acast.com/s/godsandmoviemakers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

On a cold Parisian night in October 1988, a Molotov cocktail was thrown into the St. Michel cinema, seriously injuring thirteen people; it was just one of a number of violent protests against Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. What was it about this film that caused so much anger? What was behind the uproar it inspired worldwide? In this episode we revisit and rethink the controversy, and ask: Was the outrage warranted, or is the film actually a deeply pious and personal exploration of faith? In his attempt to understand the dual nature of Christ, we see Scorsese presenting a Jesus that is more “Chosen One” than “Saviour Figure”, giving us the most human Jesus in cinematic history.

Glossary:

Hypostatic Union - A theological term that expresses the Christian belief that in Christ, two natures exist together, each retaining their own full and complete properties. These two natures, God and Man, are not commingled or united. The Hypostatic Union was formalized at the Council of Chalcedon in 451.

Episode Credits:

Many thanks to Matt Page for his time and expertise.

Matt is a bible and film expert, having published and lectured on the topic for over twenty years. His Bible Films Blog is the largest source of information about bible films on the internet. Make sure to check out his recent book, 100 Bible Films, published with the British Film Institute. You can find Matt on Twitter @MattPage.

Subscribers will gain access to extra content after each main episode broadcast. Become a subscriber at https://plus.acast.com/s/godsandmoviemakers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.