Lord of the Ring 3 and IR Theory Realism - Research Paper Example

?Lord of the Rings 3 connects to IR theory of Realism The world, we live in, has always been a place of constant activity. This constant activity in the form of physical as well as mental activity of the people has transformed our world from an archaic to a well-developed one. In addition, that development as wells as evolution can also seen in one of the important people involved activities of the ‘sphere’, which is the activity of politics. With the advancement in civilizations, people spread out and settled in new territories. In course of the history, those territories evolved into cities, states, and eventually countries. Along with this evolution and development of people and territories, the political setup, which ruled those civilizations, also evolved and new political setups entered the picture ruling cities, provinces or states and crucially countries. This evolution and establishment of different countries and their government setups have lead to the formulation of various theories and ideas including Realism by renowned thinkers and researchers, constituting under the International Relations domain. International Relations or IR for short, focuses on the relations between the countries of the world and how those relationship is handled from the diplomatic and military perspective. The IR theory of Realism focuses on how a nation or territory will focus mainly on its interest and not from other perspective, and carry out actions accordingly. Although, IR theories including this Realism were formed mainly in the 20th century, and have applications in the current world, it can also be applied to fictional world as well, including historic fictional world. So, when this theory is applied to the historic fictional world featured in the movie The Lord of the Rings 3, it gives interesting perspectives. This paper focusing on the IR theory of Realism, will discuss how it has similarities as well as differences with the plot, events and characters specifically Sauron of Lord of the Rings 3. IR theory of Realism As pointed out above, Realism or political Realism is a key theory in the study of international relations which clearly prioritizes national interest as well as territorial security, over other forms of national functioning including ideology, moral considerations, international peace, etc. As they give importance to these two aspects, they could indulge in offensive and aggressive actions against other territories or nations to uphold these aspects. “Realists consider the principal actors in the international arena to be states, which are concerned with their own security, act in pursuit of their own national interests, and struggle for power.”( Korab-Karpowicz). Thucydides, Machiavelli and Hobbes are regarded as the founding fathers of this Realism theory, however, the Twentieth-century classical Realism has been largely replaced in the current times by Neorealism.( Korab-Karpowicz). The difference between Realism and Neorealism is that, Neorealism incorporates a more scientific approach, when studies are conducted regarding the various aspects of international relations. However, Realism as a theory came into prominence mainly in the Cold War years, as both United States and Soviet Union carried out activities in various fields including Military, space, foreign relations, etc, etc, mainly to protect their self-interests. Thus, Realism during the Cold Wars “provided simple but powerful explanations for war, alliances, imperialism, obstacles to cooperation, and other international phenomena, and is consistent with the central features of the American-Soviet rivalry” (Little and Smith 387). The other key tenets of this Realism theory are, realists always view that the countries in the international system will always be in a constant state of antagonism, with a general distrust prevailing among the countries, and even among the countries, who are part of the alliance. The other key perspective is, “states must arrive at relations with other states on their own, rather than it being dictated to them by some higher controlling entity.” (Baofu 218). In addition, countries following Realism will try to gather and attain as much resources as possible particularly military resources for them to neutralize any threatening advancement from their opponents, and importantly will have relations with states clearly “determined by their levels of power derived primarily from their military and economic capabilities.” (Baofu 218). The key perspective, but which borders on slight negativity is, Realism’s non-focus on moral values and international peace. Realist theories state that nations in order to safeguard their interests and safety, will view morality as a key determent. As a further extension of this negativity surrounding the theory of Realism, it is said that this theory puts emphasis on undue power. That is, the nation or even its national leaders reflecting Realism will function in a strong and even authoritarian manner to protect their nation’s interest, even disregarding ethical and social norms. “The negative side of the realists' emphasis on power and self-interest is their skepticism regarding the relevance of ethical norms to relations among states.” (Korab-Karpowicz). Brief Synosis The Lord of the Rings 3 or Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a fantasy-drama on epic proportions, and is the concluding part of the trilogy. Based on the book of the same name written by J. R. R. Tolkien, it was directed by Peter Jackson. The Middle earth from The Lord of the Rings was almost entirely shot in New Zealand’s exotic landscape. Released in the year 2003, it garnered commercial as well as