[Music]
my friends you bow to no
[Music]
one the scene is everything the memes
are so true I cry every time up there
for me with alltime most powerful scenes
but why and hi welcome to the sh
something a bit different today I
decided to make this video special
because I've been wanting to make it
forever since before I even had a
YouTube channel because it's one of
those ideas that's important and I think
Lord of the Rings is one of those
stories that's important there's stories
that we enjoy stories that amuse us and
then there are the stories that really
matter there's the stories that really
mean something and Lord of the Rings
just means so much to so many people and
it has everything to do with the scene
but not only that because the scene
itself stands at the intersection of
three important elements it stands at
the very peak of Aragorn's Arc it's his
highest moment and he gives that over to
the hobbits obviously that also makes it
the very peak of the hobbits arcs as
well but the third element is Hobbits as
a concept as a World building element
this scene and its correl in the books
it gets to the very core of why lur of
the Rings one of the greatest fanasy
stories of all time could only be told
with Hobbits Hobbits by the way which
are one of the weirdest parts of this
whole story and it's something that I
think is easy to forget about after
we're fans but what the heck are these
things who lives like this why and we
love Hobbits Hobbits have a whole
holiday to themselves called
International Hobbit day and it's today
all these people are here because we all
love Hobbits and I'm bringing all of you
here to New Zealand to the sh because if
you're a gigantic Lord of the Rings fan
just like I am I know you'd also be
thrilled to be here and to celebrate
with us here because hbit told a special
place in your heart too but why how
exactly are Hobbits a contributing
factor to the story as a whole to
understand why they bow to no one that
is what we need to investigate what is
the idea behind the smallness the
culture the events of The Hobbit plots
we get a whole prologue chapter
concerning Hobbits before the star even
starts tolken is like hellbent on
getting us to understand Hobbits as like
a gay way into his story he's telling us
this is important but why and here's a
big part of why I'm calling this weird
tolin makes a whole fantasy world full
of all these magical races beings
creatures including Hobbits but then he
also makes humans its own face and then
he makes the main character not human
that is an unexpected choice in a vacuum
what is up with that decision if you
look at almost any fantasy or sci-fi
story with its own races being species
in addition to humans you just rarely
see this whether it's Star Wars or Game
of Thrones Wheel of Time Any number of
Bandon Sanderson series not to mention
like literally hundreds of alien movies
you just don't see it and it's
understandable why we identify with
characters who look like us and
especially when you have non-humans in
the same story as humans will naturally
gravitate towards the human characters
it's going to be an awkward setup if you
have like the rock people and the humans
and we're supposed to identify with the
Rocks over the humans that just doesn't
work and it's not like you never see
this arrangement with having both you'll
sometimes see a movie that's all about
seeing the world from a different
perspective through nonhuman eyes Toy
Story not an alien race exactly but
still not human movies like Avatar and
even here it's still about a human who
becomes alien and in these cases and
also cases where you have a non-human
member of a mostly human cast you'll see
some kind of very pronounced and defined
non-human perspective a moral view that
values the opposite of what your average
humans May value an all Logic No feeling
perspec perspective an immortal
perspective but the weird thing about
Hobbits is that we don't see that
pronounced definitive difference Hobbits
aren't seeing the world differently it's
not about Hobbits showing a different
non-human way of perceiving things on
the contrary Hobbits feel very human
what does make them distinct in Middle
Earth besides their physicality is their
culture but that culture is like 200%
human they love a lot of the stuff we
love they do a lot of the stuff we do
the Shire is clearly intended to be this
place of familiarity and comfort and
it's very human comfort so if that's
what this is supposed to be if Hobbits
are supposed to be humanlike our point
of reference our point of human
familiarity in so many ways why not just
make them Human Instead of Hobbits just
call them human the actual humans are
already basically introduced as Giants
we're supposed to be hesitant to
identify with them they're big and
they're scary and they're unfamiliar
what does the story lose if we just call
the hobbits human and call the Giants
Giants and on the topic of those giants
let's take a quick step back here
fantasy is usually classically the story
of the Triumph of good over evil we see
that inner Battle of the human heart
projected onto this Grand Story Escape
an arc about a hero in the making facing
challenges and Triumph by choosing good
succeeding by embodying these best
traits of humanity Rising the world to
embrace a grand Destiny and lead the
forces of good against evil that is the
classic fantasy hierarch and that does
happen for Aragorn toi makes a whole
separate non- Hobbit character for this
to happen to Aragorn is the one with a
grand Destiny Aragorn is the hero who
pulls the magical sword from the stone
so to speak he is the leader of the
forces of good and he is the one who in
