NP "the formerly colonised coming back to haunt us"

[jbor]

on 22/12/02 11:29 AM, Dave Monroe at davidmmonroe at yahoo.com wrote:

>> You asserted that TLOTR is indelibly and
>> indisputably "'about'" WWII. I assert that this is
>> not necessarily so.
> 
> Who?  Me?  Say it ain't so.  Not usually nearly so
> assertive, but ...

Well, no, that was what I understood you to be asserting - my "reception" of
your comment, if you prefer. You wrote something along the lines of "TLOTR
was, is, always will be 'about' WWII" etc. And then insinuated that the
current film has "similar resonances" for "current events", by which I took
you to be referring to international anti-terrorism and the mooted US-led
war on Iraq. Perhaps you meant some other "current events" ? I'm not sure -
you haven't said.

But the point is that, firstly, well, it isn't and it doesn't, but secondly
that you've got this rhetorical sleight of hand thing going on where you
switch from "reception" (your own, individual - idiosyncratic, subjective -
response to the text) to "production" and the text itself (your statement
that it was "disingenuous" of Tolkien - or anyone else - to assert that
there is no evocation of WWII involved). My argument is that it's not at all
disingenuous to assert that TLOTR isn't "'about'" WWI: it's simply a
statement about "reception" of the text, an interpretation with the same
value and legitimacy as the one which you have presented.

In fact, all you've actually said is that you perceive/d a connection
between TLOTR and WWII, which, interesting as that is, I'm sure, doesn't
mean that there necessarily is one for anyone else.

best