critical acclaim, and with its collections, the revenues from the trilogy touched 4 billion dollars. “The three films were shot back-to-back over a fifteen-month period and have been hugely profitable, generating earnings of more than US$4 billion through film exhibition, home video and DVD, television screenings, soundtracks and other ancillary merchandising” (Mathijs and Pomerance). As the film is the last installment, it takes forward the story and happenings of the previous two films, to a logical conclusion. The plot follows the actions of Gandalf the Wizard, and Theoden King of Rohan, who gather and rally their forces to preempt the advancing troops of Sauron, who is the aggressor. Sauron launches his army to fully conquer the Middle-earth, and although the alliance forces fight valiantly, their victory also depended on the Hobbits’ mission of destroying the Ring. “While Frodo & Sam continue to approach Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring…the former Fellowship aid Rohan & Gondor indulge in a great battle in the Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith and the Black Gates as Sauron wages his last war against Middle-Earth” (“The Lord of the Rings”). As the plot of the movie mainly focuses on the machinations between the kingdoms and how they indulge in wars to protect their self-interest and even as an aggressive tactic to conquer other lands, this movie has good connections to the IR theory of Realism. Similarities Although, the movie, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the Kings can be seen as a tale of environment, redemption, romance, etc., it is very much about political machinations and the resultant battles between the various players. Even the tagline implies that, “There can be no triumph without loss. No victory without suffering. No freedom without sacrifice.” (“The Lord of the Rings”). This tag line was used to show how the characters in both the sides had to indulge in aggressive and violent actions, even expecting large-scale losses, to safeguard their kingdoms’ interest and security. This perspective is slightly in line with the IR theory of Realism, because as pointed out above, that theory specifically cited that national interests has to be given prime importance, and all other moral values and social issues need to be sidelined. There is a clear indication that international events only inspired or influenced Tolkien to come up with this epic work. That international event is the First and the Second World Wars, and those two wars and the IR theories surrounding the wars have similarities in the movie. Although Tolkien stated that it was not his intention to have similarities between the Wars and the book, it is clearly evident. “Tolkien provides a fantastical parallel to both World Wars in his novel, yet he himself states in the prologue of the novel that this was not his intention.” (Skeparnides). One of the examples that show this similarity is the Hitler’s controversial actions particularly medical experiments on the Jewish people during the Second World War and how in The Lord of the Rings 3 Sauron authorized vicious cross breeding to create the The Orcs. Hitler conducted deadly and painful medical experiments on the Jews without any moral values, to further their racial goals, and that included decimation of the Jewish population using controversial sterilization methods. In The Lord of the Rings, the main antagonist, Sauron ‘mass produced’ The Orcs, the 'dark' children of the fallen Valar Melkor, through centuries of genetically perverse cross breeding with men under Sauron, so that they can be used in battles. (Skeparnides). As they were known for creating havoc in the battle field because of their strong and aggressive physicality and can seen in action in the battle scenes in the final installment, they were created by Sauron, without any “moral values”. As mentioned above, a key tenet of the IR theory of Realism is when leaders act negatively without uploading moral values, to protect and further, what they think, are their key national interests. One of the earliest proponents of the Realism theory, Niccolo Machiavelli asserted that moral imperatives cannot be given importance in the political machinations. He further states that the rulers have to be autocratic exhibiting ruthlessness and strength, when it comes to handling issues of national interests. In a way, competent and strong ruler will have to place state over all the moral issues. Machiavelli (69) states, “that a prince ... cannot observe all of those virtues for which men are reputed good, because it is often necessary to act against mercy, against faith, against humanity, against frankness, against religion, in order to preserve the state.” In that direction, Hitler’s act of persecuting the Jewish people under the guise of furthering Germany’s interest and also Sauron’s act of mass producing warrior people, without uploading any moral values, falls under the IR theory of Realism. This perspective was validated by Salter (2011) who stated that Hitler can be considered as a “tyrannical figure and immoral actor in permissive atmosphere of anarchy”, who took advantage of “deluded and moralistic statesmen,” setting the tone for understanding the need for Realism, and so as Hitler became powerful, his foreign tactics are equated with those of Machiavelli. From this similarity, it is clear that although, the original author of the movie, Tolkien may not have been inspired by the World Wars to write his epic, the epic and importantly the movie has many connections to both the World Wars. It is particularly related to Hitler’s action, and how that action is in line with the IR theory of Realism. Skeparnides further validates this connection