52 – Fantasy

Man of Steel Answers Insight Commentary

Recorded May 13th. Fantasy, faith, magic, & myth. J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, The Great War, and Wonder Woman. Middle Earth, Narnia, creating compelling fantasy, approaches to criticism, and overcoming disillusionment.

60 Year Old Spoiler Warning: Ending of The Lord of the Rings and portions of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

[Note: Not really a Wonder Woman episode, a companion to the last episode. Next few episodes are more DC, less literary history.]

Answers, insights, and commentary on:

• I. J.R.R. Tolkien (Life)
  • Orphan, Catholic, genius
  • Popular, rugby captain, acting
  • Languages, artist, marriage
  • World War I, Battle of the Somme
  • Philology
  • Beowulf scholarship
  • “On Fairy Stories”

• II. Secondary World (Depth)
  • References condense information
  • Recall a dragon or a Robin, no citation
  • References are inherent and ubiquitous
  • Broken references organic and immersive
  • Irony, Immersion, or Identification
  • Tolkien reverse engineering patina of myth
  • Tolkien’s perfectionism
  • Superman as myth
  • DC Films epic depth in world-building

• III. Outcasts Bond Over Obscure Interests (Friends)
  • Tolkien meets Lewis
  • Siegel meets Shuster
  • Lewis encourages Tolkien’s writings
  • Lewis’s life, atheism, studies, service
  • Connection, fellowship, encouragement
  • The Inklings

• IV. Approach to Criticism (Reaction)
  • Critical response to The Lord of the Rings
  • Stigma of fantasy and superheroes
  • Creating stories with conscious purpose
  • Wonder Woman as psychological propaganda
  • Academic intellectual dishonesty
  • “An Experiment on Criticism”
  • Surrender, reading well, repeat readings

• V. Disillusionment (Lies)
  • Tolkien & Lewis are counter-cultural and subversive
  • Unrealistic optimism at start of the war
  • H.G. Wells: “The War That Will End War”
  • Ways Wonder Woman could be disillusioned
  • Disillusionment after World War I
  • Fantasy as recapturing immaterial wonder
  • Good, evil, and corruption in fantasy
  • Eucatastrophe, Frodo fails, divine grace
  • Corruption in these DC films
  • Reality and realism as cure
  • Fantasy to represent magic of the familiar
  • Tolkien & Lewis believe in heroism

• VI. Resonance (Truth)
  • Tolkien & Lewis differences didn’t divide
  • Tolkien & Lewis didn’t discriminate against works
  • Openness to Wonder Woman, picking at differences
  • Looking for truth and resonance over heresy and imperfection
  • Seeing unappreciated value, Planet Narnia
  • Imagination and emotions before intellect and allegory
  • Watchful Dragons
  • Applied to the Wonder Woman mythos
    • Secrets, Truth, Beauty, Subversion, War, Myth, Wonder

To learn more:
Myths and Legends Podcast | Jason Weiser
What is Myth? | Crash Course Mythology
Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics | J.R.R. Tolkien
On Fairy-Stories | J.R.R. Tolkien
Battle of the Somme | Wikipedia
David S. Goyer Talks Man of Steel | Collider
A Film Portrait of JJR Tolkien (1996) | Landseer
Tolkien and the Great War | John Garth
An Experiment in Criticism | C.S. Lewis
A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War | Joseph Loconte
The Secret History of Wonder Woman | Jill Lepore
Walter Hooper: Life of C.S. Lewis | Socrates Society
Planet Narnia | Michael Ward
The Narnia Code | BBC
The Narnia Code | Michael Ward
Ursala K. Le Guin on Tolkien | Talk of the Nation
Superheroes Decoded | History
End notes recorded May 16th
The Bridge of Khazad Dum | Howard Shore
Wonder Woman | The Bombsters

Web: ManOfSteelAnswers.com
Twitter: @mosanswers
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