NFB Re-Watches The Lord Of The Rings: “Concerning Hobbits” And Agrarian Utopia

Previous entry – “Prologue: One Ring To Rule Them All…” As Exposition Done Right

Now…where to begin?

Into the story proper then.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring – “Concerning Hobbits”       

Wherein Bilbo starts at the start; we get one scene featuring earwax; and all that we’re missing is “The Internationale”.

“Concerning Hobbits” is a fairly rapid change of pace from “Prologue: One Ring To Rule Them All…” being much less wide or epic in its scope. Coming in at just under three minutes, it consists of a leisurely look at life in the Shire, all narrated wonderfully by Ian Holm’s Bilbo, who ably takes the reins from Cate Blanchett for a very different kind of scene-setting. What always strikes me about “Concerning Hobbits” is the way that it goes about introducing us to J.R.R Tolkien’s ideal world: one of simple people, simple lives and lots and lots of green.

The Shire, whether it is from the page or on the screen, really does come off as an agrarian utopia. You know what I mean: the somewhat mystical and misty-eyed idea of the purity of life in the countryside, of how a life lived close to the soil carries with it an inherent value to the self, and allows for the creation of the kind of model communities that are simply impossible in other landscapes, especially urban ones. Rewarding work, healthy living, good neighbours, what’s not to like in the notion (other than it being as much a fantasy as much as anything else The Lord Of The Rings anyway)?

Tolkien’s own experience in his childhood of growing up in the beauty of the English countryside is evident in spades in the sections of the book that “Concerning Hobbits” takes its cues from, in the description of this world that you just want to lose yourself in: abundant woods, productive earth, pleasant people and nary a sight of many of the intricacies and complications of modern life. There isn’t really a hint of much government or law enforcement: instead the picture is of a communal, maybe even almost communist, society of neighbours working for the general betterment of everyone, even if there is also a distinctly clear hierarchy and class structure at the same time. But it’s all couched in positive terms: yes Bilbo appears to be landed gentry who doesn’t really earn money in traditional ways, but his tenants all seem to think very fondly of him, not least because he is generous with his money and his affection for them. Everything is just perfectly so, hence my and others use of “utopia” as a term. The Shire really is an escape in terms of its function for a reader/viewer. Peter Jackson’s task was getting that feeling across as best he can, to imbue in us a mixture of appreciation for what the Shire represents and nostalgia for our own experiences with the agrarian, imagined or real.

He does this through what we see and what we do not see. Over Bilbo’s good-natured but still humorous summary of life in the Shire, we are presented with a fairly relaxing montage of scenes from the idyllic life of hobbits. There is work, but always with the sun shining and people’s faces smiling: tilling soil, planting flowers, and handling life-stock. But there is also plenty of fun: people scoffing muffins instead of sharing kisses with a sweetheart, struggles with obstinate pigs, sneaking a few sups of beer while transporting barrels and an especially gormless looking hobbit inordinately interested in the contents of his inner ear. The community works together on the farms, in the markets and in erecting the sign for Bilbo’s birthday. In line with that gentle music the overall impression is one of happiness and contentment with your lot – Bilbo literally uses the word “content” – and that’s before the crescendo of the scene as we realise the entire community is prepping one big party for that narrator. That narration only aids the impression, from its soft humour – “Hobbits must seem of little importance, being neither renowned as great warriors, nor counted amongst the very wise” – to its endorsement of “peace and quiet and good tilled earth”. Bilbo closes by directly calling attention to an existence free of bothersome complications: “…it is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life”. In a few minutes of introduction to the hobbit race, Jackson has nailed the portrayal of a people who may not have it all, but are certainly happy, much happier than any elves, men, dwarves or anyone else we have seen already.

And there is also plenty of agrarian utopia in what is not said, and in what we do not see. Aside from the guy who looks a bit confused at the concept of ear wax, there isn’t a single person who looks even remotely unhappy about anything. We do not see any sense of governance, or law, no kind of authority is in evidence. There is absolutely no sense of want, with the greenery all encompassing, the farms looking productive and plenty of food and drink to spare. No one argues. There is barely a cloud in the sky. Jackson doesn’t overegg the concept, there isn’t really the time for that, but it is striking that there is basically no sign of anything even remotely negative in this depiction of the Shire. It’s no wonder that the Shire, whether it is from the books or the films, has become something of a conservative/libertarian ideal, and very specifically a white conservative/libertarian ideal: something I am reasonably sure was not Tolkien or Jackson’s intention, but can’t be ignored either.

I’ve used the word “simple” a few times to describe hobbits and the lives they lead as we see in “Concerning Hobbits”, and I want to refine that phrase before I close. With the exception of Mr Earwax, I do not intend that to be read as unintelligent or otherwise stupid. More accurately I mean without airs or graces undeserved, satisfied with their lot, unyearning for the unknown, finding happiness where they are to ape a representative of another isolated people in fiction. Remember what we have seen thus far in The Fellowship Of The Ring: mighty tyrants, glittering Kings, radiant beings, gangrel creatures, all fighting and squabbling over things. Next to them, hobbits come like a breath of fresh air, whether they are trying to move a pig around, smoking with their friends or just trying and failing to hit a tent hitch with a hammer. There’s something praiseworthy in such a comparative picture: in a universe whose most important affairs are defined by violence and attempted domination, there seems a lot to be said for the kind of existence that the hobbits of the Shire have managed to create for themselves, seeking nothing more. Well, most of them anyway.

It is no bad thing to celebrate a simple life.

Notes

-The music is the wonderful “Concerning Hobbits” of course, a tune that has become something of a mainstay in the realm of softly-spoken orchestral soundtrack pieces. It’s impossible to hear its simple strings and shrill winds and not be immediately transported into this world.

-Gotta love the perfectly pitched line early on in Bilbo’s narration, that is almost like a starter’s pistol for the story proper: “Now…where to begin?”

-I really enjoy the simple but effective contrast between Bilbo noting that the world is “full of strange creatures beyond count” with the sight of a hobbit milking a cow. No, this is not a strange creature scene really, in the context of the universe, but the scene has that strangeness, not least because the hobbit is so small next to the cow. It’s a very well-constructed shot with the line.

-And another example, as Bilbo admits that hobbits will probably never be counted among “the very wise” as one unnamed bumkin tries to get earwax out of his ear.

-Our first look at Sam is pretty much pitch-perfect, the hobbit destined to be Middle-Earth’s most famous gardener staring lovingly at the latest thing he has helped coax to life. Like the larger chapter it’s a picture of satisfaction with the simple things in life.

-And hey, we do learn a bit about Frodo too before we actually get to meet him, namely that he is a younger relative of Bilbo who lives with him, and is frequently absent from the house.

Final Thoughts

“Concerning Hobbits” is a gentle continuation of the larger prologue, and through Bilbo’s description of hobbits and their life in the Shire we gain an immediate appreciation for this race of unassuming creatures that seem to have everything that they need and have created a community worth spending some time in. It’s the very picture of what idealists would like us to think that life in the countryside is like, all positives, no negatives and when viewed strictly as a fictional representation serves ably to introduce us to Tolkien’s very own agrarian utopia.

Next Entry: Gandalf’s Introduction In “The Shire”

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