by pointing out “ultimately, a fantasy world like Middle Earth can only be formed from the characteristics of the real world in order for the author to convey his message to an understanding and sympathetic reader” (as well as viewer). In addition, the actions of Sauron appear in line with the IR theory of Realism because to further his kingdom’s interest and to gain superiority over other kingdoms, he launches attacks against other kingdoms. Another key similarity is, as mentioned above, nations or territories following Realism will take military action against their opponents independently, without any large alliance. Sauron did that in his siege on the Pelennor Fields, Minas Tirith and the Black Gates. Differences As pointed out above, the IR theory of Realism focus on bestowing absolute power on the nation or its leaders, so they can protect their national interests. While protecting their positive interests, the nations will not have any doubts that power could corrupt them. “States that value relative power care most about their place in the international system, while states that value absolute power value maximizing their well-being over all.” (“Realism”). That is, the power, which is gained for positive motivations will not be used by the nations for negative purposes. Thus, Realism mainly point out how power can be used by the nations to fulfill their targets, without allowing it corrupt them. This is in contrast to the use of power or power symbols by the alliance of Fellowship in The Lord of the Rings 3. That is, although, they have option to use the Ring, when they are under attack, instead they avoid it, understanding its corrupting influence. The Ring could have given them a decisive advantage and importantly power to orient the result of the war in their direction, but as the Ring also has the ability to mentally corrupt the wearer they avoid it. “Characters such as Gandalf, Elrond, and Aragorn recognize that power corrupts and then enslaves its users, and so they refuse the ring even under threat of attack because they realize that pure intentions are not enough.” (Inayatullah). That is, although they have pure intentions to bring peace to the Middle-Earth, once they become powerful because of the Ring, they feared that it could create even more bad repercussions for them. As a further extension of this aversion to power, they decide to destroy the Ring. It is left to Frodo to accentuate his powers to destroy the power of the Ring. “Frodo’s mission is nothing less than to destroy the ring; he uses power to undermine power” (Inayatullah).This is not in line with the Realist theory because nations or territories in line with Realism will always want sizable power in their hands, so they can further their interests, and importantly safeguard their interests including country’s borders and other advantages. However, in the Lord of the Rings 3, the fellowship alliance avoid sizing and using the power, they would have got from the Ring, because of the Ring’s corruptive nature. The other difference between the theory and the film, is that theory states that nations or territories could indulge in aggressive actions or even wars mainly in unitary way without any alliances, however the fellowship waged war by forming a alliance. As the army of Sauron is sizable and wielded considerable power and influence, they formed an alliance so that they can accumulate their powers to be equal to that of Sauron. This is contrast to the IR theory of Realism, because nations following Realism will have distrust against other nations, including alliance partners. “States are unitary actors each moving towards their own national interest, and so there will be a general distrust of long-term cooperation or alliance.” (Baofu 218). Conclusion The above analysis of the IR theory of Realism and its connection to the film, The Lord of the Rings 3, gives interesting perspectives. The IR theory of Realism will be reflected when nations or territories focus on their interests, and orient their along those lines, without being dictated by outside forces. They will favor availability of heightened power in their hands, so they preempt any aggressive action from other countries. When these tenets of Realism were compared with the plot, characters, and events in The Lord of the Rings 3, it provided certain similarities as well as differences. Works Cited Baofu, Peter. Beyond Ethics to Post-Ethics: A Preface to a New Theory of Morality and Immorality. IAP, 2011. Inayatullah, Naeem. Frodo or Gollum: U.S. Foreign Policy and Iraq. Ithacan, 20 Nov 2003 Korab-Karpowicz, W. Julian. Political Realism in International Relations. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 26 Jul 2010. Web. 21 Nov 2011 Little, Richard and Michael Smith. Perspectives on world politics. Routledge, 2006 Machiavelli, Niccoli. The Prince. Bantam Books, 2003. Mathijs, Ernest and Murray Pomerance. From Hobbits to Hollywood: Essays on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Screen 48.3 (2007): 411-415. “Realism,” Angel Fire, n. d. Web. 21 Nov 2011 Salter, Mark. "Hitler, Osama Bin Laden And International Relations Theory: Inglorious Basterds" International Studies Association Annual Conference "Global Governance: Political Authority in Transition", Le Centre Sheraton Montreal Hotel, MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, 16 Mar 2011. Web. 21 Nov 2011 Skeparnides, Michael. “A Reflection on Tolkien's World - Gender, Race & Interpreted Political, Economic, Social & Cultural Allegories.” SFF World, n. d. Web. 21 Nov 2011 “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)” IMDB, n. d. Web. 21 Nov 2011 “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)” IMDB, n. d. Web. 21 Nov 2011 Read More