the end marries the princess and becomes
king and lives happily ever after that
is the classic plot of human Triumph and
it happens to our secondary protagonist
if you'd even call him that and it's our
secondary plot secondary to our main
plot of Hobbit Triumph and AR's plot is
not unimportant no on the contr it's
very important it's heroic it's a huge
part of the story but it's very
pointedly and explicitly positioned
underneath the Hobbit plot a diversion
so three questions from this number one
why give the big flashy classical
hierarch to someone else someone who's
not our main protagonist number two is
the story even about the Triumph of
humanity and human values at all or is
it about the Triumph of Hobbit values
over Maya values what does that have to
to do with me the non Hobbit watching or
reading the story and third and probably
most importantly Aragorn's Arc this
classic story of embracing Duty and
facing challenges and Having the courage
to become the leader of all that is good
in the world what could possibly take
precedence over that what Arc is there
that deserves this number one spot of
narrative importance even more so than
the classical hero Arc tolken is quite
clearly saying this classical hero who
you know and respect that hero is second
place to this new type of hero I'm
making my story about The Hobbit hero so
who is this Hobbit hero and why does the
classical hero bow to him so I think we
got to explain the smallness first that
seems like the central characteristic of
Hobbits what is up with the smallness in
fact let's just do this clearly right
now that first question the general one
if I had to sum up what there is to
investigate here the core
characteristics of Hobbits I would say
three things Hobbits are number one
small number two wholesome and number
three not extraordinary and yeah I could
say ordinary I want to say not
extraordinary these are the three chief
characteristics in my opinion of Hobbits
that we will need to delve into that
will lead us to our precious answers
smallness first so I want to show you
something that is going to seem kind of
random but it's going to clarify
everything here so much this is from a
preview of a Competitive Gaming
documentary it's about top level
competition these guys who are trying to
become the best in the world and
probably unintentionally this little
syit from the beginning of this trailer
is by far the best explanation of how
the fantasy genre Works listen to this
this is
brilliant you know when you're a kid
right you want to be a warrior you want
to be an astronaut and you want to do
battle with Dragons or what have you and
it's uh as an adult now you know we live
our day-to-day lives I have a career but
at the end of the day you know I think
deep down we all still kind of want to
do that crazy thing we wanted to do as a
[Applause]
kid when I play at my best I'm Neo from
The Matrix like I'm just unbeatable and
I'll always believe that I don't care if
I lost the next 100 tournaments in a row
I know that when I play my best it's
it's a WAP what this is saying is
fascinating to me having a Triumph in
real life in a setting like this beating
a rival in a video game feels like
slaying a dragon it feels like being the
warrior you always wanted to be as a kid
playing your best playing at the top of
your game the imagery that fits that
most accurately to how we feel is a
Fantasy character when we do this kind
of mundane thing if we're being
objective inside we are slaying a dragon
we are an invincible perfect fighter
fantasy gets a bad rap for being
unrealistic because people focus on the
surface level of what fantasy is which
is unrealistic undeniably but the reason
why fantasy fans are so dedicated so
passionate is because this superficially
unrealistic facade is the most realistic
resonant imagery when it comes to
reflecting our inner experience when you
have a life-changing Epiphany it feels
like pulling a flaming sword out of your
soul when you're in the zone it feels
like you're connecting with the universe
it feels like you can do anything and
when you're afraid when you're out of
your comfort zone and you're fulfilling
your responsibilities but you're out
there all alone in a scary unfamiliar
world you feel small you feel like
you're half the height of the people
around you you feel like your weakness
is built into you your inferiority is
something you cannot ever overcome
you'll never grow beyond their stature
you're not built that way you are by
Nature limited you're by Nature weak The
Hobbit experience is our experience we
actually identify with the experience of
the hobbits here more than we would if
they were full-sized humans because
Hobbits use that trick of fantasy that
inner imagery language to cut straight
through the realistic to what true
inside Hobbits aren't just small they
make us feel the smallness we feel when
we are in the position of these Hobbits
when we're embarking on a scary
Adventure in an unfamiliar World okay so
that's puzzle piece number one number
two wholesomeness Hobbits are super
wholesome they Chief Pleasures in life
are the coziest comfiest humblest most
Serene most idilic features of The Human
Experience Hobbits are not out at the
club dripped out going wild pounding
shots doing coke getting into fist
fights having orgies they're not out
they're hustling chasing the bag selling
scammy ecourses pumping dumping crypto
trying to make it big on social media
trying to be the next Kim Kardashian no
The Hobbit experience is The Human
Experience but only that one segment the
wholesome comfy enjoyments in life
that's what hobbits live for that is the
life they are built for now as much as
