How stupid does this make me?

As a kid, I had never heard of "Lord of the Rings" - even though it's pretty old. I played the FF games and dicoverd "Mithrill" (or should I say "mythril" - since I began with FFVII) as a strong metal. This of course is a tribute to Lord of the Rings, Mithrill is a metal (I think) made up by that story.

Years later the film comes out - of course, I don't realize that the film is based on a book.

Someone mentions "Mithrill" - and I think "hey cool! - the makers of this film must be FF fans too!".

So, ok guys, how stupid am I?

Knowing or not knowing about the Tolkien mythos is hardly a measure of intelligence. It's just weird that you didn't know, is all! ;)

Stupid? No.

Horribly, horribly ignorant? Yes.

Not knowing about Tolkien before Final Fantasy ain't stupid. Thinking the makers of the film through in Mithril as fans of Final Fantasy, just a little bit.

Am I wrong or isn't Tolkien the creator of dwarves, orcs and elves as well?

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Originally Posted by cetra1

Am I wrong or isn't Tolkien the creator of dwarfs, orcs and elves as well?

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Dwarves and elves have existed in folklore long before Tolkien saw the inside of his mother's womb. As for orcs, Tolkien did (as far as I know) come up with the word, and he played a big part in making them what they are today—although I don't think he imagined them being quite so slimy—but to begin with they were pretty much only a variation of goblins, the origins of which also long precedes Tolkien's lore.

elves and dwarves have been in mythology for centuries.

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Originally Posted by cetra1

Am I wrong or isn't Tolkien the creator of dwarfs, orcs and elves as well?

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As has been pointed out, elves and dwarves have been around for ages. However, Toilkien's vision of them has become the modern staple of what an "elf" or "dwarf" means. Tolkien basically invented the modern fantasy novel.

Or popularised it, at least :D

Lord of the what now?

I didn’t know the books existed until the films came out, although I did know it came from a book.
And Toilkien put beards on the Dwarfs and made them live underground.

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Originally Posted by Rantzien

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Originally Posted by cetra1

Am I wrong or isn't Tolkien the creator of dwarfs, orcs and elves as well?

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Dwarves and elves have existed in folklore long before Tolkien saw the inside of his mother's womb. As for orcs, Tolkien did (as far as I know) come up with the word, and he played a big part in making them what they are today—although I don't think he imagined them being quite so slimy—but to begin with they were pretty much only a variation of goblins, the origins of which also long precedes Tolkien's lore.

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Actually, I believe that in the Silmarillion he says that orcs are "fallen" elves, captured by the forces of darkness and imprisoned. It kind of alludes to concentration camps... Seriously, Tolkien delves much deeper than most seem to realize.

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Originally Posted by The White Wizard of Fynn

Actually, I believe that in the Silmarillion he says that orcs are "fallen" elves, captured by the forces of darkness and imprisoned. It kind of alludes to concentration camps... Seriously, Tolkien delves much deeper than most seem to realize.

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I'm well aware that Tolkien fleshes out (quasi-pun not intended) the orcish race more than pretty much anyone else has done, and I'm not by any means trying to understate the influence he's had on fantasy. I'm just saying Tolkien's orcs were, to begin with, not much more than an extension of the goblin concept (in The Hobbit, they were even called Goblins). He evolved them into a more thought out race later, but that's their origin of sorts as far as I know.

Edit: Uh... I think we've gone quite far off topic. xD If you want to continue this discussion, send me a message and I'll split the thread into two. Otherwise, let's get back on topic!

Alright.

So as far as the original topic goes - like some said before, it's not so much stupi, as ignorant. Although, had it not been for my mom, I probably wouldn't have been familiar with LotR either...

Certainly not stupid of you, though I can't imagine how you managed to see any of the movies with out hearing that they were based on a book. I didn't know that was possible at the time.

>>> All the stuff from the FF games has been ripped off from somewhere else, just remember that and you will be fine..:luca: