5 ms·

Tolkien was a British person in the early 20th century so the cultural context in which he lived was one of an empire in decline, 2 world wars, and as the serie

Tolkien was a British person in the early 20th century so the cultural context in which he lived was one of an empire in decline, 2 world wars, and as the series was written a Europe and UK in relative ruins. Romanticism about the power, influence, justice, and luxury of the empire was a driving propaganda technique during the wars.

rob74 4y ago
If you look at Brexit, you will find that romanticism about the power, influence, justice, and luxury of the empire is still a driving propaganda technique...
- rsynnott 4y ago
  Even _before the Empire_, nostalgia for a fictional past was a huge thing in England; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_England https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_England.
- dash2 4y ago
  That is widely said, but I know of no serious social scientific finding that nostalgia for empire played any part in Brexit vote share.
  - rob74 4y ago
    Ok, maybe not nostalgia for the Empire specifically, but nostalgia for the "good old times", when the EU didn't meddle in the UK's business and force it to e.g. display the hated metric measurements besides the beloved Imperial ones (ha! there you have the Empire again!). And to quote some sources: according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_vote_in_favour_of_Brexit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_vote_in_favour_o...): > Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the European Union was "the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK". ("in the UK." meaning: "by the UK." logically implying: "on behalf of 66 million UK citizens not 508 million EU residents.")
    - abecedarius 4y ago
      Preference for more-local government is hardly the same as nostalgia for former times.
ghaff 4y ago
And really the history of Europe more broadly. If you think Britain had it bad look at the history of just about any of the small eastern and central European countries in particular. I was in some history museum in Budapest, and it's account was basically we got invaded by so and so, and then laid siege to by another so and so, things were pretty good for 50 years, and then a third so and so invaded, etc.

rob74 4y ago

If you look at Brexit, you will find that romanticism about the power, influence, justice, and luxury of the empire is still a driving propaganda technique...

rsynnott 4y ago
Even _before the Empire_, nostalgia for a fictional past was a huge thing in England; see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_England https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merry_England.
dash2 4y ago
That is widely said, but I know of no serious social scientific finding that nostalgia for empire played any part in Brexit vote share.
- rob74 4y ago
  Ok, maybe not nostalgia for the Empire specifically, but nostalgia for the "good old times", when the EU didn't meddle in the UK's business and force it to e.g. display the hated metric measurements besides the beloved Imperial ones (ha! there you have the Empire again!). And to quote some sources: according to Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_vote_in_favour_of_Brexit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_vote_in_favour_o...): > Nearly half (49%) of leave voters said the biggest single reason for wanting to leave the European Union was "the principle that decisions about the UK should be taken in the UK". ("in the UK." meaning: "by the UK." logically implying: "on behalf of 66 million UK citizens not 508 million EU residents.")
  - abecedarius 4y ago
    Preference for more-local government is hardly the same as nostalgia for former times.

ghaff 4y ago

And really the history of Europe more broadly. If you think Britain had it bad look at the history of just about any of the small eastern and central European countries in particular. I was in some history museum in Budapest, and it's account was basically we got invaded by so and so, and then laid siege to by another so and so, things were pretty good for 50 years, and then a third so and so invaded, etc.