all this is very compelling in its comfy
coziness we Us in reality sitting in the
audience the readers of this story we
have a really fractured relationship
with this kind of Lifestyle we made
daydream about it but we also dismiss it
we deem it impractical because the ones
who get ahead in life the people we
admire
are the ones who do hustle who do live
in Extreme Ways who love the great fight
of Life who understand money and power
and fame and do whatever it takes to get
it the Larger than Life figures who
dominate our societies who dominate our
history who dominate our stories these
people of great fiery passion those are
the people who go far who accomplish
great things those are the people who
may risk becoming villains yes but those
are the people who become Heroes too
you're soft cuddly fat man who eats well
who loves a good book who tends a mean
Garden who spent a lifetime honing his
to become a pipe tobacco connoisseur
that guy doesn't become a hero that life
the proclivities and dispositions that
come with choosing that lifestyle they
may be pleasant but they don't take you
very far in the grand scheme they don't
enable you to do great things and we
have this ring that prays on greatness
basically it prays on Power and all the
passions and Ambitions that come with it
and we see its influence on these races
who do embody those passions those
Extreme Ways of Life dwarves with their
uncontrollable obsession with wealth men
of course with their obsession with
power elves whose Lifestyles EMB bodying
many different types of extremes
creativity Perfection Detachment maybe
you'd call it outright hottin or ego but
Hobbits Hobbits are not extraordinary
and have little capacity for power
little capacity for greatness so these
Heroes who bow to no one who the
classical hero and everyone else bows to
remember we're still trying to explain
that these heroes are afraid of the
world they are physically weak they're
not extraordinary and don't lead
extraordinary lives and they have little
capacity for greatness what is the point
of having Heroes like this and I think
that's what all the other questions are
really getting at what is the point of
having Heroes who are small weak and
Afraid and remember this is limited
capacity that means there isn't room for
growth in these qualities this isn't a
young weak boy who becomes strong who
grows into his greatness no Hobbits will
not ever become strong Hobbits will not
ever become legendary Warriors or great
Kings or anything like that they will
remain not extraordinary that is a
limitation that is built into their race
and it's so unusual in this genre you
think of basically every fantasy hero
out there usually start out relatively
weak and not extraordinary and then
every single one of these characters
develops they transform they become
strong but no tolken starts us out weak
and then he keeps us there he wants us
there for some reason he doesn't want us
to move on he's saying here is where
we'll find heroism only a wholesome weak
fearful Hobbit is capable of becoming
this type of hero so I think this is the
idea in times of Crisis the most heroic
thing we can do is not give into evil
nothing should be viewed as a greater
accomplishment than just that the most
challenging obstacles the most difficult
crises of Our Lives don't ask courage
from us or strength or wisdom or ability
they just ask for goodness and that kind
of heroism requires a different type of
hero it's not someone big and strong and
brave and charismatic it's not someone
wise or someone with great ability a
person who is built to withstand evil
will be someone wholesome it will be
someone with a simple life of Simple
Pleasures because let's stop and think
about what it means to be someone who
has courage someone like Aragorn or
bourier someone who charges fearlessly
into battle it means you've experienced
a lot of darkness in your life you've
felt pain you felt lost you've probably
experienced the suffering that comes
from not fighting that hard in the past
you've lived through that and you don't
ever want to live through it again
that's what enables you to be this
strong you're no stranger to Darkness in
yourself and darkness in others it's a
normal thing to be fighting to the death
to have others who want to kill you it's
a normal thing for you to want to kill
and you are no stranger to the kind of
Unholy rage you need to summon to
slaughter your enemies granted for a
good cause but it's so reaching into a
dark part of yourself to do great feats
like this if your life experiences have
developed you into this kind of strong
Warrior a lot of it must have been spent
face to face with evil both in yourself
and in others there's a saying I've
heard a lot that fascinates me both in
the truth it holds and in the truth that
leaves out the saying is Hard Times
create Hard Men Hard Men create easy
times easy times create weak men and
weak men create hard times and there's a
lot of Truth in the statement we all
have people we know people in our
families who live through hard times and
that made them strong and that enabled
them to make the lives of their loved
ones easier or in some cases maybe it's
us maybe it's you who's lived through
hard times and become strong it is
undoubtedly a true statement but it's
missing a giant chunk of the reality
which is that hard times do create Hard
Men and sometimes hard men create hard
times sometimes exponentially harder
times it's not that they weren't just as
strengthened and empowered through their
hard past they were but that empowerment
opens the door for Calamity just as much
as it opens the door for charity it's
often the same door easy times create
