Its About Addiction

Rating: 10/10 (18 May 2005)

Lord of the Rings is not an epic struggle between "good" and "evil". That level of analysis is more appropriate for pop trash, such as Lucas' Star Wars.
Lord of the Rings is about addiction. Any addict, or anyone who works with addicts, will immediately recognize the ring's affect on its bearer as quite similar to the affect of serious addictive elements on the addict, such as that found in heroin addiction, alcohol addiction, or religion addiction. There are numerous parallels between the power of the ring and addictive behavior: the transformation that occurs in Bilbo, Frodo, Gollum and the Ringwraithes; the incipient, all-consuming desire to use the drug, but also the fear to do so; Frodo's desire to see Gollum restore to Smeagol, so that Frodo may hope to also return to a pre-addictive state; the inability to return to a pre-addictive state, as with Bilbo and Frodo; the overwhelming temptation to use, even among those who are cognizant of its terrible descriptive power, as with Galadriel and Gandalf; the development of multiple personalities, as with Gollum/Smeagol; the isolation of addiction, as with Gollum living alone in the depths of the Misty Mountains for countless years with his "precious"; the discarding of loved ones, as with Frodo to Sam or Smeagol to Deagol; the delusion of strength acquired by addictive usage, such as with Boromir and Faramir; the deterioration of perceived strength over time, and ultimate corruption of the soul, as with Gollum and the Wraithes. These are all highly correlated with serious addictions.
With this understanding of addiction in mind, it is a painful yet inspirational experience to view the epic journey that occurs in the three LOTR movies. So much is familiar. Even Frodo's and Bilbo's decision to accompany the elves across the waters to live out their days is indicative of a life that has been utterly and irreversibly changed due to past addiction  the addict is never really cured.
Thank you so much Peter Jackson, for bringing Tolkein's books to life. Now, how about The Hobbit?