The Lord of the Rings

by Daniel Lien

The volumes in the Lord of the Rings trilogy were separately published in 1954 and 1955, with the first and second volume in 1954 and the last in 1955. Since then, the trilogy had been widely read, whether it’s at school or for interest. Undoubtedly one of the most epic sagas, the Lord of the Rings is widely accepted and appraised. Everyone knows the role the LOTR movies directed by Peter Jackson play in everyday life. The memes, the jokes, and the references that we make all the time are priceless. It’s seeped into our daily life. But other than that, there are a lot of other unlikely influences the LOTR have. Did you know that a species of dinosaur has been given the name Sauroniops, “The eye of Sauron”, because Paleontologists identified its eye-sockets? The impact of these popular books goes far beyond that, influencing the genre of fantasy, music, popular culture, and inspiring many other famous works.

Some imitation works came out after the LOTR, including The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, a fantasy novel. Fantasy literature has never been the same. Tolkien is praised as the father of the genre high fantasy, creating imaginary worlds with epic characters, plot, and themes. Tolkien sets a standard cliché of high fantasy that many others followed: races of fun mythical creatures and hideous ones existing in the same world, with a quest to destroy a mythical artifact. Tolkien inspired fantasy writers such as Terry Brooks, David Eddings, and Stephen R. Donaldson. Writing was not the only fantasy genre influenced. Popular video games such as Dungeons and Dragons, Dragon Warrior, Warcraft, and Skyrim all have heavy elements from the LOTR. Films have never been the same since, and the universal view of mythical creatures like dwarves, goblins, and elves have all been fixed and aligned to Tolkien’s description.

Music is also very much influenced by the trilogy. It began with songwriter Donald Swann, who made six poems in the books and made them into music in 1967. In 1988, composer Johan de Meij composed the stories and characters in the books into a symphony. Lots of LOTR references were made in the rock and rolling 1970s. 70s band Led Zeppelin made songs such as “Battle of Evermore” and “Over the Hills and Far Away” that contain clear references to the LOTR, and the Black Sabbath’s “the Wizards” pertains to Gandalf.

In a more realistic area, the LOTR and the hobbit have impacted the economy of New Zealand indirectly. I mean, we all love the unforgettable safety video by Air New Zealand, containing Gandalf, eagles, hobbits, and Goblins, right? I sure love it, and there are in fact two 777 airplanes decorated in themes of Tolkien’s work. According to Forbes.com, the tourism of New Zealand increased 50% since the LOTR movies. 1% of the tourists claim that they came specifically for the LOTR movies (US $27 million/year), and 6% of the tourists claim that the LOTR is one of the major reasons of their travel to the country. The film production supported 2700 businesses, and 95% of them are directly involved in the production and post-production work. Nowadays, if we start conversing about New Zealand, it won’t be long until its nature’s beauty as seen specifically in the film adaptation of the LOTR is mentioned.

When a piece has grown to influence masses in the fantasy genre of literature, popular culture of music, films, video games, and even a country’s economy, there is no doubt about the power and the impact of it.