weak men easy times you see men like
Hobbits and I don't think Hobbits are
the ones creating hard times in my
research for this video I saw this thing
tolken said about his time in the war
gentlemen are rare among the superiors
and even human beings rare indeed he was
looking for Humanity and he was noting
that humanity is often the first victim
of Crisis he understood the tremendous
good in preserving Humanity during hard
times and he knew from firsthand
experience that there is nothing more
heroic than being immersed in evil
carrying it with you letting it whisper
to you letting yourself bear the brunt
of its powerful influence and coming out
the other side with your duty complete
and your goodness intact the greatest
battle is the battle inside the human
heart and the people built to win that
battle to win the battle of the human
heart will not be built like soldiers
and armed with swords they'll be built
simple and humble they'll be armed with
a lifetime of good friendships good food
good books and good memories they won't
be the ones commanding armies they'll be
the ones who are there to offer for a
kind word a favor to use common sense to
be helpful those are the people we
should tell stories about they should be
the ones our culture in shrines and
myths in addition to the other Heroes
and tolken acknowledges both he shows us
the other battles the actual battle and
he celebrates those Heroes of those
battles the hard men who create easy
times he doesn't dismiss that or
belittle that this story has those
Heroes too and we do need those Heroes
and they deserve all the praise and
admiration and Fanfare that they get but
the Lord of the Rings is primarily about
the Battle inside us the battle of the
heart the Battle For Humanity those who
fight that battle and those who win that
battle those Heroes bow to no one I
think we have Hobbits and humans because
that human type of Life the human
culture of power and ambition that's
what gets the loudest voice in our world
it feels like the wholesome and the weak
and the simple good feels like sometimes
that almost doesn't have a place there's
the important people who accomplish
things in life and then there's
mediocrity there's the masses who don't
matter who have no effect on anything
the great people in the world never even
pay attention to them they barely know
they exist that humbler category is one
who gets excluded from Humanity that
token quote where the humanity around
you is devoid of humanity that makes you
feel like the inhuman one it's almost
like there's something wrong with me I
don't belong with humans apparently and
that's the Journey of this whole story
to reintegrate this kind of greatness
back into the world of men it's not a
Triumph of Hobbit over Maya it's the
Triumph of reintroducing humanity back
into humanity and the Glorious moment
when everyone realizes the value of that
Humanity of that simple goodness so like
I said I've wanted to make this video
forever since way before I started doing
YouTube because I love this idea of
heroism so much of the millions and
billions of people who love fantasy and
adventure stories how many of us become
Aragorn how many of us even have a
chance to become an aorn how many have
that capacity within them but how many
of us can become the other kind of hero
The Hobbit kind of hero almost all of us
and maybe we won't be faced with Stakes
as high as Frodo with his task but we
can all fight the Battle of preserving
Humanity in Dark time
we can all be a good friend we can all
be helpful we can all do good tokens
Heroes represent an ideal we can all
attain an ideal that is too often
overlooked but is actually probably the
most important good to strive for it's a
great thing to be strong and brave and
ambitious but there are dangers to
having those qualities too and it's not
necessarily a great thing to be weak and
small and Afraid not necessarily but
there are types of heroism types of good
that are not just available to the small
people of the world it's not like oh
even these people can have an impact no
there are vital and necessary types of
good that only small people can do that
big people need small people to do that
the entire world need small people to do
and this is a story celebrating that
kind of good and that kind of hero
that's why I love this idea that's why I
wanted to really make this idea Special
by bringing you all the way here and
this is not the only idea like that and
it's not the only video like that I'm
here to kick off a special series I've
been teasing since hitting 100K a while
back welcome to shne middlee tour I have
like three to four big ideas ideas about
Lord of the Rings which if you cannot
tell is one of my favorite series of all
time and I have wanted to make videos
about these ideas forever and then I
also have some smaller ideas I'll make
into shorts and smaller videos so that
will be the plan the coming weeks these
will basically be the same kind of
analysis videos that I usually make but
on location of the story I'm talking
about because the world both tokens
world and the real world is an amazing
place and I want to share it with all of
you and it's not going to be exactly as
straightforward as it may seem from this
description as you may learn very very
soon so yeah subscribe for this
beautiful analytical journey through
Middle Earth support the channel on
patreon shout outs to the new high tier
patrons Kingsley and Sophia thanks a lot
to the both of you I help people with
the writing oneon-one for that height
here so look into that if you're
interested and I hope you enjoyed our
little trip to the Shire today happy
International Hobbit day and thanks for
watching