Bring on the tough stuff. There’s not just one right answer.
- What's better, the book or the movie? Why?
- Boromir: hero or villain? Does his weakness to the Ring make him less heroic? If he lost control of his will, can we blame him for his transgression?
- Is Fellowship a religious allegory? Despite Tolkien confirming that it's just a story, people can't help taking his Catholicism and turning the Shire into Eden and the Ring into the fruit of knowledge. What do you think?
- What does magic mean in LotR ? In this film, magic isn't some rigorously defined mechanism—it's much more of a gray area. So how does magic work ?
- What does The Fellowship reveal about the importance of the history and memory? Hint: Galadriel has some important words about forgetting and remembering in her opening narration.
- In Moria, Gandalf suggests that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring and that Frodo was mean to carry it. Do you agree? Does Frodo being "chosen" versus a product of chance change how you view him and his journey?
- If you lived in Middle-earth, which race do you think you'd belong to? Are you a comfy hobbit? An ethereal elf? A flawed human?
- Upon learning of Gollum, Frodo's immediate reaction is that Bilbo should have killed him when he had the chance… a thought for which Gandalf reprimands him. But does Frodo have a point?