Propaganda and ‘Lord of the Rings’

"I don’t think that ‘The Two Towers’ or Tolkien’s writing or our work has anything to do with the United States’ foreign ventures," he told Mr. Rose, "and it upsets me to hear that."

–Viggo Mortensen in an appearance on Charlie Rose

And, less than two days after my prediction we’d see debates concerning the political meaning of The Lord of the Rings, here’s exhibit A.

Mortensen is described in the article as wearing a “No Blood For Oil” tee in reaction to the interpretation of the film “as both an allegory and an endorsement of the invasion,” so perhaps this is really Exhibit B.

By the way, revenue totals for the film through the weekend including internationally are in the $189 million dollar range – that’s about $37 million a day.