The Lord of the Rings

[Badjedidude]

Well, maybe not EVERYWHERE... but I don't think "most" would be an exaggeration. There was extreme hype and prejudice against the book, and I don't think it was ever federally banned, but most states were set against it...and in many school districts that old statute remains.

If you actually brought it up to school boards, you'd probably be surprised to find it on the no-fly list for a lot of school libraries. *shrug*

 

[edgecrusher]

^agree about Catcher in the Rye. Classic.

Hilariously enough, it's still banned in most U.S. school districts.

yea what is the deal with that? i always wondered. they recently did an episode of south park about that book being banned and the kids read it and didnt understand why.

 

[Badjedidude]

what is the deal with that, i always wondered. they recently did an episode of south park about that book being banned and the kids read it and didnt understand why.

It's because the hero, Holden, was considered for a long time by the US education authorities to be advocating anarchy and rebellion. It was thought that when students read this book, they would rebel against society and not want to conform or continue their studies, etc etc.

It was legally classified as "obscenity" and "enciting"...and so banned from many high schools. It had quite a bit of profanity and sex for those times, also. Remember the hubbub made over Peyton Place? Go read that book today and see how "sexy" it is compared to some of today's romance novels.

Society just wasn't ready for it yet, according to the education/public information authorities.

I'd say they were full of honeysuckle.

 

[cheaptrickfan]

Well, maybe not EVERYWHERE... but I don't think "most" would be an exaggeration. There was extreme hype and prejudice against the book, and I don't think it was ever federally banned, but most states were set against it...and in many school districts that old statute remains.

If you actually brought it up to school boards, you'd probably be surprised to find it on the no-fly list for a lot of school libraries. *shrug*

No, "most" IS absolutely an exaggeration. I know for a fact that it is NOT banned in any of the school libraries in my area. My sister is a school librarian here and we've discussed it. She & several other librarians she knows do a big project during Banned Books Week encouraging kids to read books from the list of frequently challenged books.

Saying most states were against a book is meaningless anyway, because school districts have a great deal of autonomy when it comes to what books they put in the libraries.

 

[Badjedidude]

No, "most" IS absolutely an exaggeration.

Okay then, it's a regional thing. lol I'm not giving up on this. I've spoken to a LOT of teachers and librarians in my area/region and it seems that a bunch of the midwest states still have that book on the shitlist. *shrug* Anyway, that's what I've seen/heard about it.

Saying most states were against a book is meaningless anyway, because school districts have a great deal of autonomy when it comes to what books they put in the libraries.

Mmmm you're probably right about this. But if it were banned at the local level, that might make it even more difficult to get it unbanned. School boards and local authorities do tend to prefer maintaining tradition and the status quo, as far as I can tell.

 

[Minus]

Here is a link to a more comprehensive overview of its banning:

ALA list of challenged books

That list seems to have a lot of ...

"challenged but retained"

"removed but reinstated"

and

removed from the "required reading list"

 

[suckaG]

I would be interested to know what is in the book that the movies are lacking.

you asked for it!

fellowship was the best movie of the three. pretty awesome adaptation. the only thing missing was the Tom Bombadil/Old Man Willow/ Barrow-wight sequence. the other little inconsistencies I don’t mind at all, because everything was done so coolly.

Two Towers was also very well done, but the fact that they changed the part with the ents so that they decided not to go to war, only to then immediately change their mind on treebeard's emotional whim one scene later- made the purist in me twitch. some braniac must have wanted to show the hobbits to be growing as bold characters, but it just came across as weak and unnecessary, especially considering all the dialogue up until this point conveyed ents to be the slowest, least hasty beings in the LOTR world.

"Bah!" said the purist, "Humbug!"

the return of the king was my least fav; too much crappy cgi, from the spirits of the dead to the crappy collapse of the black tower and the cheesy lava in mount doom.

too much surfer-orlando-bloom.

and finally, they cut out the best climax of the whole trilogy (replacing it with a near climax of a whole different animal with the scene of the company's reunion);

what happened to the scourge of the shire! what the hell! the heroic hobbits are supposed to return, only to see their shire in ruins and run by ruffian ********! they let loose, organize a rebellion, and fight the power oldschool hobbiton style!

when that scene never materialized in the movie, it was a downer for sure.

Thus: the books rock way harder, even though the cinematic imagery influenced by the art of john howe, alan lee and ted nasmith was largely perfect.