Re: TTT

[Don Smith <dasmith at rotse2_physics.lsa.umich.edu>]

Hi,

> i have a complaint--where they used a direct quote terribly :) in the film,
> f. says that bit about having a chance to show his quality...which is
> straight from the book...but used it to mean the _exact_ opposite.  having
> the chance to show his quality doesn't mean being ensared by the ring (and
> running off to denethor and osgiliath but rather resisting its power.
> espcially since he knows (at that point, in the book) how boromir fell (if
> i'm not mistaken).

Actually, I disagree.  A bit.  Sort of.  I agree that the line in the movie is
given a different subtext than in the book, but I disagree with what the
subtext in the book is.  I just reread that chapter a week ago, and my
impression was that the *surface* meaning of the comment was just what they
used it for in the film -- Faramir was always considered the wimpy, bookish
younger brother to Boromir's jock hero.  He realizes that if he brings the Ring
to Gondor, it will look like heroism to the eyes of his father: show his
quality.  Indeed this is how is father will look at it, when he arrives home
without it.  He will also have succeeded where Boromir failed.  However, I
believe that in the book, he adds an ironic layer of subtext to it, because he
knows enough about the Ring to know that what would look like heroism would
actually be disaster.  He has also already said "if I found this thing by the
roadside, I would not pick it up" (or something like that), and now he knows
his honesty is being tested, too.  So I think the film took the surface layer
of meaning and chucked the irony and self-examination that were under it in the
book.  I wouldn't say that's the *exact* opposite, just not telling the whole
story.  

Yours,
-- 
Don Smith                           Robotic Optical Transient Search Experiment
donaldas at umich_edu                                 http://xte.mit.edu/~dasmith/

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