Why “The Hobbit” Trailer Makes Me Sad

Last week the teaser trailer for the highly anticipated film, “The Hobbit” was made public. A friend lamented that there was a year-long wait ahead of us and consoled herself by saying that she might reread the book in the meantime. My initial thought was that that might ultimately be a more fulfilling experience. The second was sadness at how the experience of that book is about to forever change.


Not that there is a fear that the movie(s) will be bad. Jackson’s trilogy was done to perfection. It is among my favorite films. I know people (readers mind you) who consider the films to be superior to the books. Still, it is merely an interpretation of the story. In today’s culture however, the film version of a story tends to become the dominate interpretation. It is sad to think that today, a large portion of “Lord of the Rings” fandom have never ever read the books. That is what is about to happen to “The Hobbit.” The sad fact is that most people will not read a book once having seen the film, especially when it is considered to be a difficult or long book.

“The Hobbit” is a children’s book. Like all great children’s literature it is intended for kids and adults; but the point is it is an easy read. (Or at least it was considered an easy read back when people were literate.) If you have never read it, please take advantage of the time you have and get this book read before the movie comes out next year. If you have already read it, consider experiencing it one more time before it is forever colored by the experience of the film’s interpretation.