issue 15 // volume 44

arts // no. 7

The artistic influences of Middle-earth

> The real world cultures that inspired Tolkien

Greg Waldock
Staff Writer

 

.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of

the Rings, wasn't just one of the most
prolific fiction writers of the 20th century.
He was an avid historian, linguist, and
translator for cultures and languages across
Europe, and he focused on mythological
epics and legends. The people he studied
shaped his stories from the languages
they spoke to the monsters they fight.

Dwarves: A staple of Germanic
and Nordic mythology. Short, sturdy
people with a love for mountains and
craftsmanship, dwarves of Middle-earth
are changed very little from the lore in
appearance. However, Tolkien based the
culture more on the Jewish peoples of
Eastern Europe, with a secret language
(Hebrew for the Jewish, Khuzdul for
the Dwarves), a history of diaspora,
and a now more-than-slightly racist
association with gold and jewelry.

Elves: The most detailed and
unique of all Tolkien’s creations. Elves are
immortal beings brought into being shortly
after the beginning of the world, and are
seen by basically everyone as the most
(infuriatingly) perfect, beautiful creatures
alive. Their design, from meticulously
detailed language to flowing architecture,

 

is focused on Celtic and Arthurian (King
Arthur, Merlin, etc.) lore. Elves as tall and
magical beings of nature instead of short,
flying mischief-makers is distinctively
Celtic and this aspect is fully utilized in
the film trilogy, which used examples of
Celtic art to create the sets of Rivendell.
The languages of the Elves, languages
plural because Tolkien was an enormous
linguistics nerd, are rooted largely in
Finnish and developed from there over

Image by J.R.R. Tolkien

the course of decades in his journals.

Men: Tolkien was a linguist first, a
historian second, and an author third.
This is most evident in the diversity of
Men. A complicated group with a long
and detailed history, Men are the only race
with free will. This allows for astounding
cultural diversity, which let Tolkien
flex his historical muscles. Rohan, the
country of horse lords, is strongly based

in Anglo-Saxon imagery. The wide open
plains and emphasis on horsemanship
are hallmarks of Anglo-Saxon literature
and lore, and the language of Rohan is
very similar to Middle English. Gondor,
the kingdom Aragorn inherits, is based
ona mix of Byzantine, Langobard, and
Goth influences, reflected in the films
with bleached white walls and high spires,
and a desire to restore a lost civilization.
Numenor, the greatest historical kingdom
of Men that most Middle-earth kingdoms
are descended from, is basically Atlantis
and is based in Greek mythology. Those are
just the most important regions, however,
and less mentioned realms like Angmar
have their own influences based around
Europe, and the people who live outside
of Middle-earth, riding those enormous
elephants, are a sort of amalgamation

of African and steppe cultures.

Hobbits: Humble, simple, friendly,
and fat. The idealized Englishman. The
Shire, the home of the Hobbits, is Tolkien’s
personal heaven. The rolling green hills
and gentle rivers are a fond callback to
the quiet English countryside he grew
up in. Hobbits as a whole are passionate
about food, family trees, and gossip,
and are happy to share all of these with
friends and family. Quaint and slightly
incompetent, these guys are basically
just country English folk at their most
stereotypical. Stiff upper lip and all.

YouTube Music Video Classics: Wham!

> The style of the ’80s

Jerrison Oracion
Senior Columnist

 

L2 month, George Michael passed
away on Christmas Day in his
cottage home. While many people will
know him for his solo work, he is also
famous for being in the group Wham!
with Andrew Ridgeley, which would

set the standard in British pop music.
Here are some of the group’s greatest
music videos. Throughout the videos,
watch carefully for the members of the
band, especially for two of their backup
singers. Rest in peace George Michael.

Wham! Rap

The group’s first hit single from their
debut album Fantastic shot them to
stardom. In the video, Michael visits
Ridgeley in his parents’ house and he
tells him to explore the world outside
his front door. We see references of
the duo’s neighborhood of London in
the 80s. The first few seconds of the
music video look like a British version
of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The song
is one that you could dance to, and
the music video is also the beginning
of a long journey for the group.

Club Tropicana

In the video, Michael, Ridgeley, and
two of their backup singers are part
of a flight crew and we see them ina
sunny destination when they are not
on duty. We see shots of the group in

the classic shot of showering under
a fall. We even see Ridgeley using a
cellphone in the ’8os. Also, it shows
the fun of a sunny destination.

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

The music video of the group’s most

HAM! Me

famous song from their second album
Make It Big has a lot of interesting
things in it. We see the group
performing in front of enthusiastic
fans wearing the famous “choose life”
shirts. There is a lot of dancing in the
music video and we also see glow in the
dark scenes in the second half. Jimmy

 

Cover of 'Make It Big'

Kimmel and James Corden parodied
this video during the Emmy Awards last
year. The song sounds optimistic, which
is one of the reasons to “choose life.”

Freedom

The interesting thing about the group is
that they were the first western group to
perform in China, in 1985. This is as big
as when The Beatles performed in the
Budokan arena in Japan in 1966. Not to
be mistaken with the song that Michael
made during his solo career, the trip is
documented in this music video. There
is a lot of nostalgia for China in the 80s,
and we see interesting martial arts.
When we see the group perform, we see
a lot of people in the audience who are
excited and dancing to Wham!’s music.

Last Christmas

You likely heard this song a lot during
the holiday season and its music
video shows what Christmas in the
’80s looked like. The group and their
band spend a weekend in a cabin in

a mountain resort, and Michael gets
very close to one of the people in their
band, even though he is very close

to one of their backup singers. The
music video shows Wham! decorating,
having dinner, and playing in the
snow. There are some scenes in it that
are very typical for music videos of
songs made in the ’8os. Surprisingly
and tragically, last Christmas was
George Michael’s last Christmas.